Facial Expressions of Emotion

Paper Summary:

In this paper the judgment-approach method of measurement for facial expressions of emotion (one of the most widely-used types) is analyzed, with comments on its validity (the correlation between two independently-measured tests) and reliability (concerned with the consistency of the test scores obtained). Ekman and Friesen, two pioneers in this field whose work is greatly respected, are used as a basis for this analysis, with examination of some of their studies and a look at cross-cultural differences in the facial expression of emotion. The question is posed of whether there is a difference between the experience and expression of emotion in the face and how frequently 'display rules' (which interfere with the expression of emotion in the face) cause confusion in the judgment of what emotion a person is actually experiencing.

From the Paper:

"The experience of emotion is integral to who we are as humans. Darwin (1872 in Ekman, 1973) defined emotion as essential to the welfare of group-living species. Without emotion, we would be unable to be attracted to one another, reproduce, or interact socially, amongst other things. Emotions also have distinct motivational properties (Izard, 1971). As humans, one of the primary ways in which we express emotion is through facial expressions (Ekman, 1975), acting as an indicator to others on whether a person is happy, sad, angry or any number of other things. Hence, it is an important nonverbal tool of communication between individuals. As there is no known physiologic test to measure the state of emotion in a given person, facial expressions are a useful way of determining this. The concepts of facial expression and the measurement of emotion were first seriously explored by Charles Darwin. Since Darwin, many people have investigated the measurement of emotion, via many different methods. Some have been met with more success than others. In this essay I will focus on a specific type of emotion measurement, that of investigators studying the recognition of facial expressions of emotion via the judgment approach."

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