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| Detail from Truth Coming Out of Her Well to Shame Mankind Jean Leon Gerome 1896 |
"From these considerations, we may conclude that frowning is not the expression of simple reflection, however profound, or of attention, however close, but of something difficult or displeasing encountered in a train of thought or in action. Deep reflection can, however, seldom be long carried on without some difficulty, so that it will generally be accompanied by a frown".
We discussed how the frown is an expression that rarely exhibits "emotional contagion" where others mirror the expression once they see it in someone else. Unlike smiles, which strangers can elicit into others about 20% of the time, frowning at strangers does not result in them frowning back. We discussed the evolutionary value of the frown and why it is exhibited in so many contexts.
We spent a lot of the time discussing Hatred and Anger and the unique and specific expressions associated with those emotions. James mentioned a memorable image that came out the Black Lives Matter marches in Montana where an older white man exhibits all of the expression characteristics Darwin lists for those in anger.
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| Spencer Schacht ABC FOX Montana |
"The mouth is commonly compressed, and there is almost always a frown on the brow. Instead of the frantic gestures of extreme rage, an indignant man unconsciously throws himself into an attitude ready for attacking or striking his enemy, whom he will perhaps scan from head to foot in defiance. He carries his head erect, with his chest well expanded, and the feet planted firmly on the ground. He holds his arms in various positions, with one or both elbows squared, or with the arms rigidly suspended by his sides. Darwin pg 242"
Mark and Sarah discussed how anger is associated with change, and expressions of anger seem to exhibit "emotional contagion" but in reality it is often more of a result of positive feedback system, i.e., your anger feeds my anger which then feeds back to your anger.
Mark discussed an interesting study by Ceccarini and Caudke (2013) that explored how readily do we recognize an angry or happy face in a crowd. Based upon images of known facial expression they altered the images to remove elements of the individual to create generic genderless face with a range of emotions.
There is a significant cost in exhibiting anger since the physiological changes associated with anger, increase in blood pressure, increase in heart rate, etc. are often linked to an increase in heart attacks. Darwin noted this in his book and modern research has focused on the role of expressions of anger and how management of anger can influence health outcomes.
Studies discussed in the podcast:
Lench, Heather C., Thomas P. Tibbett, and Shane W. Bench. "Exploring the toolkit of emotion: What do sadness and anger do for us?." Social and Personality Psychology Compass 10.1 (2016): 11-25.
