Humans use variations of the same facial expressions in similar social contexts, such as smiles, frowns, grimaces, and scowls. In total, humanity shares 70% of its facial expressions.
- The human face has 43 different muscles.
- The study authors associated 16 facial expressions with 16 emotions.
- This confirms Darwin’s theory that the expression of emotion on our faces is universal among humans, the researchers concluded.
No matter where we come from or what our social and economic level is, humans share 70% of facial expressions. From smiling, to frowning, to grimacing, humans all use variations of the same facial expressions in similar social contexts. This is the conclusion of a study conducted by American researchers from the University of Berkeley and presented on December 16 in the journal Nature.
The first study of everyday facial expressions
This study confirms the universality of human emotional expression across geographic and cultural boundaries. “This study reveals how remarkably similar people are in different corners of the world in how we express our emotions in the most meaningful contexts of our lives.”, continues Dacher Keltner, co-lead author of the study and professor of psychology at Berkeley University.
In collaboration with Google, the researchers used a machine learning technology known as “deep neural networkto analyze facial expressions in nearly 6 million video clips uploaded to YouTube by people from 144 countries. “This is the world’s first analysis of how facial expressions are used in everyday life, and it shows us that universal human emotional expressions are much richer and more complex than many scientists previously thought.”, estimated the study’s lead author Alan Cowen, a researcher at UC Berkeley and Google, who helped develop the deep neural network algorithm.
16 facial expressions associated with 16 emotions
The human face has 43 different muscles that can be activated around the eyes, nose, mouth, jaw, chin and eyebrows to create thousands of different expressions. Among them, the authors released 16 expressions associated with 16 emotions. They used the algorithm to track 16 facial expressions associated with amusement, anger, fear, concentration, confusion, contempt, contentment, desire, disappointment, doubt, elation, l interest, pain, sadness, surprise and triumph.
Next, the researchers correlated the facial expressions with the contexts and scenarios in which they were performed in different regions of the world. They discovered similarities in how people across geographic and cultural boundaries use facial expressions in different social contexts.
“We’ve found that rich nuances in facial behavior – including subtle expressions we associate with awe, pain, triumph and 13 other feelings – are used in similar social situations around the world.”, observed Alan Cowen. The latter noted, for example, that in music videos, people tend to watch in awe during fireworks, to be content with weddings, to frown in concentration when performing martial arts, to show from doubt at protests, from pain lifting weights and triumphing at rock concerts and competitive sporting events.
A study that confirms Darwin’s theory
The results showed that people from different cultures share about 70% of facial expressions used in response to different social and emotional situations. “This confirms Darwin’s theory that the expression of emotion on our faces is universal among humans.concluded Dacher Keltner. The physical exposure of our emotions can define who we are as a species, improve our communication and cooperation skills, and ensure our survival..”
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