Recognizing Faces and Feelings to Improve Communication and Emotional Life

Fun book with interesting ways of recognizing micro expressions. There are tiny muscles in your face that display your thoughts and emotions long before you articulate them. It is amazing what we can learn if we look away from our handheld devices and make eye contact. Non-verbal communication at its best! What is NOT said in a conversation is the most important aspect of understanding the exchange.

Rather dull and monotonous reading. All examples revolve around hypothetical employer, employee, and promotion that is going down the tubes.
Sometimes however something new and entertaining is popping up here and there

Interesting... even VERY interesting. However- I got 2 admit... I did skim through quite a bit of it.
IMHO: would'v been better to super condense this info. ... in2 ... like... 10o pages or less. Hahahaaa

Great book in order to stay tuned with your emotion! A must to read book. But I was sad to notice that this kindle version of the book didn't bring the chapter on "detecting lies" that was added on the second edition of the book. I think it should be added

All pictures have people faking those emotions; the photographs show exaggerated reactions so that we can learn, check our progress, and buy into this new "theory". Would it be possible that Dr. Eckman was designing an experiment while writing the book, and those who read the book and post comments would be part of it (on our own money)? would it be possible that he is working now on another book that makes a correlation between the material in this one and the comments we post?

The scientific method cannot be employed to prove any of the "findings" introduced here. Thankfully Dr. Eckman puts himself a - timid, however - caveat. He should state clearly that this material is not science that stands [methodical] scrutiny.

Dr. Eckman is a genius- that I must also add. Coming up with these ideas is not for the ordinary mortals. Thank you for such a delight for our minds.

Everyone has an understanding of emotion, but few people agree on what the word really means. For example, how is 'emotion' differentiated from 'feeling'? Are emotion and logic independent? This book should help you explore these questions.

Ekman starts with arguments for the universality of emotional display. All humans produce the same facial displays when engaged in a moment of anger or sadness. Reactive displays are generally 'honest' but fleeting. All socially adept humans have learned to disguise their emotional displays. Sometimes a high-speed camera is required to capture and 'freeze' the initial 'true' display. Given the difficulty of 'real time' determination of an emotional display's meaning, Ekman standardizes his approach on a suitably literal plane. For example, the raise eyebrow means 'X' in 'Y' percent of the population, but only 'Z' percent recognize it.

Here is an outline of characteristics Ekman uses to define emotions:

1. Emotions are experienced as feelings, a set of sensations that we experience and often are aware of.

2. An emotional episode can be brief (less than a second to several seconds). If it is longer, it is a mood

3. It is about something that matters to the person

4. We experience them as happening to us, they are not chosen.

5. We are constantly scanning our environment. Emotional responses are automatic reactions to these perceptions. In this sense, emotions are an 'early warning system'.

6. Refractory periods exist after the emotional response. During this refractory period, only perceptions that supports the emotional response is considered.

7. The refractory period may last a few minutes or much longer

8. We generally become aware of an emotion only after our attention begins to review it in the past tense.

9. There are universal emotional themes. We become emotional about matters that were relevant to our ancestors as well as ones we have found to matter in our own lives.

10. The desire to experience or not experience an emotion motivates much of behavior.

11. An efficient signal, clear, rapid and universal, informs those that witness the display. The knowledge gained makes social cooperation possible.

All of this background information takes up the first 4 chapters. Many readers will find this an unnecessary delay. Much of this material seems to wander about in politically correct debates about 'why we can't all be nice', or 'can education ban anger?'.

Many will find this clueless and banal, but there is a lot of useful material mixed in. Take the time to suffer through it.

The curious hand ringing over the 'value' of anger is a testimony to stifling academic conformity on US colleges. Ekman is arguing there is a genetic componet to emotional IQ. The thesis is politically incorrect and sure to ruin a promising academic career. I decided the author had to demonstrate his touchy-feely sensitivity so the academic 'children are blank slates' mob wouldn't hang him.

Finally, on page 97, almost half way through the book, we get to the material most readers were looking for when they pulled the book off the shelf: reading emotional states from facial expression: The first lesson is on 'Sadness and agony.' The following chapter addresses 'Anger.' In all, Ekman describes 6 emotions:

1. Grief, sadness

2. Anger

3. Surprise

4. Contentment, Enjoyment, sensory pleasures:

5. Fear

6. Disgust, contempt

Ekman apologizes for avoiding any discussion of

1. Envy

2. Guilt, shame and embarrassment.

While exploring these emotions, Ekman uses the following format:

1. A general description of the emotion

2. A paragraph or two inviting the reader to 'make the face as a method of experiencing the emotion)

3. A longer section, with photos and discussion of muscular mechanics, suggesting ways to recognize the facial displays associated with the emotion.

4. A page or two on using the skill. This is always a description of an interaction with a boss. I didn't find these very useful.

There seems to be a fundamental distinction between sadness and anger, one drives out the other. Most people have heard of the 'fight/flight' dichotomy, but it turns out fight/flight emotions are very easily represented in the face simultaneously. Sadness-Anger is a more telling distinction. They don't coexist simultaneously. One's emotions can swing from sadness to anger, and back, sometimes fairly quickly, but they don't show up on the face at the same time.

The stark differences between the two, combined with the universality of expression, suggest expression and emotion are inextricably linked. The author suggests making the expression of anger and/or sadness because making the expression produced the experience of that emotion. Combine this with the fact that anger begets anger (both in the emotional individual and those that observe the sign) and sadness begets sadness and ultimately depression, and one can see that not only is the 'expression' the emotion, but the expression can drive the emotion. Additionally, we respond entirely differently to sadness and anger. When we see an expression of sadness, almost all are moved to comfort the sad individual. This feeling is so strong that just looking at a photograph of a sad individual, particularly a familiar individual, elicits strong experiences of sadness in oneself. When anger is expressed 'in the flesh', we may become enraged ourselves. On the other hand, a photograph of rage rarely elicits rage all by itself. For example, you can go to a tearjerker at the theatre and expect 50% of the crowd to be awash in tears. A still photo of rage almost never elicits rage. The viewer must know the individual's context in great detail to respond with rage. On the other hand, people can be talked into rage (see mob behavior) with relatively little difficulty.

Highly recommended.

...and this is definitely wonderful reading in conjunction with other body language books.

Since this book focuses in on primarily the face, I think it's best to read this after having read something like the two Peases' The Definitive Book of Body Language. However, this book covers different topics more in-depth.

Does it take a long time to get to the juicy stuff in Emotions Revealed? Yes.

Is the descriptions before the juicy stuff worth it? I would say yes.

I am identifying emotions in faces that I would have simply missed - or, worse, misread - in the past.

If you're debating if you should read it... you're already interested enough that this book is worth your time.

This is an excellent book with excellent content. However, unlike most people on here, I do not believe it's a five star book. In actuality, it is more like a four star work.

If you are interested in psychological theory and the nature of the emotions, this is a must read because it says certain things that you must know. It is instrumental to know some of the fascinating original research that Ekman did on facial movements and emotional expression. There are deep implications hidden behind some of the findings that help to clarify the differences between nature and nurture, difference of which Ekman is quite aware. I am glad that I picked it up.

On the other hand, the work is not the masterpiece of scientific writing that its current rating suggests. Between fascinating discoveries is to be found a certain amount of fluffy psychological talk of the sort you might hear from Dr. Phil. I would have liked more critical, sharp thinking, thinking that matches the sharpness of Ekman's ability to formulate experiments that allow us to draw important conclusions with wide-ranging implications. But, if you can get through these rather soft spots, you will have found that the real content of the book is, in fact, golden, and very helpful. I just think it's closer to four stars than five.

Who isn't captivated by the unspoken language of expression. Very few in science today would dispute that non-verbal expression contributes a signficant amount of "information rate transfer" in every human to human exchange.
That's why I ordered this book. I was curious to know how the mechanics of non-verbal expression (manifested in the face) generally worked. Paul Ekman has been at the forefront of this research since the mid-sixties. Before ordering, I spent some time at his site (of same name as the book) and was impressed enough to do what the site pushes you to do: order the book...
I was mildly dissapointed. While the book has plenty of interesting factoids, from the beginning it felt way overwritten. Almost like the author had a 24 page lesson plan and decided to stretch it out to 240 pages. In my opinion, there is allot of "fluff". Granted, some may be interested in reading 20 pages about the fact that emotions are nature (vs. nurture) across all cultures...well, that was hotly debated 20 years ago, now it's generally accepted as fact...move on.
The meat of my issue with the book is that it should have been a lesson plan. My favorite part of the book is at the end when there are 14 pages of faces with barely registered emotion on them that you have to discern the meaning in. I wanted that throughout the book.
If you have a particular fascination with this subject, I'd recommend ordering the CD's and using the interactive lesson plan. Skip the book.
Hope this was helpful.

Charles Darwin wrote a book called "Expression of Emotions in Man and Animal." It was an overnight best seller when it came out a century and a half ago. But by the 1950s, Darwin's view -- that emotions have an important evolutionary base -- was in eclipse. Psychologists and anthropologists (like Margaret Mead) thought facial expressions of emotion were a product of culture.
Paul Ekman rescued Darwin's contribution with his own research in primitive areas of the world. Like Darwin and his voyage of the Beagle, Ekman took a hard look at actual data. And he's been looking ever since.
Today, Ekman is a world class expert on face and emotion. Probably THE world class expert. For instance, when the Dalai Lama wanted to know about modern research on emotion, Ekman was one of a handful of experts flown to India to give the Dalai Lama a five-day, one-on-one seminar. (See Dan Goleman's book "Destructive Emotions.")
Unlike the Dalai Lama, Ekman is not a Buddhist. But if he were it would be tempting to believe he is this generation's reincarnation of Charles Darwin. Again and again, reviewers comment "Not since Darwin..."
Ekman's current book may not turn out to be the immediate best selling blockbuster that Darwin's book was. But it certainly deserves a wide audience. It's an excellent summary of what is known about the face and feeling today. It lets the reader look over the shoulder of an active researcher. You see work in progress -- and get a peak into the future.
In short, anyone interested in understanding their own feelings -- and the feelings of others -- will find this book a readable, useful and fascinating journey. The emotions are a world be meet face-to-face every day -- yet for most of us this realm remains a mystery. This book provides a valuable roadmap.

I'll keep this short. Ekman is the accepted "king" in this field. His dedication, commitment and passion have been unrelenting, and he continues to bring new ideas to the table.

That being said, I think anyone would be hard pressed to say they are anywhere near the level of "mastery" when it comes to communication- nonverbal or otherwise-unless they know this book inside and out.

Whether you are a parent, therapist, police officer, or prefer to go with "human being", you'll be better at whatever you do when you incorporate these findings into your communication with others. Thank you Dr. Ekman!

I got this book after reading Malcolm Gladwell's lovely New Yorker piece on Paul Ekman. I was looking for an accessable introduction to FACS, Ekman's facial coding system, but this book wasn't it. Emotions Revealed is perhaps too accessable, with copious fluff and very little real content.
After an introduction to Ekmans work, the book is divided into chapters on each emotion. Each chapter is further subdivided into: 1) anecdotes about people feeling emotions (useless), 2) at most two pages on the facial expression associated with the emotion (the meat, if you will), 3) speculation on why you might feel the emotion (useless), and 4) suggestions on how to react if you see this emotion on others (situation dependant & therefore useless).
Ekman's strength is in the clinical study of facial expression, not in writing anecdotal psychobabble. Skip this book if you already know the gist of his work.

Finally, a book by one, if not the, leading emotions researcher in the world! This book is filled with great information. That being said, I haven't finished reading the book, and decided to put it aside as the style is often quite dry.

Very well presented and easy to read book. Explains clearly how emotions are experienced and gives photographic examples to demonstrate how facial expressions are signals to underlying emotions. Covers both suppressed or controlled emotions and full expression.Good introductory text and gives sufficient depth of information to be a useful and usable guide to the subject.

Well worth the read and definitely good value for money.

I found the book very interesting.

Having been a woman who has been lied to more than once in my lifetime...I could have used some of the scientifically based information that was presented in this book, to help me navigate through what were--confusing relationships...

The pictures in the book, were a great tool...If you are curious about understanding more about how emotions are reflected in our facial expressions, and the science behind the link, you'll enjoy this book...

Namaste....

Our emotions are the music of our life; the better we understand them the better we can understand and appreciate our symphony--instead of just being overwhelmed. Paul Ekman has done more research on emotions than just about anyone. His insights let us notice things that might otherwise seem too obvious. But occasionally he dwells a bit too long on the obvious. Still recommended.

Ideally, I'd rate this 4.5, but with only one other review at this writing I need to balance it with a 5.

The book is not a real breakthrough, never the less it provides a clear understanding and organization to something that sometimes is apparent but without a scientific approach that explains it. It can really change the way we look at people after reading it.

This is an exceptionally well written book with ideas that would benefit all professionals. There are several concepts in this book that I personally found interesting. I highly recommend this book to all that deal with adverse environments, which of course is all of us.