What the Face Reveals: Basic and Applied Studies of Spontaneous Expression Using the Facial Action Coding System

Series in Affective Science

by Paul Ekman, Erika L. Rosenberg

While we have known for centuries that facial expressions can reveal what people are thinking and feeling, it is only recently that the face has been studied scientifically for what it can tell us about internal states, social behavior, and psychopathology. Today's widely available, sophisticated measuring systems have allowed us to conduct a wealth of new research on facial behavior that has contributed enormously to our understanding of the relationship between facial expression and human psychology. The chapters in this volume present the state-of-the-art in this research. They address key topics and questions, such as the dynamic and morphological differences between voluntary and involuntary expressions, the relationship between what people show on their faces and what they say they feel, whether it is possible to use facial behavior to draw distinctions among psychiatric populations, and how far research on automating facial measurement has progressed. The book also
includes follow-up commentary on all of the original research presented and a concluding integration and critique of all the contributions made by Paul Ekman.

As an essential reference for all those working in the area of facial analysis and expression, this volume will be indispensable for a wide range of professionals and students in the fields of psychology, psychiatry, and behavioral medicine.

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction, Communication, Science, Research, Self Help, Reference

672 pages, Hardcover

First published February 12, 1998

About the author

American psychologist that pioneered the study of emotions' relationship to facial expressions.

Reviews

[Andreas Michaelides · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you want to know if someone is lying to you or deceiving you then this is the book for you, it covers the whole science behind the methodology by a man that spend a big portion of his life becoming a human lie detector.
It’s an amazing book, one I constantly consult frequently and I am sure I will never stop getting info out of it.
A must read book for anyone interested in learning how facial expressions work and not only that.
This book is a complete scientific based proven research that will expand your brain.

[Marisa Bennett]

I am not sure about this book yet. I got it because I am very good at discerning affect, and work with a lot of children, and traumatized adults. This is definitely a research textbook, and a little different than I expected. I have not gotten very far in it yet, but will definitely finish it. Then I will rate it.

[Clémence Dufresne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book cannot be read alone. To fully understand the meaning and recognize which muscle does what, you need to take the microexpression training from Paul Ekman. This book is the manual used for the training. It's hard to read, but contains so much information that can save yourself from complex situations, life or death situations, etc.

[Jovannah Bär · Rating 4 out of 5]

very detailed, but sometimes hard to read on.

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a collection of research articles based on, well, what the face reveals. I have not been interested in reading about their experiments, though they seem as well done as these kind of experiments can be (hard to control for everything, some speculation and conjecture). I'm enjoying the discussion sections at the end of the chapters. They are well thought-out and professionally written.

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very technical reading but brilliant work by Ekman!

[djreggiereg Mas Reg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would've never known about Paul Ekman if it wasn't for reading books on Darwin. This book will take me on a great path. Thanks.