How to Read Facial Expressions

Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsWhy Understanding Facial Expressions Is ImportantThe 7 Universal Facial ExpressionsMicro-ExpressionsHow to Identify Facial Expressions By Facial Feature

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

Why Understanding Facial Expressions Is Important

The 7 Universal Facial Expressions

Micro-Expressions

How to Identify Facial Expressions By Facial Feature

Close

Knowing how to read facial expressions is an important social skill. It can help us read a situation, understand what a person might be feeling, and allow us to respond more appropriately. If you struggle to read expressions, learning more about universal expressions and how to use that information to interpret signals can help you get a better read on social situations.

Researchers suggest that there are seven universal facial expressions linked to anger, contempt, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, and surprise. By looking at certain features (eyebrows, eyes, and mouth), you can start to develop a better knack for knowing what people are saying with their faces without ever speaking a word.

If you havesocial anxiety disorder (SAD), you might have a hard time paying attention to facial expressions. You might have trouble witheye contactor read too much into negative expressions on other people’s faces. People with SAD often interpret facial expressions more negatively (even if they’re neutral), and they may even avoid looking at negative facial expressions altogether.

Although it is important to pay attention to facial expressions, remember that knowing the emotion doesn’t tell you the cause. If someone seems bored, upset, or disinterested, it could be for a number of reasons—and it could have nothing to do with you.

The value in understanding facial expressions is to gather information about how the other person is feeling and guide your interaction accordingly. For example, if someone appears disinterested, they might just be tired, and it might be time to end the conversation.

Emotions and Types of Emotional Responses

These expressions show:

There Might Be 16 Universal Facial Expressions

Research from 2020 confirmed the existence of universal facial expressions and took the idea even further, suggesting we may share a total of 16 complex expressions:

Practice making the facial expressions that go along with these emotions and you will become better at recognizing them in other people.

The 6 Types of Basic Emotions and Their Effect on Human Behavior

Not all facial expressions stick around for a long time. Those that pass quickly are called micro-expressions, and they are almost indiscernible to the casual observer. Micro-expressions can come and go in less than half a second—but they convey the same emotions as a longer-lasting facial expression would.

Micro-expressions are often connected with emotions that a person is trying to conceal, and looking at micro-expressions could reveal whether someone isbeing truthful or lying.

Spotting and interpreting micro-expressions is oftendifficult, but it’s a skill that can be learned.If you have SAD, learning to notice micro-expressions could also help improve your overall understanding of other people’s emotions.

We convey a lot of nonverbal information in our faces, and we tend to focus on different areas of the face when we try to interpret what each expression might mean. We look at the eyes to determine if someone is sad or angry, for example, and at the mouth to check if someone is happy.

Eyebrows

Eyebrows can show distinctive emotional signals (and they’re potentially as important as the eyes for facial recognition).

Eyebrows can be:

Eyes

The eyes are often described as “windows to the soul,” and we often look to them to determine what someone else may be feeling.

The eyes might be:

Mouth

The mouth can convey more than just asmile. People often use their mouths to mask other emotions their face is conveying—for example, a forced smile might cover up an eye micro-expression showing someone’s true feelings.

Look out for:

Other signals to look for are:

Understanding Body Language and Facial Expressions

Takeaways

If you find you are having a hard time reading other people’s emotions through their expressions, you might need more practice, or you might simply have trouble decoding what others are feeling.

Some mental health conditions (including SAD) can impact your ability to decipher other people’s facial expressions. If this is the case for you and it’s causing you distress, consider seeking help from a mental health professional. They can determine what’s causing your difficulty and help you learn skills to cope.

An Overview of Social Skills Training

12 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

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