The Book of Tells (Peter Collett)[unlocked]

THE BOOK OF TELLS
Face Tells
Nationality is sometimes revealed in facial expressions.
Research by Paul Ekman and his colleagues shows that
facial expressions that depict the basic emotions - like
happiness, sadness, fear, surprise, disgust and anger - are
recognized throughout the world, suggesting that the
relationship between these emotions and their facial
expressions is innate. 11 There are cultural differences,
however, in the conventions governing the expression of
emotions, as well as differences in how frequently they are
displayed, where and to whom they are displayed, and the
detailed expression of these emotions. Ray Birdwhistell
has observed that smiling in the United States is much
more frequent above the Mason-Dixon line than it is
below the line, leading him to conclude that smiling
means different things to people in the northern and
southern states. 12 Of course it doesn't follow that people
who smile more are necessarily happier, or that smiling
has a different meaning for them than it does for people
who smile less. What it does suggest, however, is that the
conventions governing smiling, or the expression of
happiness, may differ between communities.
This is borne out by Henry Seaford's research on facial
expressions in Virginia. Seaford studied historic portraits
and photographs in yearbooks. When he compared his
Virginia material with material from Pennsylvania, he
found a 'facial dialect' in Virginia. 13 This consisted of
several expressions, including an 'orbicular clamp' and a
'purse-clamp'. In both these expressions the muscles
above and below the mouth are tightened and this clamps
the lips together. In the 'purse-clamp' the muscles at the
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