Thank to you everyone for your overwhelming response to the “Submit your questions to Dr. Matsumoto” post a month ago.

Here are a few questions and answers by Dr. Matsumoto himself!

Find out more about Dr. Matsumoto and his research at his website

You can read Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 of the series by clicking on the appropriate links.

Q1. (Rob) What makes one person better at reading emotional expression than another?

A1.Practice, experience and one’s natural propensity to read emotions. Some people are born better sensors and perceivers of the world to begin with. It most likely has something to do with one’s genetics, personality and life experience. Also how much a person hones their ability by practicing would have a great impact on reading emotional expressions.

Q2. (Russ C.)   In a past Q&A you said there were self-aware emotions:What other groups or categories of emotions are there and how can I learn more about them?

Q2. I believe you mean self-conscious emotions, not self-aware emotions. There are various classifications of emotions: basic emotions, self-conscious emotions, pro-social emotions, moral emotions and positive emotions. I recommend you find an introductory book on emotion to do some research.

Q3. (Carlos) Do any of your online trainings teach how to measure the rate intensity of facial expressions of emotion?

A2. I don’t understand your question. However, our online training programs teach people how to recognize facial expressions of emotion. They don’t assess expressions that occur.

Q4. (Russ C.) Since the passing of Maureen O’Sullivan, what is the status of research into Naturals? Who is doing this work now, and where can we learn the latest research results?

A4. Unfortunately, I don’t really know the status. We offered several times to her estate to help to finalize her final works and consider continuing that work, but have not heard back.

Q5. (Mewan) What can you say about the reliability of Shrugs and Head Shakes? I see the shrugs all the time during a positive statement….which one is a more reliable indicator: A full shrug (with both shoulders/hands) or a shrug fragment (with one shoulder/hand)?

A5. That really depends on your definition of what “reliable” is. If you’re talking about the validity of these actions in determining deception, shrugs are valid indicators of lack of confidence but are not indicators of deception. It is an indication of that person qualifying that statement, which people typically do. People can qualify a statement and not be deceptive as well. There are also individuals whose baseline is to shrug a lot and they are just like that. Its important to notice changes from baseline when assessing credibility.

Q6. (Matt S.) Who would you suggest (whether its books, blogs, website, research, etc.) to look up on researching and writing about non-verbal behavior and deception?

A6. I highly suggest you read this article and also take a look at the end notes at the end of the article.

Q7. (Camille) Action units (10)+15+17 -mouth shrug- are often interpreted as a sign of disbelief in what is being said. However, I often see this combination when someone is impressed, by somebody else’s work for example. What is your opinion?

A7. I think it has both of those emblematic representations.

Q8. (Russ C.) Does research tell how to distinguish in the forehead between worry and surprise? The lines in the forehead look the same to me for both emotions, but I’m sure they are not.

A8. There is a clear difference between these two expressions. Worry will have the brows up and together, creating horizontal lines, while surprise simply has brows up and it looks open and round. Look for the roundness in the eyebrows.

The Ventura County Star has reported that people who get Botox often have trouble relating their emotions, which could prove a detriment to others.

Why would this affect others?  Well, according to David Neal of USC’s Dornsife College, people read each other’s emotions in part by imitating them.

Neal’s study suggests that in a sub-conscious process called micro-mimicry people mimic the emotions of others.  Botox complicates this process by smoothing out wrinkles and immobilizing muscles.

He purports, “This would happen in about a third of a second”, “My own body is telling me what that (look of) suspicion is – suspicion or maybe seduction.”

The study’s findings are published in the journal, Social Psychological and Personality Science.

According to the research, people were shown various photographs and asked to identify the emotion being shown.  The people receiving Botox picked out the right emotion about 70% of the time, which was about 7% less than people on the dermal filler (i.e. the control).

“It would mean that for every 15th person you would encounter, having Botox means you would make one more error in working out what emotion that person was feeling,” Neal went on to say.

Plastic surgeon, Dr. Laurie McCall, said that the study’s impact is likely to be pretty modest.  She cited a 2006 study that shown Botox to be a possible key ingredient in diminishing depression.  She suggest that anger lines and the reactions triggered from others may affect the way people feel, “For Lots of patients, they’re not coming in to look more beautiful or younger, they’re trying to find a way to look less stressed or angry.”