iBet uBet web content aggregator. Adding the entire web to your favor.
iBet uBet web content aggregator. Adding the entire web to your favor.



Link to original content: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11786989
Human facial expressions as adaptations: Evolutionary questions in facial expression research - PubMed Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2001:Suppl 33:3-24.
doi: 10.1002/ajpa.2001.

Human facial expressions as adaptations: Evolutionary questions in facial expression research

K L Schmidt  1 , J F Cohn
Affiliations
Review

Human facial expressions as adaptations: Evolutionary questions in facial expression research

K L Schmidt et al. Am J Phys Anthropol. 2001.

Abstract

The importance of the face in social interaction and social intelligence is widely recognized in anthropology. Yet the adaptive functions of human facial expression remain largely unknown. An evolutionary model of human facial expression as behavioral adaptation can be constructed, given the current knowledge of the phenotypic variation, ecological contexts, and fitness consequences of facial behavior. Studies of facial expression are available, but results are not typically framed in an evolutionary perspective. This review identifies the relevant physical phenomena of facial expression and integrates the study of this behavior with the anthropological study of communication and sociality in general. Anthropological issues with relevance to the evolutionary study of facial expression include: facial expressions as coordinated, stereotyped behavioral phenotypes, the unique contexts and functions of different facial expressions, the relationship of facial expression to speech, the value of facial expressions as signals, and the relationship of facial expression to social intelligence in humans and in nonhuman primates. Human smiling is used as an example of adaptation, and testable hypotheses concerning the human smile, as well as other expressions, are proposed.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Basic facial expression phenotypes. 1, disgust; 2, fear; 3, joy; 4, surprise; 5, sadness; 6, anger. Posed images from Kanade et al. (2000).
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Eyebrow flash of greeting (Eibl-Eibesfeldt, 1989).
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Muscles of facial expression. 1, frontalis; 2, orbicularis oculi; 3, zygomaticus major; 4, risorius; 5, platysma; 6, depressor anguli oris. Original drawing from Huber (1931). (Reprinted by permission of The Johns Hopkins University Press.)
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Non-Duchenne and Duchenne smiles. a: Non-Duchenne smile. b: Duchenne smile. Images from Kanade et al. (2000).
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Automated method for quantifying facial movement. a: Posed smile with outlined features tracked automatically (Tian et al., 2001). b: Movement (radius length relative to mouth center) of right and left lip corners calculated from positional change in tracked features over first 400 msec of expression (Schmidt and Cohn, 2001).
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
Homologous displays in human and nonhuman primates. a: Rhesus macaque submissive display. Photograph by Frans DeWaal, 1989.(Silent bared teeth display.) b: Human smile. From Kanade et al.,2000. (Silent bared teeth display.) c: Bonobo play face. Photograph by Frans DeWaal, 1988. (Relaxed open mouth display.) d: Human play face, from Forbes et al., 2000. (Relaxed open mouth display.)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Adolphs R. Social cognition and the human brain. Trends Cogn Sci. 1999;3:469–479. - PubMed
    1. Alexander RD. The biology of moral systems. Hawthorne, NY: Aldine deGruyter; 1987.
    1. Andrew RJ. The origin and evolution of the calls and facial expressions of the primates. Behaviour. 1962;20:1–107.
    1. Bavelas JB, Chovil N. Faces in dialogue. In: Russell JA, Fernandez-Dols JM, editors. The psychology of facial expression. New York: Cambridge University Press; 1997. pp. 334–346.
    1. Belsky J, Nezworski T. Clinical implications of attachment. In: Belsky J, Nezworski T, editors. Clinical implications of attachment. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates; 1988. pp. 3–17.

LinkOut - more resources