Micro Expressions

V.V.Varadhan 20080317 S.Shreyas 20080300

Facial expressions

Facial expression results from one or more motions or positions of the muscles of the face. These movements convey the emotional state of the individual to observers. Facial expressions are a form of nonverbal communication. They are a primary means of conveying social information among humans, but also occur in most other mammals and some other animal species. Facial expressions and their significance in the perceiver can, to some extent, vary between cultures.

Micro-expression

A microexpression is a brief, involuntary facial expression shown on the face of humans according to emotions experienced. They usually occur in high-stakes situations, where people have something to lose or gain. Unlike regular facial expressions, it is difficult to fake microexpressions. Microexpressions express the seven universal emotions: disgust, anger, fear, sadness, happiness, surprise, and contempt

They can occur as fast as 1/15 t o 1/25 of a second.

Microexpressions were first discovered by Haggard and Isaacs. In their 1966 study, Haggard and Isaacs outlined how they discovered these "micromomentary" expressions while "scanning motion picture films of psychotherapy hours, searching for indications of non-verbal communication between therapist and patient" .This reprint edition of Ekman and Friesen's breakthrough research on the facial expression of emotion uses scores of photographs showing emotions of surprise, fear, disgust, contempt, anger, happiness, and sadness.

How to catch a liar?

Wizards Project

Most people do not seem to perceive microexpressions in themselves or others. In the Wizards Project the ability of people to detect deception was studied. Of the thousands of people tested, only a select few were able to accurately detect when someone was lying. The Wizards Project researchers named these people "Truth Wizards". To date, the Wizards Project has identified just over 50 people with this ability after testing nearly 20,000 people. Truth Wizards use microexpressions, among many other cues, to determine if someone is being truthful. Scientists hope by studying wizards that they can further advance the techniques used to identify deception.

Reading microexpressions

 Since

many facial expressions and the emotions they represent are common to the entire human species, our brains are wired to search for and interpret these facial cues. Likewise, when we feel something on an emotional level, our faces have a peculiar habit of exhibiting an expression that matches the way we feel, sometimes without our knowledge or without the desire to put our emotions on display across our faces.

Micro expression - Detection

Happines s

Ange r

Disgu st

Sadnes s

Cont em pt

Fea r

Even when we're consciously unaware of detecting a microexpression, it still influences our brain activity and alters our perception of the expressions we do consciously see on another's face. So, if you see a "happy" expression plain as day on someone's face and there were no microexpressions preceding it, you'll identify it as happy. But if the "happy" expression is preceded by a sneering microexpression that you aren't even conscious of detecting, you'll be more likely to describe that same "happy" face as "cunning" or "untrustworthy." This may go a long way in explaining that uneasy feeling that leads you to walk away from someone thinking, "I don't know what it is, but there's just something about that person "

References
Wikipedia Google Lie

To Me (TV series)

Thank You