STUDY BEGUN

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 140, 10 December 1931, Page 26

STUDY BEGUN

FACIAL EXPRESSION

MIRRORING EMOTIONS

SURPRISING FACTS

Becently there has been a distinct ieyiyal of interest in the study of the facial expressions of man. While iFrench writers have continued their study of physiognomy, American scholars have made considerable progress in the experimental investigations of the human face, writes Christian Euekmick in the "New York Times." Almost- two detades ago the first set of portraits of the human face expressing various emotions was published by Miss Feleky of Columbia University. The writer was responsible for the next set of photographs depicting thirty-five emotional expressions. Dr. Landis has produced a set of pictures obtained from facial expression under actual emotional etimuation. ....... But the most complete set of portraits available for purposes of analytical study was called to the attention of .the American public by Dr. Xiangfeld, now director of the Princeton laboratory. In this collection a German dramatic artist has- prepared a large folio containing 680 portrait drawings showing an enormous variety of emotional expressions. There have also been constructed, largely for demonstrational purposes, two models of facial expression, one of them by Drs. P. Boring and Titchener giving a profile view, and the other made by Dr. Guilford affording a full front view of the human face. In both of these models the expressions of the forehead, eyes, nose, and mouth may be varied by means of interchangeable parts. These; models can also be used for experimental re-: search.' EMOTIONAL PRINCIPLES. ■When we observe the emotional ex,-, pressicras of the human adult face certain fundamental principles must. be taken into account. These were enunciated for the first time by Darwin from the biological point of view and later amplified by Wundt,_ an eminent German psychologist. Ciyi'V sation has done much, of course, to inhibit and modify what may be. termed natural facial and bodily movements. But the racial background is. atill so strong and emotions embody so much of racial history that the inherited tendencies cannot be left out of account. The human animal has emerged from a long line of'ancestors who have lived under very primitive conditions. There are two principal factors which enter this picture. The lower animals, as Darwin so well pointed out, live in an environment that is full of hazards, the principal one being the difficulty of survival :arnong other animals who are also fighting for their existence, the second factor, having to do with the selection of food. With these two. sets of conditions lave' come the first: of Darwin's three principles of facial ■•• and '■ bodily expression known as that of. serviceably associated habits. In'other words,' in spite of social inhibitions, there are still present in our expressions certain reactions that were useful in our ancestors under more trying conditions of life.

To give a few concrete examples: [When we are suddenly surprised, and especially -when we are frightened, let us say, by some sudden movement in the woods -while we are alone, wo have not only a tendency to stand still in our

tracks, but to shrink, together, as it wore. We contract our shoulders and have a tendency to cover up the front of our bodies, even to the extent of assuming a slightly crouching "attitude.' This has been' explained on the basis of the protection thus afforded to the front, side o£ our bodies, which is less protected by' bones and muscles and thus more easily exposed to attack, especially in the erect position. DISDAIN. Something similar can .also be rioted in the expression of superior disdain, for what might be celled the highhatted" look. The eyes are only partly opened, they look down as if from a height, and the mouth is opened sufficiently on ono side to ■ disclose the canine teeth. Among the lower animals these teeth.'are usually much larger and look much moro business-liko than .do ours. They are ono of the principal instruments of offence and, defence. *If was sufficient in former days to display theso canine teeth in order to indicate what was coming, to say nothing of tho actual preparation in clearing the decks for action when an attack was planned. Thus the supercilious smile or the superior grin still shows traces of those movements which were' ■formerly useful. But also often iu-the expression of extreme rage the full set of teeth are; exposed among tho lower animals and in human beings, as possible weapons of offence, and biting is still common among human children, and adults as: a form of attack. But again wo must be on our guard. Many/of the lower animals, like certain apes, open tho mouth wide in a form of expression which looks very much like laughter, when, on the contrary, they aro tremendously enraged.- But when the animal's cries are taken into account, and especially other gestures which accompany this expression of rage, no one will mistake it for one ol laughter. : . ' , "SWEET MOUTH." : vHTlie''reaction to food is beat illustrat-' fed by the pursing of- the lips forward in anticipation of sweet tastes, called by, some writers the "sweet mouth, as contrasted with the/contraction of the: lips or, the firm pressing together of the mouth in opposition to unpleasant,'"bitter tastes. This has been call-ed-the ''bitter: mouth." BotL of these expressionsfcan be seen'very plainly in connection/ with the feeding of monkeys. '■■'''. . '. ■ In" addition'to studies made of taciaJ expressions among the lower animals, including -.•'especially the work of Drs. Yerke3 and Kohler and Mrs. Kohts, there is a fertilo field for exploration •in; the facial expression of human infants: and-children. Here we find, the least-possible inhibition, from- those current social influences' which prevent full expression of our feelings'. Some one has said that in civilised society we no longer, laugh, but only smile.. .The human: infant has no such restrictions. In the square mouth of the crying infant we have a very primitive reaction, It is interesting to note what most sculptors know, that the muscles which express sorrow in producing a square mouth lie nearest to the muscles of laughter and grinning. Indeed, gome intensive work has been done by psychologists and anatomists in tracing:. out the complicated "system °f muscles which produce a great variety of motional expressions in the face. Darwin long, ago pointed out how ; some of these muscles may'bo artificially stimulated to illustrate, the natural expressions. Considerable work has .also been done on the ability of children of ■ various ages to recognise: emotional expressions of this sort. '' '■ . LAUGHTEK. Laughter >is more uniformly recognised by adults and children of early ages. Then, in turn, as the child grows older, come the expressions of pain, anger, fear, surprise, and wonder. The portrayal of scorn, however, is under-

stood by less than half of 10-year-old children. Much work needs still to bo done in this field both in the study of the expression of tho emotions at various ages of childhood and in the increasing recognition of such expressions among children from year to year. -A promising angle of exploration pertains to the study of facial expressions among primitive peoples, where we find not only less inhibition from -civilised conditions, but the effect of special taboos, like +he tendency on the part Of certain tribes of American Indians to refrain. from showing expressions of physical; pain. Here we find also that characteristic anatomical features slightly change the expression of various emotions.

This is a brief and very inadequate summary of some of the problems that face the psychologists who are interested chiefly in the investigations of facial expression. Wo have made a fair beginning and have learned our lessons from ..past endeavours. But many laboratories all over the country are going ahead in earnest to make a real contribution to the phychology of emotion without drawing any rash conclusions at this stage of the game. With the pressure from many lines of application behind us and the eager zest i'or increasing knowledge about a large sector of 'the - "mental life which is as yet comparatively unexplored, the next decade will undoubtedly show many advances of a scientific nature in this field.