Body language and emotional intelligence FearWe express fear when we feel physically or psychologically threatened. The facial expression of fear is often confused with surprise. But when were surprised, oureyes open wider than when were afraid, and our mouth isnt pulled sideways, like it is here; instead, our jaw drops and the mouth hangs open. lus, our eye!rows are relati"ely flat when were afraid; they arch more when were surprised. #appinessThis is a classic display of a genuine smile, called a $uchenne smile, which signals happiness.%ts defined !y two muscle mo"ements. The mo"ement common to all smiles is the &ygomatic major muscle pulling the lip corners up. But, critically, what re"eals this as a genuine smile is what happens around the eyes' The muscles tighten, making those wrinkles, or crows feet, around the sides of the eyes and creating that pouching of the lower eyelid. When you see these signs, the person isnt just smiling politely; hes feeling genuine happiness(nger)ou see these muscle mo"ements*in the lips, around the eyes, and in the !row*when people are feeling aggressi"e, threatened, or frustrated. +esearchers think we make this expression when we,re angry !ecause it could protect the face in a physical conflict*for example, the furrowed eye!rows could protect the eyes.eople often confuse anger and disgust, !ut disgust in"ol"es a raised upper lip and a wrinkle in the nose that you dont see here.-m!arrassmentWhen people are em!arrassed, they a"ert their ga&e, which means they mo"e their head down and to the side, exposing their neck. (nd the em!arrassed smile is different from other smiles' The lips press together tightly, reflecting feelings of restraint or inhi!ition.-m!arrassment can look like shame, !ut when we,re ashamed, our head mo"es straight down, not to the side, and we don,t smile.rideride in"ol"es signs of dominance. The corners of the lips rise slightly, signaling that the person is happy. But what distinguishes this from happiness is that the head tilts !ack, witha slight jaw.thrust. Those are classic signs of power and dominance*they suggest that were feeling strong.The expression of pride is also close to the expression of contempt. They !oth in"ol"e a !ackward head tilt, !ut contempt doesn,t in"ol"e a slight smile like pride does; instead, with contempt the lip mo"ement is asymmetrical*only one side tightens./urprise/urprise is often confused with fear. But when were afraid, our lower eyelids tighten and our eye!rows look flat and tense; with surprise, our upper eyelids rise up and our eye!rowsarch. (lso, our jaws drop when were surprised, !ut our lip corners go sideways when were afraid, making the mouth look tighter./ome experts !elie"e our eyes open wide like this !ecause when were confronted with something surprising*a long.lost friend, an unexpected award*we try to a!sor! as much of this new information as possi!le. 0ontempt0ontempt is when you look down on some!ody derisi"ely or suspiciously. Whats important a!out the expression of contempt is that the lips tighten on one side of the face !ut not the other. %f the tightening were on !oth sides of the face, the person could !e swallowing or sali"ating.eople often confuse contempt with disgust. But disgust in"ol"es the raising of the upper lip, and the !ridge of the nose wrinkles. We express disgust a!out noxious things, not those a!out which were derisi"e or suspicious.$isgustWhen we feel disgust, the muscles a!o"e the upper lip pull up, raising the upper lip, wrinkling the nose, and narrowing the eyes.eople often confuse disgust and anger. But anger tightens the mouth and lowers the eye!rows more significantly, and raises the upper eyelid. With disgust, the mouth opens and the tongue comes out, just in case you need to throw up.FlirtatiousnessThis is a coy, flirtatious smile. What con"eys flirtatiousness is when someone turns his or her head away to signal 1%m not interested in you, !ut simultaneously makes eye contact. Thats a uni"ersal display that reflects the am!i"alence of flirtation*the flirter a"oids and approaches someone at the same time./omeone flirting gi"es off signals of pleasure, as indicated !y the &ygomatic major muscle pulling the lip corners up, which also raises the cheeks slightly. lus, the eyes are narrower than in a neutral state !ecause the or!icularis oculi muscles around the eyes contract, suggesting feelings of happiness.ainWhen we feel pain, our facial muscles mo"e in ways that contract the face and protect us from harm. %n the upper half of the face, the or!icularis oculi muscles around the eyes contract, closing the eyes tightly, and the corrugator muscle lowers our eye!rows. %n the lower half of the face, our lips tighten and press upwards.)ou,ll see this particular expression especially when people are experiencing psychological pain, such as when they see other people suffer. %ts an expression closely related to sadness.But rather than suffering in their own sadness, they experience the pain and suffering of others through empathy.0ompassionWhen people feel sympathy or compassion, the corrugator muscles pull the eye!rows in and up, their lips press together, and their head tilts forward slightly*a sign of social engagement.The expression of compassion is most often confused with sadness. The eye!row mo"ements are similar in sadness and compassion, !ut with compassion the lips press together; when we feel sad, our lips pull down.(musementThe tell.tale signs of genuine amusement are the open mouth and the !ackwards head mo"ement. (nd like a genuine smile, you can tell a genuine laugh when you see the muscles contracting around the eyes, making crows feet.2enuine laughter often relaxes all muscle mo"ements in the !ody !ecause of shifts in our respiration patterns that happen when we laugh. This rapid shift to a state of relaxation shuts off feelings of aggression or frustration*were cooperating with other people, not competing.%nterestWhen were interested in something, the frontalis muscles raise our eye!rows straight up, and our lip corners turn up in a slight smile, suggesting were feeling pleasure.The expression of interest is related to the expression of happiness. But when were happy, well show more exaggerated upward mo"ements of our lip corners, and the muscles around the eyes will contract more, without the eye!row raising straight up. /adness/adness is characteri&ed !y o!li3ue eye!rows, where the corrugator muscles pull the eye!rows in, !ut the inner part of the frontalis muscle pulls them up. Theres also a little pouching in the inner part of the forehead, and people will often look down. lus, the corners of the lips are pulled straight down, gi"ing the mouth a cur"ed look.The expression of sadness is often confused with shame, and it shares the o!li3ue eye!row muscle mo"ements of compassion.$esire$esire is signaled through the mouth, with lip !ites, puckers, or 4as in this case5 lip licks. The mouth is pro!a!ly so strongly linked to desire !ecause of the connection to kissing. eople often make this facial expression when theyre interested in someone else sexually, !ut not necessarily romantically.$esire is o!"iously a relati"e of lo"e, !ut when people feel lo"ing and trusting and de"oted to someone else, as opposed to sexually aroused, they won,t necessarily make this kind of gesture with their mouth. %nstead, they,ll often smile in a way that suggests happiness, with a head tilt to the side./hame/hame is a "ery simple display !ut a powerful one. %t simply in"ol"es ga&e a"ersion, with the head mo"ing down so that the chin tucks into the neck. %t,s the opposite of pride' Whereas with pride our head tilts !ack and our chin goes up, shame often constricts our posture as a sign of su!missi"eness.This expression is fre3uently confused with sadness. But shame doesn,t in"ol"e the muscle mo"ements of the sad face*the eye!rows pulled in and partly up, with the lip corners mo"ing down.olitenessThis is a non.$uchenne smile*a smile that doesnt signal true happiness. %t suggests that the person is trying to seem polite and cooperati"e, !ut they dont genuinely feel happy.The &ygomatic major muscle is pulling the lip corners up, !ut there are no signs of real joy around the eyes*no crows feet around the sides, no pouching of the lower eyelid, no raising of the cheek.-m!arrassmentWith a!out 67 percent of em!arrassment episodes, people touch their face, which is happening here. /ome experts !elie"e the face touch is a defensi"e mo"ement, to protect theface after the person "iolated some social rule.%n some parts of the world, people make a similar hand gesture when theyre ashamed. Butwith shame, the head mo"es straight down, not to the side, and theres no slight smile.ainWhen we feel pain, our facial muscles contract the face and protect us from harm.%n the upper half of the face, the or!icularis oculi muscles around the eyes contract, closing the eyes tightly, and the corrugator muscle lowers our eye!rows. %n the lower half of the face, our lips tighten and press upwards. -specially when experiencing physical pain, people will sometimes contract their neck, as is happening here, making this look e"en more like a display of self.defense.8o"eWhen we feel lo"e, our facial expression often resem!les happiness' The &ygomatic major muscle pulls the lip corners up, and theres a tightening of the lower eyelid.But the distinct expression of lo"e com!ines these muscle mo"ements with a tilt of the head to the side. Thats a sign of intimacy and connection !eyond just happiness.