More on FOX Entertainments' "Lie To Me".
I am interested in the theory behind this show.
The show promotes science and the consultant Paul Ekman.
Ekman is the most well-known scientist in the area of facial recognition and emotion.
About ten years ago I became aware of him through his teacher who he gives ample credit for forming much of his career. That teacher was Silvan S. Tomkins.
Tomkins is seriously known among many as “The American Einstein.” This is because many see him as doing for the mind what Einstein did for the physical world. Much of how he did this was by studying the face. He preceded Paul Ekman in this and Charles Darwin preceded both by many years by exploring emotion in man and animals and documented his findings in a book entitled “The Expression of Emotion in Man and Animals.”
Ekman focused almost entirely on the face and eschewed much of traditional psychology yet has, of course, written much on lie detection. Tomkins went on to write a complete theory of human psychology called “Affect Theory”
Ekman had his disagreements with Tomkins and it ended up that they came up with different but similar lists of “basic” emotions
Ekman's list:
Sadness
Surprise
Fear
Disgust
Contempt
Joy
* I note in the show they mention “shame” but it is not on Ekmans “primary” list as of 2003 in his book “Emotions Revealed.” He does not essentially distinguish it from “sadness.” Also, the pictures they use for “shame” on the show are not always what Tomkins, or I would call shame.
Tomkins' list of emtions:
Interest
Joy
Surprise
Anger
Fear
Disgust
Distress
Dissmell
Shame
There is much to say about the differences in these lists. I hope I generate some interest and discussion.
Several things: Originally Tomkins agreed that “contempt” was primary but then broke it down into disgust and dissmell.
What do you think?
This is a rich topic and I am very excited to see that it is being applied in any way. I would prefer to see it being applied in some “therapeutic” way but this is a start.
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