Science Projects on Facial Expression

Facial expressions communicate emotion without words.

Facial expressions occur when muscles in the face work in concert as a means of nonverbal communication. Originally believed to be learned behavior, studies of the Fore tribe in Papua, New Guinea by psychologists Paul Ekman and Walter Friesen illustrate universality of facial expressions as predictors of emotion. Science fair projects on facial expressions cover studies of emotional expression and facial muscle activity.

Recognizing Emotion

Ekman and Friesen’s research used pictures of facial expressions corresponding to the six major emotions: anger, happiness, sadness, fear, surprise and disgust. Secluded from the modern world, the Fore tribe correctly identified the emotion expressed in each photograph. Students can replicate this experiment with their classmates with an adult volunteer as a model, a digital camera and printer. The model is photographed making facial expressions of the six emotions. Approximately 50 male and female test subjects are chosen from among friends and classmates and asked to review the photographs and guess the emotion. Results are tallied and presented along with the original photographs at the science fair. A variation on the project includes breaking down test subjects into categories to analyze any differences in identification between gender and age groups.

Asymmetry of Facial Expressions

Human facial expressions lack symmetry, with the muscles on the left and right sides of the face creating different expressions. The left side is often more animated than the right side of the face. The effect is not very noticeable. Science fair projects studying the asymmetry of facial expressions requires few materials. Students photograph friends and family members posing with different facial expressions such as a smile or scowl. Asymmetric structure is studied with strong examples set aside for display at the science fair. Display photographs are altered on a photo editing program to show what the face would look like if facial expressions were symmetrical based on both left and right sides of the face. Students may also consider questions concerning a correlation between asymmetric facial expressions and age, gender or culture.

Mapping Facial Muscles

Developed by Paul Ekman and Walter Friesen, the Facial Action Encoding System (FACS) measures specific expressions based on information on the movement of facial muscles. The system allows scientists to further analyze the relationship between facial expressions, emotion and facial muscle movement. Students may construct projects to study which of 19 muscles work to create the furrowed brow of confusion or a smile of happiness. Students identify muscle combinations behind the six main emotions by labeling diagrams displayed at the fair. In addition, they can draw attention to muscles that are used in opposing types of emotional expressions.

Micro Expressions

Micro expressions are conscious and unconscious muscle movements in the face that indicate suppressed emotion. They can last only 1/25 of a second but can still be picked up by the subconscious of the audience. Feelings of acceptance or rejection based on first impressions can sometimes be reactions to micro expressions which are identified by the brain and create positive or adverse feelings. Using a video or digital recorder, students film a personal interaction between two people. The student plays back the video in slow motion, attempting to identify any micro expressions. Micro expression sections are isolated for replay during the science fair. Analyzing the clips, students note the type of emotion expressed overall and in the micro expression. In addition, they record and report any reactions to micro expressions in the other person such as changes in body language or tone.

References

• Science Buddies: It's Written All Over Your Face: The Science of Facial Expressions
• University of Southern California: California State Science Fair 2007 Project Summary - Project Number J0603
• Ed Athlon: Creative Ideas for Science Fair Projects - Asymmetric Facial Expressions
• All Science Fair Projects: Facial Expression
• High Existence: Microexpressions: Almost Undetectable Facial Language