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Baby to Adult: How Do Facial Expressions Shape Our Social Interactions?
Facial expressions are reflections of facial muscle movements and positions that convey an individual's emotional state to the observer and are a form of nonverbal communication. These expressions are the primary means of communicating social messages between humans, but are also found in most other mammals and some other animal species. Humans can express facial expressions spontaneously or involuntarily, and the neural mechanisms responsible for controlling these expressions are different in each case. Spontaneous facial expressions tend to be socially cultivated and rely on cortical pathways of the brain; in contrast, non-spontaneous facial expressions are thought to be innate and proceed via subcortical pathways. Therefore, facial expressions play a crucial role in social interaction.
Spontaneous facial expressions are often made without conscious awareness and are the natural expression of emotion.
The formation of facial expressions mainly relies on facial muscles. These muscles form during embryonic development and move the skin to change the features of the face. The upper jaw, jaw, and other facial muscles also play an important role in expressing emotions.
The neural mechanism of facial expressions
The generation of facial expressions involves two main neural pathways. One is voluntary facial expression, which starts from the motor cortex and reaches the expressive muscles via the corticospinal pathway. This suggests that human emotional expression is influenced by social norms. Furthermore, another pathway is emotion-evoked facial expressions, which originate from the subcortical motor system and are often accompanied by more authentic displays of emotion. This means that some basic emotional expressions may not need to be learned but are innate.
Emotional expressions since childhood are mostly unconscious expressions, including emotions such as impatience, disgust, interest and fear.
Asymmetry of facial expressions
Another interesting aspect of human facial expressions is their asymmetry. Expression in the lower part of the face is often controlled by the opposite brain hemisphere, causing some emotional expressions to be displayed more strongly on one side. For example, emotions such as sadness or anger are expressed more strongly on the left side of the face, which is related to the expertise of the right hemisphere in expressing emotions.
Facial expressions and gender differences
Research has shown that there may be gender differences in the perception and performance of facial expressions between baby boys and baby girls. Baby boys may be easier to recognize angry faces, while baby girls are faster to recognize happy faces. This suggests that society's perception and response to emotions may be related to gender.
Early emotional contact is undoubtedly the key to shaping the baby's ability to recognize facial expressions.
The role of facial expressions in communication
According to research, facial expressions play a vital role in our communication. Even when trying to express a neutral facial expression, previous emotional expressions may still leave signs of emotion on the face. This phenomenon is called "emotional residue." Research on the "facial feedback" hypothesis shows that smiling can improve an individual's mood. Similarly, even if facial expressions inadvertently express a certain emotion, it may also affect the interpretation and feelings of others.
The meaning of eye contact
Eye contact plays an important role in facial expression. Research shows that babies show greater neural processing when they make eye contact, suggesting they communicate emotions more effectively. Different cultures have different arrangements for eye contact. For example, in some Asian cultures, direct gaze may be considered confrontational, while in Western cultures, avoiding eye contact may be considered a sign of lack of confidence.
Facial expressions in sign language
In addition to spoken communication, facial expressions also play a huge role in sign language. American Sign Language (ASL) uses different facial expressions to convey questions or specific emotions, which shows the universality of facial expressions in all language communication.
Facial expressions are not only a key way of expressing human emotions, but also an important medium of communication between cultures.
Are facial expressions really a universal language of emotion, as some scholars suggest? Will it change due to cultural background? These questions prompt us to think about the deeper nature of human interaction, and do they have important implications for the future of social communication?
