Embarrassment is a powerful emotion. When we are in a social situation and feel ashamed, it’s not possible to control our reaction. After all, you can’t stop yourself from blushing, if that’s one of your responses to embarrassment. In states of embarrassment people want to hide, become invisible, or, asContinue Reading
Anxiousness is one of those emotional states we see in the face; but perhaps most of all we see it in the movements of the body. (Note: there is purposely no audio with the above video) When we become anxious we lose some control over our actions. Carrie’s hands areContinue Reading
We often see more than one emotion on the face at the same time. Watch this video to see how disbelief or irritation can be expressed through facial expressions. Beth is watching an action-packed trailer for some TV shows and she finds the voiceover unconvincing and the scenes coming at suchContinue Reading
This comic actually touches upon two things (though, I hadn’t intended to do that). My main point is the “mask” we put up, and then I realized that it also lightly touches upon taking things/expressions literally. On the shorter note, people on the spectrum have difficulties distinguishing between normal tonesContinue Reading
Gus has just been reminded of one of his favourite products and he looks down and smiles to himself, nodding approval. (Note: The silent video for “Appreciation” comes second after “Sadness”) You see the smile staying on his face as he thinks about the brand. Then he looks up andContinue Reading
Heather smiles gently as she watches the video about a celebration in Africa. To be fascinated by something means that it captures your imagination and you want to give it your full attention. Heather leans forward (always a sign of interest) towards the TV screen. She stares intently at theContinue Reading
Heather is not pleased with the TV ad she’s watching and we can tell this by the combination of two subtle signs. First, there is a slight lowering of her brow. We tend to associate this with being puzzled, but it’s also a general negative sign. When the brow isContinue Reading
In the last blog we looked at more than one emotion on the face (Disbelief/Irritation). This week one overwhelming and strong emotion is showing through: discomfort. Benjamin is watching a somewhat controversial TV ad and although he sits quite still we can see several signs which point to his discomfort.Continue Reading
The dictionary defines contempt as a feeling that someone or something is worthless. Here Patrick is talking about his experience of really poor customer service. He felt he was treated badly, and we can see he is agitated by the quick nodding and shaking of his head as he recallsContinue Reading
Carrie is more than puzzled by the question she has just been asked; she is confused. Her eyes give away her feelings of confusion in different ways. Firstly, there is a lack of focus as she looks into the middle distance trying to find an answer. Secondly, there are severalContinue Reading
How can we tell when someone is thinking hard about a question? There are some simple signs when a person’s mind is really working – when a problem holds their attention completely. It takes effort, and we often see this in movement in the mouth and the brow. Amanda isContinue Reading
We don’t go through life strongly agreeing or disagreeing with what our friends or colleagues tell us. More often we simply accept what is said. In fact among friends, in particular, simple acceptance is the normal response. (Note: there is purposely no audio with the above video) So this firstContinue Reading
