How good are you at reading what someone else is feeling? For some people, it is a natural gift in that they can sense without reading body language if someone is hurting inside or angry. For most of us (99 out of 100), it takes a lot of effort to be a human lie detector as people have learned to mask their true feelings.
Paul Ekman, a psychologist formerly from UCSF, has identified the facial expressions of the seven key emotions that are universal, regardless of nationality or culture- happiness, sadness, fear, anger, disgust, contempt, and surprise. People can’t help showing their true feelings for a fraction of a second. For example, a person might try to conceal their feelings of contempt but give it away with a fleeting raised lip on one side. These are called micro-expressions.
Test your ability to interpret micro-expressions at www.facetest.notlong.com. Don’t blink!
Terry Pfau DO, HMD | Doctor of Naturopathy in Las Vegas, Nevada