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See What You’ve Been Missing! Q & A

There is a growing interest in the fields of nonverbal communication and emotion recognition, specifically microexpressions.

People interested in the  field of deception detection and facial expressions of emotion as well as nonverbal communication skills and are asking how do I apply these types of techniques in the real world?  What types of professions is this applicable for?

Well, Psychology Today has answered that call with a review of a new book Nonverbal Communication:  Science and Applications written by Humintell’s Dr. David Matsumoto and Dr. Hyi Sung Hwang as well as SUNY Buffalo’s Dr. Mark Frank.

The article goes on to write that the new book blends nonverbal communication research with how professionals have used this knowledge to excel in their profession.  This includes law, negotiation, medical, marketing and many more…

It includes research chapters with ample citations that are complimented later on in the book with chapters on personal reflections of professionals that can be applied to the reader regardless of their profession.

 Jeff Thompson, author of the article interviewed Dr. Matsumoto:

Q:  To start things off, why did you, along with Mark Frank and Hyi Sung Hwang, write this book?

A:  [DM] We created this book because there was a gap in the available books. Many are for scientists that don’t really translate how the scientific work can be translated into practice. Others are by practitioners, with sometimes little or no nod to the science, and in some cases discussing NVBs that have not been validated. We wrote this book so that scientists could appreciate the practical use of research, and practitioners could appreciate the science behind validated NVB indicators.

Q:  You explain the functions of nonverbal communication as it being able to 1) define communication, 2) regulate verbal communication, and 3) be the message itself.  Can you explain what these mean?

A:  [DM] As stated in Chapter 1, NVC serves to provide a context for communication, sometimes commenting on words. A quick smile, for instance, when discussing the disappearance of one’s children, provides additional info that defines the communication. Our voices, faces, and head gestures regulate turn-taking in conversations. And these all occur without words sometime, and thus the NVB becomes the main message themselves.

Q:  What are some common misconceptions about nonverbal communication?

A: [DM] The big misconception about NVB and deception is that averting one’s gaze or fidgeting is associated with lying. This belief is held across cultures. Studies have tested this hypothesis, and most do not support it. It is a myth. 

To read more from Dr. Matsumoto’s interview click here.

Mood Matters: Marketing to Our Basic Emotions

We all know that our frame of mind, or mood if you prefer, greatly influences our behavior.  What is one of the best indicators to how we feel? Our facial expressions.

Marketing departments are now able to capitalize on that more than ever due to the fast pace and growth of technology.

Human’s basic emotions regulate the things we do, what we buy and even what we are willing to tolerate (e.g. pay rate, product prices etc).

CNET/Reviews comments on the future of marketing and car building.   Toyota is beginning production on a mood facial recognition tracking system that they will place in the dashboard of their vehicles. This system will customize the electronics of the vehicle to the drivers specifications. 

What does this mean on the practical applications side of this technology?

Well, if your car thinks you might be angry or sad, the system will increase the alert time it gives you.  Thus giving you more time to react to a possible collision.

The possible down side to this, is simply that Big Brother is watching.  The technology could be integrated with other vehicle electronics systems to block phone calls or limit speed if it senses that the driver is under stress.

The question for consumers and the public in general is,  is safety more important than freedom?  Also, how much safety is really necessary before our freedom is compromised?

Toyota is not the only car maker capitalizing on such technology. Audi has a similar type of system in the works.  Other industries are also implementing emotion recognition in an effort to improve their products and marketing.

Samsung has recently applied for an emotional recognition patent.

According to Phys.org the South Korean conglomerate’s patent is on a device that will be able to tell a users emotions based on their facial expressions or action units (AUS).   AUS ‘are components of a facial action coding system which was specially programmed to reference the contractions of facial muscles.

Facial Expressions of Emotion: MythBuster Style

 This blog is perfect for the novice new to our products & blog as well as a great refresher for our loyal blog readers!  Click on all of the links to find out info or refresh your knowledge on research and micro facial expressions.

A recent MythBuster episode focused on the 7 basic facial expressions of emotion by revealing only the eyes and had a battle between the sexes.

Science has proven that there are 7 basic emotions that are universal across all people of all cultures.

They are: Anger, Contempt, Fear, Sadness, Surprise, Disgust, and Happiness

Research has documented that all people – regardless of race, culture, ethnicity, age, gender or religion – express these emotions in the face in exactly the same ways.

When reading body language, knowing how to detect micro facial expressions is very beneficial especially when trying to delineate the veracity of a person’s words in combination with their body language.

How does one delineate between these basic facial expressions of emotion?

There are a few things to take into account and if you are very well versed in detecting facial expressions, especially micro facial expressions, and then you can detect all of these at once or individually:

eyebrow movement
lip/ jaw pursing/tightening
eye lid movement (lifted up or down)
bridge of the nose movement

Many professionals use the FACS coding system to determine the specific muscles that are moving with each facial expression of emotion. The system has corresponding AUs (action units) to label each muscle that moves, along with it’s intensity.

The short MythBusters video below shows how difficult it can be to determine what facial expression delineates what emotion especially when viewing ONLY the eyes.

The task becomes even more difficult when these expressions are flashing on and off the face in fractions of a second such as in real world interactions.

Perhaps the participants in the show would have done better if they had taken our microexpression or subtle expression training…