Are Facial Expressions Universal Essays - 993 Words

It has happened to all of us at some point in our lives. You procrastinated for too long and didnt get time to do an important project. Youve missed a deadline for that newspaper article that was supposed to be on the front page. You forgot your brother’s birthday party. You know that the people that you let down are not going to be happy. They could also possibly be mad. The next time you see them, they don’t immediately call you out on it but you can tell from their faces that they are angry. But how can you tell this? How can you really tell if someone is angry, upset, or happy? The answer is that from a young age, human beings have learned how to tell someone’s emotional being from his or her facial expressions. Now here is the big†¦show more content†¦The idea of facial expressions indicating emotions was first brought up in the 1800s. Charles Darwin, regarded as The Father of the theory of Evolution, theorized that facial expressions were universal . In other words, he felt that people showed their emotion in the same way, regardless of ethnicity or culture. At this time, and for many years after, many psychologists felt like this was not the case and that facial expressions were culture-specific. This, they believed that each culture had its own way of expressing basic emotions such as happiness, sadness, anger, and disgust. However, in the 1960s, two psychologists named Paul Ekman and Walter Friesen began to wonder if Darwins theory was indeed correct. These psychologists traveled to Papua, New Guinea to undergo a study with the Fore tribe. This tribe was a pre-literate and isolated culture. The results showed that the six basic emotions (anger, happiness, sadness, disgust, surprise, and fearful) were universally recognized by this tribe. The tribe looked at an image of a facial expression and easily determined the emotion being displayed. Ekman believed that facial expressions evolved as a way to shown how someone feels and also indicate future actions. For example, an angry facial expression may indicate that the expresser is going to attack. Still, the question remains whether facial expressions universally show certain emotions and is a highly controversial issue in the field of psychology. There areShow MoreRelatedCulture Reveals A Flexible System For Face Processing Case Study769 Words   |  4 Pagesand eye mapping laboratory, Caldara has concluded that how facial expressions are perceived vary between Eastern and Western cultures despite the universal opinion that facial expressions are homogenous. The numerous studies he has collaborated on suggest that the decoding of emotions depends heavily on the observer’s cultural background. More specifically, when observing a face and attempting to an interpret someone’s facial expression, Westerners’ gazes tend to focus on specific regions, especiallyRead MoreA Foundation For Studying Emotional Psychology972 Words   |  4 Pagesconducted by Crivelli, Jarillo, Russell, Fernà ¡ndez-Dols (2016) is to challenge the authenticity of the universality thesis. Their intention is to question whether facial expressions used to signal different emotions are universally comprehended. Therefore, do all human be ings signal certain emotions with the same, universal, facial expression? The studies conducted regarding the universality thesis were used as a foundation for studying emotional psychology. Making it extremely relevant to question suchRead More Body Language: Cultural or Universal? Essay1714 Words   |  7 Pagesinnate and thus universal. The nature versus nurture dichotomy inherent in this debate is false; one does not preclude the other’s influence. Rather researchers should seek to address the question how much of nonverbal communication is innate and how much is culturally defined? Are there any true universal nonverbal cues or just universal tendencies modified to suit cultural ideals and constraints? It is my proposal that of all forms of nonverbal communication the most universal is the communicationRead MoreEmotion And Emotion Of Non Verbal Communication1642 Words   |  7 PagesAccurately Recognize Emotion in Facial Expressions Non-verbal communication is a subtle but crucial way in which humans communicate their emotions and moods, that may determine certain social interactions or not, depending on how others perceive you. A wealth of research suggests that most humans can decipher between the universal facial expressions and infer emotions through them, which is a critical aspect of our daily lives. This study investigated emotion recognition in facial processing from viewingRead MoreNon Verbal Communication And Nonverbal Communication744 Words   |  3 PagesOne of the areas studied in psychology is the use of Non-Verbal Communication (NVC). According to the Collins dictionary, this is defined as ‘those aspects of communication, such as gestures and facial expressions, that do not involve communication, but which may include non-verbal aspects of speech itself (accent, tone of voice, speed of speaking, etc)’. Used daily by humans and animals (Darwin 1972), NVC has a strong link to innate fa ctors, and messages are sent unconsciously to the listener. ThroughRead MoreNonverbal Behavior And Body Language954 Words   |  4 Pagesto many experts in this field, such as James C. McCroskey and Virginia P. Richmond, the authors of Nonverbal Behavior in Interpersonal Relations, body language makes a huge difference in our daily communication. For example, the way we pose, the expressions on our face, and even the tone of our speech, which are all nonverbal communication methods, change the volume of speech and thus have various impacts on the overall communication. Almost half of our communications involves people’s use of bodyRead MoreCross Cultural Communication Essay955 Words   |  4 Pagescultures is commonplace, but having the ability to associate nonverbal communication with a specific culture can help one engage in efficient cross-cultural communication. Kinesics refers to the study of body movements such as posture, gestures, facial expression, and eye contact. According to Hall and Knapp, â€Å"microanalytic studies have shown that a person’s body movement is closely synchronized with their speech, a phenomenon often referred to as self-synchrony† (Hall and Knapp, 2013: 208). KinesicsRead MoreNonverbal Communication : Non Verbal Communication890 Words   |  4 Pagescommunication varies based on a person’s cultural background, more so in the individualism-collectivism dimension. Additionally, studies have indicated that intercultural diversities in how verbal communications are observed can be traced to differences in facial signs that individuals from West and East look for when detecting emotions (Serlin, Berger Bar-Sinai, 2007). Therefore, people from distinctive cultures are expected to be taught to express their feeling via clear indications, although those fromRead Morenonverbal communication Essay1009 Words   |  5 PagesPark. Others may spread the word through ministry, poetry, or sculpting. In general, there are many ways people can communicate with each other. The number one way of communicating is verbal. People might think that nonverbal communication is universal, but it’s not. There are multiple times when people use alternative methods of communication. Most of the time people are communicating when they don’t even know it. For instance, a job interview deals with a lot of communication and differentRead MoreNowadays The Study Of Emotion Is One Of The Most Complex1286 Words   |  6 Pagesadaptive, generating appropriate behaviour to aid survival, as well as universal, cross-cultural and cross- species. This was later proven right by Ekman (1972) proposing six basic, universal emotions: joy, distress, anger, fear, surprise, and disgust. The ability to accurately read the emotional facial expressions of others is fundamental to successful human int eraction. Blair (2003) suggested that emotional facial expressions evolved in order to allow communication via external representation of