We have written a great deal about recognizing basic emotions, but what about pain? Certainly, pain has many similarities with other basic emotions, given its deep evolutionary basis and the universal nature of the pain experience. However, further attention must be paid to how we recognize expressions of pain as opposed to those of other…
Read MoreOut of the Corner of Your Eye
The role of peripheral vision in emotional recognition is crucial to our perception of the world. This is the conclusion of exciting research by Dr. Fraser Smith of the University of East Anglia. Dr. Smith and his team looked at the ways in which our peripheral vision manages to capture expressions of fear, tying this…
Read MoreHow Do Universal Basic Emotions Relate to Microexpressions?
As a follower of this blog, you are probably pretty aware of universal emotions, but how do these relate to microexpressions? Some psychologists see microexpressions as undermining the case for basic emotions, but 2014 research conducted by Humintell’s Dr. David Matsumoto and Dr. Hyisung C. Hwang works to refute this misconception. By generating images showcasing…
Read MoreBasic Emotions and Cultural Differences
Despite the universal nature of many basic emotions and types of emotions, it is pretty clear that cultural differences exist, but why? It certainly would be simplistic to think that all emotional expressions are the exact same around the world, despite the existence of basic emotional expressions across cultures. In fact, a major 2015 study…
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