Interview

To prepare for my experiment. I asked several people for advice. I asked my chemistry teacher Dr. Tegg-Schuering for suggestions on the structure of my experiment plan. My supervisor Ms. Siviero advised that I should use present two different theories first before starting my experiment. I want the specifically thank Dr. Annette for agreeing to have an interview with her. The following is the questions I asked and the notes I took during the interview. 

Questions 

Q1: What made you get interested in facial expressions? Why did you decide to focus on the face?
Q2: What’s the most obvious difference between Macro and Micro facial expressions? In what conditions would they appear on the face?
Q3: What do you think is the first step of learning and understanding facial expressions?
Q4: Have you conducted any experiments to prove the relationship between emotions and facial expressions?
Q5: Do you believe that facial expressions are universal?
Q6: Do you agree with the seven universal emotion signals: anger, fear, sadness, disgust, contempt, surprise and happiness?
Q7: Do you know the TV series Lie To Me? Do you think the ability Dr. Lightman has is practical in real life?
Q8: Are you able to detect concealed emotions through facial expressions? If so, how has it changed your life?
Q9: Can you please list five books or other resources that influenced your thinking on facial expressions?
Q10: What do you think is the main improvements or questions of facial expressions psychologists need to focus on in the future?

Notes 

Advises

1.      The perspective that you are focusing on

i.               Neuroscience [which components of the brain is getting activated]

ii.              Psychology

iii.            Sociologist

2.      Counter Balancing: choose an valid reference/ tool

3.      Avoiding bias, because the data may be inaccurate according to the perspective your having

a)        Ex. I can’t switch the video clips, because I will be expecting an emotion to be provoked.

b)        Someone who plays the videos or recognizes the expressions

4.      The clarity of the research question. A clear research questions would be easier to carry out the experiment

Future focuses on the facial expressions

1.      Criminology

2.      Computers/technology detecting facial expressions

3.      Range and intensity changing over time

4.      How social media changes facial expressions.

chapter 9 review: Sadness

Chapter 9 review: sadness

-         People are often sad because of losses. There is no physical pain from sadness; instead people suffer from loss, disappointment or hopelessness.

-         Sadness is a passive feeling

-         There are differences between distress and sadness

i.                Distress is usually caused by physical pain

ii.              Sadness usually follows distress, but they are still two separate emotions

iii.             Distress involves audible reactions, such as crying, whereas sadness is a more controlled and no active elements are visible

iv.             Usually sadness is more acceptable than distress for the person attempting to comfort. However, it doesn’t mean that sadness is better than distress for the person experiencing it.

v.              Distress is more obvious in appearance, thus more easier to ‘read’

-         The intensity of sadness

i.                   Mild sadness: being “blue” or gloomy

ii.                 Extreme sadness: mourning

iii.         Less intense sadness varies by the less apparent facial areas

-         Blending of sadness

i.                   Sadness most often blends with anger and fear

sadness (brows/forehead and eyes/upper eyelids) + disgust (mouth and lower eyelids) "Unmasking the Face, Paul Ekman, p.125" 

sadness(brows/eyes) + anger (mouth) 

"Unmasking the Face, Paul Ekman, p.124" 

sadness(brow/eyelids) + fear (mouth) 

"Unmasking the Face, Paul Ekman, p.122" 

-         Facial expression of sadness

i.                   The inner corners of the eyebrows are drawn up

ii.                 The Skin below the eyebrow is triangulated, with the inner corner up

iii.                The upper eyelid inner corner is raised

iv.                The corners of the lips are down or the lip is trembling (Unmasking the Face, Paul Ekman, p.126) 

Facial expression of sadness (Unmasking the Face, Paul Ekman, p.127) 

chapter 8 review: happiness

Chapter 8 review: Happiness

-Happiness is a positive emotion (fear, anger, disgust, and sadness are negative emotions. However surprise can be a negative or a positive emotion)

-Difference between happiness and pain

              i Pleasure is only a physical sensation, which opposes to the sensation of pain.

-Difference between happiness and excitement

              i Excitement can be considered as a different emotion

              ii The opposite of excitement is boredom

-Three types of happiness

              i When pain stops

              ii Relief happiness (pleasure-happiness or excitement-happiness)

              iii Self-concept. (something happens enhancing your view of yourself)

-Intensity of happiness

              Mild happy: smile or a broad grin

              Ecstasy or joy: laughter with tears (comes with particular experiences, such as certain jokes)

              Smile however, often occurs when someone is not happy, when they are trying to mask their real emotions

              The intensity of happiness is primarily determined by the position of the lips

intensity of happiness: the position of lips "Unmasking the face, Paul Ekman, p104" 

contempt (mouth)+happiness(lower eyelid and cheeks)

"Unmasking the Face, Paul Ekman, p.109"

surprise (brows/forehead and eyes) +happiness (lower face including lower eyelid)

"Unmasking the Face, Paul Ekman, p.108"

Fear (eyes and brow/forehead) + happiness

"Unmasking the Face, Paul Ekman, p.111" 

Anger+happiness 

"Unmasking the Face, Paul Ekman, p.110"

Facial expression of happiness

     "  -Corners of lips are drawn back and up

       -The mouth may or may not be parted, with teeth exposed or not

       -A wrinkle runs down from the nose to the outer edge beyond the lip corners

       -The cheeks are raised

       -The lower eyelid shows wrinkles below it, and may be raised but not tense." (Unmasking the Face, Paul Ekman, p.112) 

"Unmasking the Face, Paul Ekman, p.112"