6. 21 EXPRESSIONS OF EMOTION: 6 basic + 15 compound expressions

6. 21 EXPRESSIONS OF EMOTION - 

PNAS PUBLICATION

COMPOUND EMOTIONS

APPALL - HATE - AWE

 

A thrill! we test all 21 facial expressions of emotion and put them in the order and with names derived from the PNAS publication research. The neutral expression is reference. The design of the emotion-masks base themselves on these 21 expressions of emotion in the face. We use the technique of FACS and AUs for the design of archetypal masks.

 

21 expressions of emotion + 1 neutral. The 22nd expression is the neutral expression and given for reference

In 2017 and 2018, 12 actors and me did tests based on the data of the PNAS publication by Shichuan Du, Yong Tao, and Aleix M. Martinez. Above you find 1 series showing Stephanie Kersbergen, one of the participants in our research, of those 21 expressions of emotion. The PNAS article gives also a full overview.

THE PNAS PUBLICATION

The PNAS publication by Shichuan Du et al. shows that, aside from the 6 basic emotions, there are 15 compound emotions in between them, each with a typical facial expression. This brings the total up to 21. A compound expression of emotion consist out of 2 basic expressions of emotions or more. One of those compound emotions is happy-surprised. There is a gradual transition from happy to surprised.

The chosen expression of happy-surprised is just one point in that continuum. Test subjects are asked to imagine a certain emotion and express it. Pictures of this are interpreted and muscle activity was measured. The software application is described in the PNAS publication. Compound emotions appear to generally express two emotions at once. However, when those two basic emotions show conflicting muscle activity, they cancel each other out. This is why the emotion ‘happy’ cannot be combined with ‘sadness’. After all, it is impossible to both pull the corners of the mouth up and down at the same time for a fixed expression. Happily angry and happily fearful are therefore also left out. It is remarkable that three emotions can be found between disgusted and angry: disgusted-angry, hating, and appalled.

Over two hundred American test subjects – of different races, mostly students at the university – participate in the research. After they  practice the expression of emotion in front of a mirror, they are photographed while they visualize a situation that evoke the requested emotion. For example, when they are asked to express happily surprised they imagine suddenly getting great news. Over 5,000 photographs are taken this way, all of which are analyzed by computer programs. The eyebrows, the shape of the eyes and the location of the pupils, the shape of the nose, mouth and chin are automatically detected. When an AU (Action Unit) feature is shown in more than 70% of test subjects showing a particular emotion, this is categorized as typical for that expression of emotion. In case less than 70% but more that 20% of the subjects show the AU, the occurring percentage is still stated. Less than 20% occurrences were left out. These numbers may seem limited, but in scientific research 70% ‘matches’ are convincing. The analysis result in a list that shows which AU (muscle contraction in the face) is part of which expression of emotion. The masks serie 1, 2 and 3 were exlusively based on the information in the list but are double checked in our own study with help of literature, anatomical atlas and live tests. It results in slight changes with the results from the PNAS study.

 

COMPOUND EMOTIONS

15 compound facial expressions of emotion are shown below: the result of combining the AUs of two basic emotions make up the compound emotion.The AUs of the basic emotions are combined to produce the compound expression of emotion. The AUs marked in blue produce the compound expression, the AUs marked in black don't fit in the compound expression. Showing these compound emotions excludes certain AUs that do not fit into it. The AUs in red with red asterix are new AUs in the compound emotion expressions which are not detected in the primary basic expressions.

This makes it harder to recognize the underlying emotions in the expression.