The Use Of Facial Expressions In Communication English Language Essay

The Use Of Facial Expressions In Communication English Language Essay What messages are we conveying with the expression on our faces or with the twinkle in our eye. Is it a universal message known to all or is it interpreted differently by various cultures and people? Facial expressions are a major part of communication and have a profound impact on the messages we give and receive nonverbally. This paper will focus on facial expressions and the influences they have on the way we are able to understand another persons emotions without as much as a word from them. Discussion We are communicating with our bodies all the time whether we realize it or not. Most of the emotional meanings of our messages are given through facial expressions, body language, gestures and our appearance. People tend to believe nonverbal signs of communication more than the actual words because it is harder to mask the emotions behind them and they show through. Reading and interpreting these nonverbal cues is valuable skill. It is useful in all different types of relationships every day. Different cultures focus their attention on various parts of the face making this form on nonverbal communication different among cultures. In America we look at the face in its entirety as opposed to Easterners who concentrate more on just the eyes. This is shown through emoticons as well as in person. (Facial expressions,)When Westerners email or send a text message the emoticon s show a mouth smiling or frowning. Easterners emoticons have bigger eyes and the mouth is usually a straight across line. Westerners emoticons eyes are usually represented by dots. The differences in these show where different cultures focus their attention on and what they find most important. Often, people tend to mimic the facial expression of the person who is talking to them. It is said that this is an unconscious act so people dont always know when they are doing it. Some researchers have said it is a behavior we learn, for that reason it is different among cultures. These expressions are said to be so powerful that they can influence an emotional experience without the perceiver actually going through the experience. (Emotional empathy and, 2008). These influential gestures have the ability to make people empathize with one another. This made me think of the saying smile, its contagious. I have noticed if Im having a bad day and a random stranger smile at me I return the smile and sometime that puts me in a better mood. Even if my mood it just changes a little, it is still a strong tool. I believe facial expressions are a very powerful form of communication. I believe if we utilize them correctly they can be very persuasive and help us in our day to day lives. It has been proven that children with disabilities have a harder time understanding people socially. Studies show that people with autism and mental retardation have a different way of interpreting facial expressions. Instead of focusing on the entire face as a whole, people with autism look at the lower part of the face focusing their gaze mostly on the mouth. (Gross, 2007). When reading someones facial expressions we look at a number of things including eyes, mouth, eye brows and many other muscles of the face. By looking into someones eyes we can tell if they are lying, paying attention to us or if they are avoiding something. An autistic person generally avoids eye contact or has very little of it. They look at other people as little as possible. (Klin,Lin,Gorrindo,Ramsey,Jones, 2009). This is the main reason they do not interpret facial expressions as well as others. The lack of focus on the eyes has a major impact on this. They also do not mirror the expressions which is how yo u learn to read and interpret them starting at a young age. There are many different factors that we take into consideration when interpreting facial expressions. Place and time is a main one. If a person has just woken up we may see that on their face and interpret it as they are tired when in fact they are well rested and just waking up. Another factor is if alcohol has been added in the mix. In one study, after the participants were given alcohol, they had a harder time distinguishing between if the picture of the male was angry or disgusted. Because of the stereotypical belief that males are more aggressive their facial expression was perceived as this. The same study showed that alcohol did not affect the ability to perceive happy emotions. (Attwood,Ataya,Benton,Penton-Voak,Munafo, 2009). Positive emotions are easier to read and take less effort to distinguish. They are generally the same among different ages and cultures. Another factor that determines whether we accept or reject a facial expression is the current mood we are in. If we are happy we are more positive and more accepting or willing to believe the expression as genuine. If we are in a bad mood there is a better chance of us assuming that the person is controlling their expression and it isnt truly how they feel. (Forgas, East, 2008) We tend to analyze negative expressions more. If we are listening to someone talk and watching their expressions while we are angry or unhappy we are usually showing this on our face. If we are not mirroring the expressions of the person talking ,we usually dont fully understand or really believe what they are saying. We are a lot more skeptical of others while in a bad mood ,almost as if we are threatening situation. I think that is because they can lead to a more negative experience. Positive emotions are easier to read and understand. If we feel better about ourselves and our mood, we feel better about othe r people and are able to trust that they are being genuine. Conclusion- We are expressing and perceiving many different messages through nonverbal communication and our bodies. Our facial expressions have a major impact on this part of communication and can be the deciding factor on if what we are saying is believed by the other person. This very powerful nonverbal form of communication can be used as a persuasive tool to help us get what we want or help a perceiver emphasize with how we feel. It can also help a person lie to someone .If one learns to control their expressions they can be very deceitful. Because people with disabilities view the face in parts instead of a whole they do not get the full effect of the expressions and they are not able to grasp the meaning of it. There are other things factors that cloud our ability to interpret facial expressions such as stereotyping and alcohol. When added together it is easier to misread the signs we can usually interpret without a problem . This is usually only true when referring to males. I believe that nonverbal communication is a very important type of communication. Because facial expressions are such a major part of this, I think it is important to learn and understand them. They show how a person feels without them saying it. If the person interpreting the message is in a good mood they will most likely believe the person sending the message is being genuine. If you can learn to correctly use and interpret these important tools, than you will have outstanding communication skills needed for your work and personal life. Citations- Facial expressions. (n.d.).  In the News, Retrieved from http://library1.kvcc.edu:2086/WebZ/FTFETCH?sessionid=fsapp4-41904-gasyyy7a-20joz8:entitypagenum=4:0:rule=100:fetchtype=fulltext:dbname=WilsonSelectPlus_FT:recno=3:resultset=1:ftformat=PDF:format=BI:isbillable=TRUE:numrecs=1:isdirectarticle=FALSE:entityemailfullrecno=3:entityemailfullresultset=1:entityemailftfrom=WilsonSelectPlus_FT: Emotional empathy and facial feedback. (2008). Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 32(4), 215-224. Retrieved from http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=9did=1570597881SrchMode=1sid=2Fmt=6VInst=PRODVType=PQDRQT=309VName=PQDTS=1277397393clientId=17874 Gross, T.F. (2007). Recognition of immaturity and emotional expressions in blended faces by children with autism and other developmental disabilities. Retrieved from http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=4did=1426442671SrchMode=1sid=1Fmt=6VInst=PRODVType=PQDRQT=309VName=PQDTS=1277401770clientId=17874 Klin,Lin,Gorrindo,Ramsey,Jones, A,D,P,G,W. (2009). Two-year-olds with autism orient to non-social contingencies rather than biological motion. Retrieved from http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=0did=1722927501SrchMode=1sid=1Fmt=3VInst=PRODVType=PQDRQT=309VName=PQDTS=1277403869clientId=17874 doi: 1722927501 Attwood,Ataya,Benton,Penton-Voak,Munafo, A,A,C,I,M. (2009). Effects of alcohol consumption and alcohol expectancy on the categorization of perceptual cues of emotional expression. Origional Investigation, Retrieved from http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=7did=1691777391SrchMode=1sid=6Fmt=6VInst=PRODVType=PQDRQT=309VName=PQDTS=1277406623clientId=17874 doi: 1691777391 Forgas, East, J,R. (2008). How Real is that smile? mood effects on accepting. Original Paper, Retrieved from http://library1.kvcc.edu:2081/pqdweb?index=13did=1493057881SrchMode=1sid=2Fmt=6VInst=PRODVType=PQDRQT=309VName=PQDTS=1277422728clientId=17874 doi: 1493057881

The Pit and the Pendulum essay -- essays research papers

The Dungeon of Madness In this story, Edgar Allan Poe (such as in many of his works) uses the setting to create a dark image inside our minds. He makes this specially through darkness, therefore the character makes a connection with death. â€Å"The physical setting oppresses him in the visions of his graveyard† (1). â€Å"The setting plays an important role in how the narrator discovers the many ways he may die† (2). It is a dungeon full of torturing traps, and the character, as any normal human, feels terror inside his prison and fears his death in any of the cruel ways arranged for him. Still, he has to decide between death and the relief which it brings or life with the interminable agony of being tortured as a lab mouse. The best terror stories create suspense through the setting. Most of the times, the character does not know completely where he is or what enemy or problem he is facing. In â€Å"The Pit and the Pendulum†, the underground prison is dark; as a result, the character compares the place with hell or even his tomb. That is why at the beginning, during his dream-like state, he does not want to open his eyes and we do not know where he is either. The darkness makes the character struggle with the idea of trusting his senses or not. Also, he is afraid to discover more mean ways in which he may die. Poe creates a disgusting atmosphere for the setting. He starts describing the prison as a "damp and hard place." There is no light and the character is not able to s...

Barrack Obama

Barrack Obama is going to be one of the great leaders that America ever have in its history. He is going to rejuvenate the country and bringing it back to life. His dynamic leadership will infuse a new spirit of hope into it. Presently America is faced with myriad of problems on various fronts and a very vibrant leadership is required to bring it back on the track towards progress. Barrack Obama is the man who can do all this efficiently. He has declared in his speeches that he is going to end the war in Iraq and this way he is going to plug the drain on the huge budgetary spending on this intensely disturbing and money-wasting war.I will also vote for him for the reason that he is going to bring our boys back from the unkind soil of Iraq. His economic policy are sustainable and have human element in them. He says that he believes in â€Å"an economy that honors the dignity of work. † (Democratic Convention Speech, 2008) He also does not believe in conventional racial theories prorogated by earliest Afro-American leaders and looks forward for homogeneous society. (Race Speech, 2008)I will vote for barrack Obama because he has said that he is going to finish Al-qaeda hideouts in Afghanistan and that he will crush them to death even if he has to enter into the land of Pakistan. He said in this regard: â€Å"The first step must be getting off the wrong battlefield in Iraq, and taking the fight to the terrorists in Afghanistan and Pakistan. † (Obama, 2007) On the front of economy for the reason that eight years of George Bush and his party’s rule has just given birth to unemployment, budgetary deficit and a big pile of loans. The image of my country has also been tarnished greatly because of their policies.So I don’t want that party to have another four years in the presidential office. The speeches of barrack Obama has made me very optimistic that when Obama will enter into the presidential office he will, by strong, vibrant and meaning ful steps, uplift the economy and put it on the tack towards success and development. All above-mentioned arguments clearly manifest that Obama is a right selection to be voted as next U. S. president in these hard times as he is determined and devoted toward the cause of democratic world which is less prone to terrorism. He agenda is not only American but is universal in nature. Works CitedObama, Barak. Remarks of Senator Obama: The War We Need to Win. 20 January, 2008. Retrieved on 08 September 2008. Available at: http://www. barackobama. com/2007/08/01/the_war_we_need_to_win. php Obama, Barak. Barack Obama Democratic Convention Speech. The Huffington Post. August 28, 2008. Retrieved on 08 September 2008. Available at:

My Philosophy of Education Essay - 1611 Words

Philosophy of Education One characteristic of a good teacher is a sound philosophy of education. This will ensure the readiness of the teacher in the classroom setting. The philosophy should be thought out with care and contain concrete ideas concerning several aspects of education. My philosophy of education contains my view about: the nature of students, the nature of knowledge, the purpose of public education, teaching methods, and curriculum. People have many different views about the nature of students. Like Rousseau, I feel that students are neither good nor evil. The situations they encounter in their everyday lives shape the way they behave and the person they become. The nature of students isn’t always shaped by†¦show more content†¦Again, students can choose to use any experience to their advantage. Teachers have the ability to take the intelligence presented by each child and shape it into something special. 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