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Facial Expressions

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A person is able to convey a lot with just a facial expression. A smile can signify happiness, while a frown can signal unhappiness. In some cases, our facial expressions can show our true feelings when in certain situations. At times we try to hide our true feelings and say we are okay but our facial expressions might signal otherwise. People often blink faster when in an uncomfortable situation. Blinking less frequently may show that a person is intentionally trying to control their eye movements. Poker players have to remain calm they use this technique; they might blink less frequently because they are purposely trying to appear unexcited about the hand that was dealt. Facial expressions are also among the most universal forms of body language. The expressions used to convey fear; anger, sadness, and happiness are similar throughout the world. Darwin was the first to suggest that facial expressions were universal his ideas about emotions were a centerpiece of his theory of evolution suggesting that “emotions and their expressions were biologically innate and evolutionary adaptive, and that similarities in them could be seen phylogenetically. However the dominant perspective in psychology was that facial expressions were culture-specific – that is, just as every culture had its own verbal language, it had its own language of facial expressions” (Matsumoto, Hwang). Women are better than men at reading facial expressions according to a study published by Neuropsychologia ”Evolutionary psychologists have suggested that females, because of their role as primary caretakers, are wired to quickly and accurately decode or detect distress in pre-verbal infants or threatening signals from other adults to enhance their chances at survival” (University of Montreal).

Matsumoto, David, and Hyi Sung Hwang. "Reading Facial Expressions of Emotion." N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Nov. 2015. <http://www.apa.org/science/about/psa/2011/05/facial-expressions.aspx>.

University of Montreal. "Women Outperform Men When Identifying Emotions." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 21 October 2009. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091021125133.htm>

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