Mind Hacks

Hack #94. Signal Emotion

Emotions are powerful on the inside but often displayed in subtle ways on the outside. Are these displays culturally dependent or universal?

We find our emotional lives impossible to untangle from ourselves and examine critically. They’re a core part of who we are. If you could imagine it, a life without feelings would be far more alien than any Mr. Spock. Emotions prepare us for situations both physiologically and cognitively too, and emerge from multiple dedicated systems that interact below the level of consciousness. Advances in psychology and neuroscience unveil these systems, and reveal how we signal our emotional states to others and decode even subtle emotional expressions.

In Action

Take a stroll down an imaginary lane in a distant, foreign land. You’ve no knowledge of the language spoken and no idea of the local customs and practices. Before you is a fork in the road with no clear sign of which direction leads to where. Thankfully, you spy a local working the land. Hungry for information to guide you, you point to the first path. His mouth broadens until his teeth are visible. After taking this in, you point to the second.

His brow furrows as his mouth becomes small and tight. Lo and behold, despite any language and cultural barriers, you most likely have enough information to know that the first is probably a better bet.

Try it yourself. Consider the photo in Figure 10-3.

Figure 10-3. What emotion is this face signaling? ¹

I’m sure there is no doubt ...