The 7 Universal Emotions and Facial Expressions

Whether you’re a business leader, mental health clinician, attorney, sales person, teacher, parent, or any other title in between, effective communication hinges on more than just strategy, decision-making, and saying the “right” words; it requires a nuanced understanding of human emotions and human behavior.

According to Professor David Matsumoto from San Francisco State University, emotions are momentary bio-psycho-social reactions to events that are important to our welfare.  Put another way, e-motions are energy that drive motion - they drive behavior.  Similar to feelings, which can be understood as cognitively saturated emotions, true emotions are involuntary, subjective, and always in response to something.

Over 50 years of research has shown that there are seven (7) universal emotions, also known as basic emotions, that all people experience regardless of age, race, ethnicity, culture, sex, gender, or upbringing.  These seven (7) universal emotions include the following: 

Anger
Contempt
Disgust
Fear
Happiness
Sadness
Surprise
 
Because human beings are hard-wired to communicate, both verbally and non-verbally, the emotions we experience commonly get expressed on our faces, sometimes before we’re even aware that the emotion exists.  Imagine having insights into a person’s emotional state without having to ask them, “How are you doing?”, or, “What do you think about this new product or service?”.  How incredibly valuable would that skillset be for you? 

You might be thinking, that would be incredibly helpful, but that will take many, many hours of training and I simply don’t have the time.  Well, you actually do.  In fact, research suggests that with as little as two to three hours of facial expression training, anyone can become a proficient decoder of emotion through facial expression analysis, especially those who seek the training to build healthy, mutually beneficial relationships with others.  It is important to note that identifying the emotion is the science, while appropriately responding to the emotion is the art.  Knowing HOW to respond in the most effective manner takes more training, practice, and experience. 

EQualifyed’s facial expression training includes over 300 engaging slides, exercises, images, knowledge checks, and short video clips that are carefully designed to rapidly and successfully teach participants how to detect and decode emotional states through facial expression analysis.  This course includes A LOT of repetition and practice, and for good reason.  It is only through practice and repetition that one can become proficient at any new skill.  Decoding facial expressions is no different.  One has to practice!

If boosting your communication skillset isn’t enough for you to explore the world of emotions and facial expressions, consider this: you are also very likely to realize a significant boost to your overall emotional intelligence, giving you a competitive edge when interacting with your clients, customers, and team members.

EQualifyed, LLC