concluding remarks
Facial expressions are complex. They are such a part of our everyday life that it almost makes it harder for us to observe and discuss them from an objective standpoint. Like in many other difficult areas of study, researchers who have explored the concept of facial expression have proposed multitudes of different ideas about their origins, nature, and functions. Each scientist chooses to emphasize a certain aspect of facial expressions, but it is important to take a step back and to try to synthesize all of the convincing points that these researchers have made throughout the years. This type of synthesis can possibly help answer some of the questions that this website was created to try to answer.
Concerning the evolution of facial expressions, it seems most likely that the capacity for facial expression evolved in humans for similar reasons that the capacity for speech evolved. Communication aids survival and reproduction, and facial expressions serve to promote interpersonal communication. This conclusion implies that humans did not evolve the capacity to produce facial expressions solely for the purpose of revealing their emotions, although emotions could be part of the messages communicated facially. Therefore, this idea suggests that facial expressions do not necessarily correspond perfectly with certain specific inner dispositions. However, facial communications can reflect internal feelings or other physiological processes. (It's just that they don't always do this.) There has been a large amount of research conducted that has shown that there is a very strong correlation between our human biology and the ability to make facial expressions. However, this correspondence does not imply that every person everywhere expresses himself or herself using the exact same facial expressions to mean the exact same thing. Different cultures have different systems that sometimes cause facial patterns to be somewhat different from those of people from other cultures. The examples of the insights into Russian and Japanese cultures help shed light on this fact. Although in comparing both cultures with Western culture most of the data revealed strong similarities, there were certain distinctions in all of these cultures that makes their use of facial expression slightly different from the others.
At the risk of sounding overly enthused about the study of facial expressions, I think that learning about facial movements in this way can be a very valuable undertaking for the enrichment of one's life. Practically, understanding how different cultures interpret and make facial expressions in different situations can be useful for interactions with people of another culture. Even within one's own culture, understanding the implications of facial expressions in a social setting can be an extremely valuable piece of knowledge for one's personal life. But even beyond practicality, exploring these ideas of facial expressions can really make someone realize how rich our human life is. Thinking about the complexities of facial expressions can bring about amazement at how astonishing and influential every little detail of our human lives are. Recognizing that one tiny smile is the result of so many different phylogenetic and cultural and individual factors really sheds light on how complex and awe-inspiring all aspects of our human biology and of all different types of human culture really are.
Concerning the evolution of facial expressions, it seems most likely that the capacity for facial expression evolved in humans for similar reasons that the capacity for speech evolved. Communication aids survival and reproduction, and facial expressions serve to promote interpersonal communication. This conclusion implies that humans did not evolve the capacity to produce facial expressions solely for the purpose of revealing their emotions, although emotions could be part of the messages communicated facially. Therefore, this idea suggests that facial expressions do not necessarily correspond perfectly with certain specific inner dispositions. However, facial communications can reflect internal feelings or other physiological processes. (It's just that they don't always do this.) There has been a large amount of research conducted that has shown that there is a very strong correlation between our human biology and the ability to make facial expressions. However, this correspondence does not imply that every person everywhere expresses himself or herself using the exact same facial expressions to mean the exact same thing. Different cultures have different systems that sometimes cause facial patterns to be somewhat different from those of people from other cultures. The examples of the insights into Russian and Japanese cultures help shed light on this fact. Although in comparing both cultures with Western culture most of the data revealed strong similarities, there were certain distinctions in all of these cultures that makes their use of facial expression slightly different from the others.
At the risk of sounding overly enthused about the study of facial expressions, I think that learning about facial movements in this way can be a very valuable undertaking for the enrichment of one's life. Practically, understanding how different cultures interpret and make facial expressions in different situations can be useful for interactions with people of another culture. Even within one's own culture, understanding the implications of facial expressions in a social setting can be an extremely valuable piece of knowledge for one's personal life. But even beyond practicality, exploring these ideas of facial expressions can really make someone realize how rich our human life is. Thinking about the complexities of facial expressions can bring about amazement at how astonishing and influential every little detail of our human lives are. Recognizing that one tiny smile is the result of so many different phylogenetic and cultural and individual factors really sheds light on how complex and awe-inspiring all aspects of our human biology and of all different types of human culture really are.
references
Bryner, Jeanna. "Julia Roberts was Born with a Beautiful Smile: Study Finds Facial Expressions are Genetic--Not Learned." www.msnbc.msn.com, 29 Dec 2008. Web. 19 Apr 2010.
Eibl-Eibesfeldt, Irenaus. Human Ethology. New York: Aldine de Gruyter, 1989.
Ekman, Paul. Darwin and Facial Expression. New York: Academic Press, 1973.
Fridlund, Alan J. The new ethology of human facial expressions. Russell, James A. and Fernandez-Dols, Jose Miguel. 1st ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997. 103-129.
Mandler, George. What does facial expression mean? Foreward. Russell, James A. and Fernandez-Dols, Jose Miguel. 1st ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997. 205-226. Print.
Matsumoto, David and Paul Ekman. "American-Japanese cultural differences in intensity ratings of facial expressions of emotion." Motivation and Emotion Vol 13. Number 2 (1989): 143-157. SpringerLink. Web. 19 Apr 2010.
Matsumoto, David, and Bob Willingham. “Spontaneous Facial Expressions of Emotion of Congenitally and Noncongenitally Blind Individuals.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Vol 96. Issue (2009): 1-10. Print.
Messinger, Daniel S.; Fogel, Alan; Dickson, K. Laurie. A Dynamic Systems Approach to Infant Facial Action. The Psychology of Facial Expression. Russell, James A. and Fernandez-Dols, Jose Miguel. 1st ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997. 205-226. Print.
Russell, James A. and Jose Miguel Fernandez-Dols. What does facial expression mean? The Psychology of Facial Expression. Russell, James A. and Fernandez-Dols, Jose Miguel. 1st ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997. 205-226. Print.
Wierzbicka, Anna. Emotions Across Languages and Cultures: Diversity and Universals. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999.
Photos:
Home Page--personal photos
Evolution Page--Left: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/09/images/080917-neanderthal-photo_big.jpg
Right: http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/photos/uncategorized/2009/02/12/neanderthal_660px.pg
Biology Page-- New Guinean man: http://www.jaschahoffman.com/ekmanLight.jpg
Defeated athletes: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28423638
Duchenne smile: http://brokenspines.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/27morris_ekman.jpg
Culture Page--Mother and baby: http://thumbs.dreamstime.com/thumb_322/1224039811Es9PY9.jpg
world leaders smiling: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/08/BRIC_leaders_in_2008.jpg
Case Studies--Russian Man: http://emilyaxford.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/russian-man-january-11.jpg
Japanese models: http://le4theflea.files.wordpress.com/2007/10/osaka-gakuen.png
Eibl-Eibesfeldt, Irenaus. Human Ethology. New York: Aldine de Gruyter, 1989.
Ekman, Paul. Darwin and Facial Expression. New York: Academic Press, 1973.
Fridlund, Alan J. The new ethology of human facial expressions. Russell, James A. and Fernandez-Dols, Jose Miguel. 1st ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997. 103-129.
Mandler, George. What does facial expression mean? Foreward. Russell, James A. and Fernandez-Dols, Jose Miguel. 1st ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997. 205-226. Print.
Matsumoto, David and Paul Ekman. "American-Japanese cultural differences in intensity ratings of facial expressions of emotion." Motivation and Emotion Vol 13. Number 2 (1989): 143-157. SpringerLink. Web. 19 Apr 2010.
Matsumoto, David, and Bob Willingham. “Spontaneous Facial Expressions of Emotion of Congenitally and Noncongenitally Blind Individuals.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Vol 96. Issue (2009): 1-10. Print.
Messinger, Daniel S.; Fogel, Alan; Dickson, K. Laurie. A Dynamic Systems Approach to Infant Facial Action. The Psychology of Facial Expression. Russell, James A. and Fernandez-Dols, Jose Miguel. 1st ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997. 205-226. Print.
Russell, James A. and Jose Miguel Fernandez-Dols. What does facial expression mean? The Psychology of Facial Expression. Russell, James A. and Fernandez-Dols, Jose Miguel. 1st ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997. 205-226. Print.
Wierzbicka, Anna. Emotions Across Languages and Cultures: Diversity and Universals. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999.
Photos:
Home Page--personal photos
Evolution Page--Left: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/09/images/080917-neanderthal-photo_big.jpg
Right: http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/photos/uncategorized/2009/02/12/neanderthal_660px.pg
Biology Page-- New Guinean man: http://www.jaschahoffman.com/ekmanLight.jpg
Defeated athletes: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28423638
Duchenne smile: http://brokenspines.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/27morris_ekman.jpg
Culture Page--Mother and baby: http://thumbs.dreamstime.com/thumb_322/1224039811Es9PY9.jpg
world leaders smiling: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/08/BRIC_leaders_in_2008.jpg
Case Studies--Russian Man: http://emilyaxford.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/russian-man-january-11.jpg
Japanese models: http://le4theflea.files.wordpress.com/2007/10/osaka-gakuen.png
