Understanding Emotions Through Facial Expressions
Author: Jesse Nerenberg, Reg. CASLPO, Speech-Language Pathologist
Date: Wednesday, March 19, 2025
Table of Contents
Introduction
As a speech-language pathologist (SLP) at Well Said, I sometimes work with clients on social communication skills, including the ability to recognize and interpret emotions. This is most often salient for clients on the Autism Spectrum. One of the most powerful tools we have for understanding how others feel is their facial expressions. The face is a window into emotions, and learning to read it can improve your relationships, communication, and empathy.
In this blog post, I’ll introduce you to the work of Dr. Paul Ekman, a pioneer in the study of emotions and facial expressions. Dr. Ekman identified seven universal facial expressions that are recognized across cultures: happiness, sadness, anger, fear, surprise, disgust, and contempt. These expressions are often thought to be hardwired into our biology, meaning they are innate and not learned.
The Big Three: Eyebrows, Eyes, and Mouth
To help better understand how to recognize these emotions, I tend to focus on the “big three”: the eyebrows, mouth, and eyes. These three areas of the face are the most expressive and provide the clearest clues about what someone is feeling. While some people are able to understand emotions on a person’s face in an instant and do not need to be taught how to do so, some clients need to use their observation skills and turn recognizing facial expressions into a conscious cognitive process.
I once asked a client, who had trouble recognizing facial expressions, what parts of a person’s face he observed to figure out how they were feeling. While he did mention the eyes, he said he mostly looked at “the cheeks”. This means he was missing all sorts of information, since he was neglecting some of the “Big Three”. Together we went through the 7 universal emotions and practiced what to look for in order to improve his recognition skills. Most of our work focused around the “Big Three”.
Eyebrows and Emotions
The eyebrows are incredibly expressive and often the first place to look when trying to identify an emotion. They can move up, down, or together, and each movement conveys a different feeling.
Happiness: In a genuine smile (also known as a Duchenne smile, aka the smile you can see in a person’s eyes), the eyebrows are typically relaxed. However, when someone is extremely happy or excited, their eyebrows may lift slightly.
Sadness: Sadness is often marked by inner corners of the eyebrows that are pulled upward and together, creating a furrowed or “pinched” look. This movement is sometimes called the “sadness triangle.”
Anger: When someone is angry, their eyebrows are pulled down and together, creating a furrowed brow. This creates a “V” shape between the eyebrows.
Fear: Fear is characterized by eyebrows that are raised and pulled together. The inner corners of the eyebrows move upward, creating horizontal lines across the forehead.
Surprise: Surprise involves eyebrows that are raised high and curved. The forehead often wrinkles horizontally.
Disgust: Disgust typically involves a lowering of the eyebrows, often accompanied by a wrinkled nose.
Contempt: Contempt is unique because it often involves only one side of the face. One eyebrow may be raised slightly, creating a subtle asymmetry.
Eyes and Emotions
The eyes are perhaps the most revealing part of the face. They can widen, narrow, or look away, and each movement conveys a different emotion.
Happiness: In a genuine smile, the eyes crinkle at the corners, and the lower eyelids may lift slightly. This is often referred to as “smiling with the eyes.”
Sadness: Sadness often causes the eyes to appear droopy or half-closed. The upper eyelids may hang lower than usual, and the person may avoid eye contact.
Anger: Anger can cause the eyes to narrow or “glare.” The eyelids may be tense, and the person may maintain intense eye contact.
Fear: Fear often causes the eyes to widen, exposing more of the white of the eye (the sclera). The person may also have a “wide-eyed” look.
Surprise: Surprise causes the eyes to open wide, with the upper eyelids raised high and the lower eyelids relaxed.
Disgust: Disgust often causes the eyes to narrow or squint, sometimes accompanied by a wrinkled nose.
Contempt: Contempt may involve a slight narrowing of the eyes, often with a raised eyebrow on one side.
Mouth and Emotions
The mouth is another key area for expressing emotion. It can smile, frown, pucker, or open wide, and each movement tells a story.
Happiness: A genuine smile involves both the mouth and the eyes. The corners of the mouth turn upward, and the cheeks lift, creating “crow’s feet” around the eyes.
Sadness: A sad mouth often turns downward at the corners. The lips may tremble or press together tightly.
Anger: Anger is often marked by a mouth that is either tightly closed (with lips pressed together) or open wide (as in shouting). The lips may also be pulled back, exposing teeth.
Fear: Fear can cause the mouth to open slightly, with the lips stretched horizontally. In extreme fear, the mouth may open wide.
Surprise: Surprise often involves a mouth that is open wide, forming an “O” shape.
Disgust: Disgust is characterized by a mouth that is either open slightly (as if saying “ew”) or tightly closed, with the upper lip raised.
Contempt: Contempt often involves a slight smirk, with one corner of the mouth raised higher than the other.
Putting It All Together: Recognizing Emotions in Real Life
Now that we’ve broken down the big three, let’s practice identifying emotions in real-life scenarios. Here are a few examples:
Scenario 1: Your friend walks into the room with their eyebrows raised high, their mouth wide open, and their eyes wide open. What emotion are they likely feeling?
Answer: Surprise! The raised eyebrows, wide eyes, and open mouth are all classic signs of surprise.
Scenario 2: Your co-worker has their eyebrows pulled down and together, their mouth is tightly closed, and their eyes are narrowed. What emotion are they likely feeling?
Answer: Anger. The furrowed brow, tight mouth, and narrowed eyes all point to anger.
Scenario 3: Your child comes home from school with their inner eyebrows raised and pulled together, their mouth turned downward, and their eyes droopy. What emotion are they likely feeling?
Answer: Sadness. The raised inner eyebrows, downturned mouth, and droopy eyes are all signs of sadness.
Tips for Improving Your Emotion Recognition Skills
Practice Observing Faces: Spend time people-watching (in a respectful way!) and try to identify the emotions on people’s faces. Pay attention to the eyebrows, mouth, and eyes..
Use a Mirror: To be clear, this is totally optional! Not everyone is comfortable being expressive with their face and I never force any client to do so. That being said, practice making different facial expressions in front of a mirror. Notice how your eyebrows, mouth, and eyes move for each emotion.
Watch Movies or TV Shows: Pay close attention to the actors’ facial expressions. Pause the video and try to identify the emotion based on the big three. One good tip I have given to people just starting out this work is to watch cartoons or commercials because these often involve exaggerated versions of facial expressions. If a client enjoys a certain animated show, sometimes in a session we will google screenshots from different episodes in order to practice.
Ask for Feedback: If you’re unsure about someone’s emotion, ask them how they’re feeling. This can help you learn to connect facial expressions with emotions.
Be Mindful of Context: Remember that facial expressions don’t exist in a vacuum. Consider the context of the situation to help you interpret emotions more accurately.
Why Emotion Recognition Matters
Being able to recognize emotions on people’s faces is a crucial social skill. It helps us build stronger relationships by understanding how others feel. It helps us respond appropriately in social situations. It can help us show empathy and support to those around us. And it can guide us to navigate conflicts more effectively.
As an SLP, I’ve seen firsthand how improving emotion recognition skills can transform a client’s comfort with their communication. In the case of the client I mentioned earlier, once he learned about what parts of a person’s face to observe, he became relatively adept at recognizing facial expressions and reported this helped his confidence in navigating social situations.
Final Thoughts
Facial expressions are a universal language, and learning to read them can deepen your connections with others. By focusing on the eyebrows, mouth, and eyes, you can become more attuned to the emotions of those around you. Remember, practice makes perfect, so take the time to observe, reflect, and learn.
To speak with a psychotherapist or one of the speech-language pathologists at Well Said: Toronto Speech Therapy, schedule an initial consultation by clicking the link below or calling (647) 795-5277.
