Are there universal expressions of emotion

普遍适用的情感表达是否存在

来源视频

The 40 or so muscles in the human face  can be activated in different combinations

to create thousands of expressions.

But do these expressions look the same

and communicate the same meaning around the world,

regardless of culture?

Is one person’s smile another’s grimace?

人类面部有超过40块肌肉

人们通过触发不同的肌肉群， 去做出数以万计的表情。

但在不同的文化中，

这些相同的表情，

在世界范围内传达的意思都相同吗？

一个人做笑脸 会不会也是在做鬼脸呢？

Charles Darwin theorized that emotional  expression was a common human feature.

But he was in the minority.

Until the mid-th century,

many researchers believed  that the specific ways we show emotion

were learned behaviors  that varied across cultures.

Personality theorist Silvan Tomkins  was one of the few to insist otherwise.

Tomkins claimed that certain affects—

emotional states and their associated  facial expressions—

were universal.

查尔斯·达尔文的理论是 情绪表达是人类的共同特点。

那时他的理论受众并不广。

直到二十世纪中期，

许多研究人员相信 我们展示情绪的具体方式

是习得性行为， 并存在文化差异。

人格理论家西尔万·汤姆金斯 是为数不多支持这一理论的人。

汤姆金斯声称一定的影响---

情绪状态和与之相关的面部表情

是普遍适用的。

In the 1960s, psychologist Paul Ekman  set about testing this theory

by examining hundreds  of hours of film footage

of remote tribes isolated  from the modern world.

Ekman found the native peoples’  expressions to be not only familiar,

but occurring in precisely  the situations he would expect.

Conversely, he ran tests with tribes who had no prior exposure to Western culture.

They were able to correctly match photos of different facial expressions

with stories designed  to trigger particular feelings.

在19世纪60年代， 心理学家保罗·埃克曼测试了这个理论。

通过检查前往与世隔绝的部落

拍摄的成百上千小时的录像片段，

埃克曼发现原住民的表情 不只熟悉，

而且准确出现在他期待的情形下。

反过来，他测试了一些 完全隔绝于西方文明的部落。

随着触发 特定情绪的故事设定，

他们能正确选出与之匹配的 不同面部表情的照片。

Over the next few decades,

further research has corroborated Darwin’s idea

that some of our most important emotional expressions are in fact universal.

The degrees of expression appropriate  to a given situation can, however,

vary greatly across cultures.

For instance, researchers  have studied facial expression

in people who are born blind,

hypothesizing that  if expressions are universal,

they would be displayed  in the same way as sighted people.

之后的几十年中，

后续研究确实了达尔文的想法

即一些重要的情绪表达方式 事实上是具有普遍性的。

然而特定情况下的表情

在各种文化中表现很不一样

举个例子，研究者在学习 面部的表情

在那些天生就失明的人身上

假设情绪是通用的，

他们会和不失明的人 做出一样的动作。

In one study, both blind  and sighted athletes

displayed the same expressions of emotion when winning or losing their matches.

Further evidence can be found  in our evolutionary relatives.

Comparisons of facial expression between humans and non-human mammals

have found similarities in the structure  and movement of facial muscles.

Chimpanzee laughter  looks different from ours,

but uses some of the same  muscle movements.

在一项研究中，盲和不盲的运动员

做出了一样的表情 当他们赢或输了比赛。

更多的证据可以在进化论中找到。

对比人类和非人类的 哺乳动物的表情

找到了面部肌肉相似的 构造和动态。

猩猩笑起来看上去和我们不同，

但是使用的是同样的肌肉。

Back in the 1960s, Ekman identified  six core expressions.

Anger is accompanied by lowered eyebrows drawn together,

tense and narrowed eyes,

and tight lips;

disgust, by the lips pulled up and the nose crinkling.

In fear, the upper white of the eyes  are revealed as the eyebrows raise

and the mouth stretches open,

while surprise looks similar,

but with rounded eyebrows  and relaxed lips.

Sadness is indicated by the inner corners  of the eyebrows

being drawn inwards and upwards,

drooping eyes,

and a downturned mouth.

And of course there’s happiness:

lips drawn up and back,

and raised cheeks causing wrinkling  around the eyes.

在上世纪60年代， 埃克曼定义了6种核心表情。

愤怒伴随着紧缩在一起的眉毛

狭窄而紧绷的眼睛

以及紧绷的嘴唇

讨厌，表现在嘴唇嘟起 和鼻子皱在一起。

恐惧，上眼白露出，眉毛高挑

嘴巴张着，

惊讶看起来很相似，

只不过眉毛是比较圆润的， 嘴唇放松。

悲伤表现在眉头的部分

不断的上下浮动，

下垂的眼睛，

嘴巴缩小。

当然了还有愉快：

嘴唇上扬，

鼓起的脸颊使眼角的鱼尾纹露出。

More recently, researchers  have proposed additional entries

such as contempt,

shame,

and disapproval,

but opinions vary  on how distinct boundaries

between these categories can be drawn.

So if Ekman and other researchers  are correct,

what makes certain expressions universal?

And why are they expressed  in these particular ways?

最近不久， 研究者发现了额外的一些

像是鄙视

耻辱

以及不赞成

但是在关于如何定义

这些表情的观点 各不相同。

如果埃克曼和其他研究人员 是正确的，

是什么使特定的表情普遍呢

为什么它们都表现在 某一种特殊方式呢？

Scientists have a lot of theories rooted  in our evolutionary history.

One is that certain expressions  are important for survival.

Fear and surprise could signal  to others an immediate danger.

Studies of humans and some other primates

have found that we pay more attention  to faces that signal threats

over neutral faces,

particularly when we’re already  on high alert.

Expressions also could  help improve group fitness

by communicating our internal states  to those around us.

Sadness, for example, signals to the group that something’s wrong.

科学家们有许多基于 进化史的理论。

一是 一种表情对于生存很重要，

恐惧和惊讶是 即将到来的危险的信号。

人类和其他灵长类动物的研究

发现我们会更加注意 有威胁的信号。

相比于自然的面部表情，

特别是当我们已经敲响了警钟。

表情也可以帮助改善合群性

与在我们身边的这些人 进行内部交流。

悲伤，打个比方，对于群体来说 是事情不对劲的信号。

There’s some evidence that expressions

might be even more directly linked  to our physiology.

The fear expression, for instance,

could directly improve survival  in potentially dangerous situations

by letting our eyes absorb more light

and our lungs take in more air,  preparing us to fight or flee.

There’s still much research to be done  in understanding emotional expression,

particularly as we learn more about  the inner workings of the brain.

But if you ever find yourself  among strangers in a strange land,

a friendly smile could go a long way.

这里有一些证据，关于表情

可能对我们的生理 有更加直接的联系。

例如，恐惧的表情

可以直接增加 在潜在危险情况中存活的几率

让我们的眼睛接收更多光

让我们的肺吸入更多的空气， 让我们准备好战斗或逃离。

关于表情的学习和研究 依然有很长的路要走，

特别是当我们更加了解 大脑内部的运行方法。

如果你发现自己身处陌生的小岛 还有一群陌生的人。

一个友好的微笑总会是有用的。