Emotions Revealed, Second Edition: Recognizing Faces and Feelings to Improve Communication and Emotional Life [Paperback]

Paul Ekman (Author)

Book Description

Release date: March 20, 2007

"A tour de force. If you read this book, you'll never look at other people in quite the same way again."--Malcolm Gladwell

 

Renowned psychologist Paul Ekman explains the roots of our emotions--anger, fear, disgust, sadness, and happiness--and shows how they cascade across our faces, providing clear signals to those who can identify the clues. As featured in Malcolm Gladwell's bestseller Blink, Ekman's Facial Action Coding System offers intense training in recognizing feelings in spouses, children, colleagues, even strangers on the street.

In Emotions Revealed, Ekman distills decades of research into a practical, mind-opening, and life-changing guide to reading the emotions of those around us. He answers such questions as: How does our body signal to others whether we are slightly sad or anguished, peeved or enraged? Can we learn to distinguish between a polite smile and the genuine thing? Can we ever truly control our emotions? Packed with unique exercises and photographs, and a new chapter on emotions and lying that encompasses security and terrorism as well as gut decisions, Emotions Revealed is an indispensable resource for navigating our emotional world.

Editorial Reviews

Review

There has been huge interest from the media in this fascinating book and Paul is over here at the moment doing publicity. He has done an interview for THE DAILY TELEGRAPH where the journalist and Paul went round the National Gallery looking at the paintings with Paul reading the emotions on the portraits. He has also been interviewed for the GUARDIAN, which will run in their LIFE SECTION on 19 June. Paul wrote a big piece for THE OBSERVER which ran in theircrime supplmenent on Sunday 27 April. While he was here Paul was interviewedon THIS MORNING (ITV) 3 June, THE FI GLOVER SHOW (BBC Radio 5 Live) 2 June, JOHNNIE WALKER SHOW (BBC Radio 2), 2 June, EMOTIONAL ROLLERCOASTER (BBC Radio4), BBC RADIO SHROPSHIRE and NEWSTALK 106 for Ireland. Reviews are just starting to come in: 'Here Paul Ekman doyen of contemporary emotion researchers, turns to the practical management of emotion in everyday life. The result is an outstanding example of popular scientific writing.'NEW SCIENTIST 'There are some fascinating titbits along the way. I was struck by his suggestion thatwhile emotions are vital tools for dealing with the outside world, moods area destructive by-product and that we'd be better off without them. Ekman canbe riveting on the minutae of facial expressions, especially the way that anexpression can be observed even when an emotion is being half-felt or suppressed.'Robert Hanks, THE DAILY TELEGRAPH 'A brilliant and gripping read'THE GOO --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Paul Ekman is the world’s foremost expert on facial expressions and the professor emeritus of psychology at the University of California Medical School in San Francisco. He has served as an adviser to police departments, antiterrorism groups, and animation studios, and Ekman’s research inspired Lie to Me, the FOX TV series. The author of fifteen books, he lives in northern California.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Holt Paperbacks; 2nd edition (March 20, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805083391
• ISBN-13: 978-0805083392
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (50 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,253 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #12 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Mental Health > Emotions
  • #68 in Books > Self-Help > Relationships > Interpersonal Relations

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

212 of 228 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely Excellent book on Concealed Emotions March 14, 2009

By Susan C. Gill

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

btw I'm Susan Gill's son.

Dr Ekman has been getting alot of attention lately, due to the fact that he is the scientific consultant for the new show on Fox "Lie to Me". The show is even based off of his science. In fact, it's the reason I got into this type of behavioral science. So if like me you want to strengthen your ability to catch liars or see hidden emotions in the face, this book is without a doubt your best bet.

What makes this book so good is that Ekman includes pictures of every single emotion, and describes them in detail so that you should know which emotion should be felt at which time. Pictures are abundant in each chapter for each specific emotion On top of that, the book even has a test you can take to see how well you can read emotions before, and after you read the book.

Another very helpful thing is that he even gives a negation signal people can make in the face called "mouth shrugs", and the difference between a mouth shrug and sadness. This was an issue if you've seen the "Moral Waiver", because it was hard to spot in that particular episode what exactly a mouth shrug looked like. In fact, I know what a mouth shrug looks like and I STILL have a harder time seeing what they did with it, so on that note this book is very useful.

As for using it for lie detection, the extra chapter included in this edition is extremely useful. It describes the two types of errors a person can make when interpreting signals for lying, but not in so much detail that it kills you (I.E "Telling Lies"). It's almost as if it summarizes some of what "Telling Lies" says, so it's really good after you read "Telling Lies" to read that chapter if you're having any issues.

My only complaints for the book is mostly the way Ekman set up the chapters. He wrote why and when we feel the emotion BEFORE you learn to recognize it. This was a problem for me because it made me want to get to the faces and how to read them. If he had done that first, I may have been more interested in understanding WHY or WHEN certain emotions occur.

On a different note, Ekman really makes it seem that he doesn't have a lot of confidence in his lie detection system, but if you watch "Lie to Me" you can see clearly that his research can be well over 90 % accurate based on the context of the situations, and looking for changes in behavior instead of just one sign of lying only.

One last thing, if you to want to learn how to detect lies and how to read faces and body language like the people on "Lie to Me" (and like Ekman), this isn't the only book you should get. It's more of a concentration on the Face instead of the "whole picture" you'll be looking at.

This is my opinion, but you should really get Ekman's book "Telling Lies" and Alan and Barbara Pease's book "The Definitive Book of Body Language" if you want to get really serious about lie detection. Each book contains certain information that's more in depth on each subject. Like the use of Manipulators is alot more in depth in the Body language book than in any of Ekmans books (which is really needed because Ekman barely covers that topic). On top of that, reading body language can give you a better assesment of a person's behavior based on their positive and negative body language. Coupled with the "Tells" that Ekman describes, you should have a really good understanding of how the system works.

Ekman's other book, "Telling Lies" is a bit of a tougher read, but it includes valuable information on the body and lying that none of the other books have. It goes more in-depth on the two errors a Lie catcher can make, and give you a much deeper understanding on how and why people lie (make sure you buy the 2009 remake version though, it has the best information, and makes it sound more conclusive about his studies towards the end of the book).

So if you're interested in concealed emotions, buy this book immediately. If you're interested in lie detection however, buy this book, and "Telling Lies" (Paul Ekman) and "The Definitive Book of Body Language" (Allan, Barbara Pease) and to watch "Lie to Me" every week to get a better understanding of how to use his science.

*****EDITED NOTES*****

Just to let you know, I've edited my review to make it easier to read, and that I've written a review on "Telling Lies" if you'd like more information on that book.

ALSO, new to this Edit is the newest reccomended book on body language. "What Every Body Says" is my all time favorite book on body language. It's written by an ex FBI agent. While I was turned off by that fact at first, I read into it and found that the author is VERY exceptional at what he does. If you can, get that book instead of Alan and Barbara Pease's book. It's still an excellent book, but I found "What Every Body Says" to be a bit better =)

36 of 39 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Detailed and Informative February 10, 2009

By Rick Rumford

Format:Paperback

On the topic of body language and the display of emotions, Dr. Ekman is probably the most knowledgeable man alive. His writings are based on decades of real, scientific research and experimentation. In this second edition, he does a great job of explaining the root causes of emotions and then showing how emotions are displayed on the individual's face.

Dr. Ekman was among the first to identify micro-expressions, which he first identified as he studied a tape of a suicidal woman who was filmed denying her intent to commit suicide. By identifying her micro expressions, he was able to determine that, contrary to her verbal statements, she remained suicidal and in need of care and supervision.

Dr. Ekman peppers the book with many examples and anecdotes. For example, he shows how John Dean, Counselor to President Nixon, undercut his own credibility with an overly detailed memory description. The book is full of these kinds of anecdotes and examples.

Bonus: The appendix provides a visual test that the reader can use to determine their own proficiency in recognizing and reading emotions. I found the test to be interesting and instructive.

This book is a well-researched, scholarly work that will benefit any person interested in learning more about how to read and recognize the emotions of others. If you are looking for something with more entertainment value and more illustrations, you might check out The Definitive Book of Body Language by Allan and Barbara Pease.

39 of 44 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars An intriguing look at our faces and emotions September 15, 2008

By Taylor Ellwood VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

In Emotions Revealed, Ekman discusses how a person's face can be "read" to determine what kind of emotions s/he is feeling. The author then proceeds to focus on emotions such as contempt, disgust, sadness, happiness, and anger. In each chapter he has a model who shows different expressions. He explains in great detail how to read the facial expressions as well as what they seem to mean. He also has an exercise that people can do to use facial expressions to invoke feelings. Overall, it's a fascinating read, which shows how much the face is integral to feeling emotion as well as expressing it. At times, the book is dry and can be a bit of a slog to read through, but Ekman does a fairly comprehensive job of explaining the subject. I'm already eager to see how I can apply the concepts in my everyday communication.