​LET'S GO BACK TO OUR BOOK

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Let's talk about facial expressions​

​Facial expressions are a universal language of emotion. How well do you read other people?

​Happiness

This is a classic display of a genuine smile, called a Duchenne smile, which signals happiness.​

​Anger

​You see these muscle movements—in the lips, around the eyes, and in the brow—when people are feeling aggressive, threatened, or frustrated.

Researchers think we make this expression when we’re angry because it could protect the face in a physical conflict—for example, the furrowed eyebrows could protect the eyes.

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​Embarrassment

When people are embarrassed, they avert their gaze, which means they move their head down and to the side, exposing their neck. And the embarrassed smile is different from other smiles: The lips press together tightly, reflecting feelings of restraint or inhibition.​

Pride​

​Pride involves signs of dominance. The corners of the lips rise slightly, signaling that the person is happy. But what distinguishes this from happiness is that the head tilts back, with a slight jaw-thrust. Those are classic signs of power and dominance—they suggest that we’re feeling strong.

​Surprise

​Surprise is often confused with fear. But when we’re afraid, our lower eyelids tighten and our eyebrows look flat and tense; with surprise, our upper eyelids rise up and our eyebrows arch. Also, our jaws drop when we’re surprised, but our lip corners go sideways when we’re afraid, making the mouth look tighter.

​Flirtatiousness

​This is a coy, flirtatious smile. What conveys flirtatiousness is when someone turns his or her head away to signal ‘I’m not interested in you,’ but simultaneously makes eye contact. That’s a universal display that reflects the ambivalence of flirtation—the flirter avoids and approaches someone at the same time.

​Compassion

​When people feel sympathy or compassion, the corrugator muscles pull the eyebrows in and up, their lips press together, and their head tilts forward slightly—a sign of social engagement.

​The expression of compassion is most often confused with sadness. The eyebrow movements are similar in sadness and compassion, but with compassion the lips press together; when we feel sad, our lips pull down.

​Amusement

​The tell-tale signs of genuine amusement are the open mouth and the backwards head movement. And like a genuine smile, you can tell a genuine laugh when you see the muscles contracting around the eyes, making crow’s feet.

​Desire

Desire is signaled through the mouth, with lip bites​.

​The mouth is probably so strongly linked to desire because of the connection to kissing. People often make this facial expression when they’re interested in someone else sexually, but not necessarily romantically.

​Shame

​Shame is a very simple display but a powerful one. It simply involves gaze aversion, with the head moving down so that the chin tucks into the neck. It’s the opposite of pride: Whereas with pride our head tilts back and our chin goes up, shame often constricts our posture as a sign of submissiveness.