THE ART OF READING MINDS-Emotions and how we reveal them.

 

                                                      THE ART OF READING MINDS 

                                                  - HOW WE REVEAL OUR EMOTIONS-

Our emotions are an essential part of 'Who we are'. At times we as humans allow our emotions to control our decisions and behaviors. It's due to the reason, we don't always do things because we ought to ;at times we are led by emotions (or at least this is how we rationalize our behavior after the fact ). At times due to the lack of self-awareness individuals are not aware of emotion they are having. However, and fortunately it's an ability to read and understand non-verbal communication displayed by human beings, even when they are aware of them or want to hide them. It's a skill of understanding how other people filter or interpret their experiences and impressions that makes up a great part of mind reading. It is skill that comes up due to practice, experience and learning. 

THE SEVEN SUMAURAI - Seven Universal Emotional Expression

When Paul Ekman, an American Psychologist at University of California traveled around the world to study how humans express emotions, he found seven basic emotions that we display. The emotions are as follows:-

• Sadness
• Surprise
• Anger
• Fear 
• Disgust
• Contempt 
• Joy  

Of course, there are more emotions than this group of seven ; for instance, "joy" is better understood as a cluster concept considering of several positive emotions, rather than a single specific one. But the emotions that aren't on the list can be expressed in different ways , or triggered by different things, depending on the culture and place we live in. For our present purposes , however, these seven emotions will suffice. 

Ekman performed a systematic analysis of how we look when we're experiencing different emotions and what our facial expressions portray. in my manuscript I have used Ekman's model to give a clearer idea of how to study and understand emotions of others by the help of facial expressions. 

MAIN CATEGORIES OF SUBTLE FACIAL EXPRESSIONS ARE AS FOLLOWS:-

1. Slight Expressions:- The whole expression is displayed, but with low intensity.

2. Partial Expressions:- Only part of the expressions is displayed (the eyebrows, for example).

3. Micro expressions:- The whole expression is displayed with intensity, but only for an extremely brief moment. 

Each of the following seven emotions will be presented with a picture of a complete facial expression in which the emotion is expressed as purely as possible.

1) SURPRISE 

 

Out of all the emotions we feel, Surprise is the emotion we feel for the shortest time. Since surprise occurs when we're not prepared for it, we basically can never hide it, even if we wanted to. When we get surprised we scrunch up our face and curl up to protect ourselves. When we're surprised, our face open as much as they can. Surprise affects three areas in the face in a distinctive way as follows:-

• Eyebrows and forehead
• Eyes
• Mouth.

    When surprised our eyebrows are arched up high. The skin under the eyebrows will show more , horizontal wrinkles will appear on the forehead of anybody who is isn't rather young. People who already have those wrinkles when relaxed will have more deeper and distinctive wrinkles. 

As you see in the picture , the eyes are open wide. The upper eyelids are raised, but the lower ones are relaxed. The whites of the eyes, above the iris (the colored membrane that surrounds the pupil) will be visible in many people.  The wide-open eyes are often displayed along with  either raised eyebrows or an open mouth or both, but they can also occur in isolation. Then they are component of very short-lived expression, one increasing interest, the kind of thing that makes us say "WOW!".

    When we first become surprised, our jaw literally drops and our mouth opens. It depends on the intensity and strength of emotion, the extend to which our mouth opens. Eyes and eyebrows always look more or less same, but the more open somebody's mouth is, the greater the surprise is. 

    When we want to hide our feelings, we often feign surprise. But real surprise lasts for such a short period of time , one can't really use to cover anything up. 

2)SADNESS

Sadness or sorrow is one of the long-lasting emotions. In its most extreme form, the only sign of sadness can be referred to lack of muscle tension in face. But commonly there will be a reaction in the brow and forehead. The inner parts of the eyebrows are contracted and raised mostly. If the reader could note that the whole eyebrow is not pulled up, just the inner end. If the sadness is intense, the lower eyelids will also be affected and tense up. The corners of a sad mouth will point down, and the lower lip might be protrude. Wrinkles can appear in the skin of the chin. The difference is that we feel dislike or contempt, our upper  lip is raised. If someone who isn't sad and is pretending  to be, they might show it in lower regions of face, particularly mouth, and by looking down. The lack of any signs of sadness in the eyes , eyebrows and forehead are a sound base to interpret that it is false emotion (Unless you're dealing with one of those rare people who don't use that part of face to express sorrow ). To have more clarity that whether it's a genuine expression, one can start by looking for triangular shape in the upper eyelids. At the same time if someone is feeling sad but trying to conceal it, they will generally concentrate letting their mouth give an indication. The triangular eye and eyebrows, will still be there for you to recognize.   

3) ANGER

In general the most common reason we get angry is due to certain reason surrounding because something or somebody is stopping us from doing what we want  to do or when there's somebody in our way. One might get angrier if the obstacle is meant for us personally. One gets frustrated when things don't work the way they should, which is actually just another case of things getting in our way. Taking action when you're angry is almost and always a foolish thing to do. When an individual is angry , everything is interpreted and perceived through that anger. If at times, one is exposed to threat, anger can help, too, since it limits fear, and fear can stop you cold. Getting angry will make you deal with threat instead. Apart from other expressions, anger requires a change in all three facial areas 

When an individual gets angry, their eyebrows contract and are lowered. Lines can appear  between the eyebrows, but forehead wont wrinkle. If somebody does this while you're speaking to, and you haven't just introduced a difficult problem to that person, it's a sign you need to explain yourself more clearly. It's an obvious fact that the other individual going through anger, starting to get angry, or annoyed has to concentrate hard to follow what you're saying. Darwin called the muscle responsible for this contraction  the "muscle of difficulty." 

When we're angry, the eyelids tense up and the eyes become set in a piercing stare. The lower lid could be more or less raised, depending on how you are. There are also two kinds of angry mouths. The closed one, with the lips pressed together, mostly conveys physical attacks or even one is trying to hold something back one really wants to say. Then there is open mouth, which is used (often loudly) for letting everybody know how angry you are. Though the closed tight mouth is one of the first signs to appear when somebody begins to get angry. One can easily see the whole jaw section tense up. 

4) FEAR

  

Fear is an emotion which is triggered by a danger of harm, physical or emotional. When humans are going through fear their eyebrows are raised but stay straight. So, as with surprise, the eyebrows are raised but also contracted, which makes the inside corners come closer together in surprise. They aren't as raised as with surprise, either. Wrinkles appear in the forehead,. If the eyebrows display without other facial signals, they signify concern and controlled fear. The eyes are open and tense. Just as with surprise, the upper lids are raised, the whites of the eyes are visible , but in the scenario of fear, the lower lids are tensed up , instead of being opened, and can cover up the portion of iris. 

5)DISGUST

 

  Disgust is an extremely powerful emotion. Disgust,  or revulsion, characteristically involves being repelled by something, like the taste of something one wants to spit out. It is  a natural response to make us get away from the object of disgust. The picture above shows disgust by wrinkling of the nose  and raised upper lip. The stronger the disgust is, the more wrinkles will appear. The cheeks will be raised , too, which pushes the lower eyelids up and makes the eyes narrow. This will in turn cause lines and folds under the eyes.

6) CONTEMPT 

        

Contempt is an emotion displayed in the face with a tightened and raised corner of the mouth. As a result there is a crooked smile. It can also be raised upper lip on one side of the mouth, kind of like half disgust. As a result of contempt the expression is often followed by a rush of air through the nose, a bit like a snort. The eyes tend to turn downward- one- one literally look down upon the person when feeling that. It's particularly important to understand the emotion of contempt  in intimate relationships. When subtle signs of contempt are displayed by the dominant relationships, the other party will feel steamrolled, convinced that couple's problems can't be resolved. It is important to note that this wasn't the case with subtle expressions of anger and disgust; it was specific to contempt. 

7)JOY   

There are many different positive emotions, just as there are a variety of negative ones. Happiness and joy  will have to do for now.

There are an obvious differences between a natural and fake smile. In a real smile, two important muscles come under use ; zygomaticus major, which raises the corner of the mouth and  orbicularis oculi, which tenses the area around the eyes. In a real smile, the eyebrows are also lowered a little, but nobody who is simulating a smile consciously lower their eyebrow. Some analysis suggests that happily married couples smile and use their eye muscles, while unhappily married couples don't use the. 

The fake smile can be spotted. The only clue will be the eyebrows and skin under it, which are lowered by the outer eye muscle is a genuine smile.   

Face is the index of mind. By understanding and educating yourself about these emotions one should start and try to adapt  to somebody else's way of communication. Head out into the world and practice reading the non-verbal cues displayed! 

REFERNCES

[PDF] The Art of Reading Minds - Henrik Fexeus - Free Download PDF (tuxdoc.com)

Universal Emotions | What are Emotions? | Paul Ekman Group.