Micro Expressions

This discovery of non-verbal human tells is from Dr. Paul Eckman. It was upon his research the show Lie to Me was based.

The concept is that while we may be feeling a base emotion, we may be simultaneously masking that emoiton. Think of the powerful influence of manners, or just being nice. Eckman asserts, though, that true emotions can punch through the patina of being nice, or stoic, or feigning interest. These flashes of truth are called micro expressions because they often happen in one thirtieth of a second.

Unlike language used to express emotions, micro expressions are universal regardless the culture. In fact, Eckman's research discovered that primates and other mammals have universal signals for emotion. For humans these emotions are identified as happiness, sadness, fear, anger, surprise disgust and contempt.

Take a look at these expressions from some of my interns:

See if you can identify them.

Chances are you went...

Happy

Sad

Surprise

Disgust

Anger

Contempt

...and you did so based on your inherent ability to identify these emotions. Most of us can. It's when these fly by you at less than half a second when this gets difficult to identify.

What can help is establishing a baseline, or a neutral, like these:

While it's tough to be completely void of emotion, like some of these students, the neutral expression is a reference for the observer to use in identifying other micro expression.

In threat assessment, of all these micro expressions, the one to be most concerned with is not anger,

...it's not disgust,

...it's this one, contempt.

Of all the micro expressions this is the only asymmetrical display. It's defining characteristic - the curled lip raised to one side, the eyes vacant in expression.

Contempt is an evacuation of conscience. When one is evaluated in contempt, their value ceases. When one is contemptuous they're above the obligation of morality, superior to their subject, perpetuated by thoughts that do not consider their subject's value. Contempt can breed vengeance, an escalated emotion common to threatening behavior.