Emotions: What are Their Functions?

function of emotions

Emotions are surely important in our lives, but it is amazing to see just how foundational they really are in how we experience the world. Humintell’s own Drs.  David Matsumoto and Hyisung Hwang put together a comprehensive book chapter exploring that very question. They emphasize the crucial role that emotions have in intrapersonal, interpersonal, and…

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Nonverbal Behavior: Who Are The Landmarks in the Field?

We spend a great deal of time talking about Humintell’s work on nonverbal behavior, but it’s important to know that this is a wide and exciting field! In a recent paper in the Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, a pair of researchers sought to map out the major authors and major papers that have dominated the…

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How to Read Microexpressions and Improve Your Observation Skills

This special blog showcases an interview recently done with Humintell’s own Dr. David Matsumoto on how to read microexpressions and improve your observational skills. The online behavior lab, Science of People, asked him to delve into the question of how we can use observational skills to determine other people’s intent and to assess the possibility…

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Nonverbal Behavior in Close Relationships

We keep talking about nonverbal behavior with strangers, but what role does it have in close interpersonal contexts? There is plenty of reason to think that this is important! We pick up on our romantic partner’s nonverbal behavior, even if we don’t realize that we are doing it. In a recent paper, a team of…

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