What is a lie? Per my definition, a lie or deceit occurs when one person intends to mislead another or others, doing so deliberately without giving prior notification of said …
Nonverbal communication and deception
Can you tell from someone’s body language whether they are lying?
If you’ve been following Dr. Ekman’s work, you’ll know there is no single, definitive sign that we can count on to let us know with absolute certainty that someone …
Catching a Liar: Why is it so hard to spot a lie?
Reasons why we are not skilled at spotting lies
Research suggests that most people cannot tell from demeanor whether someone is lying or telling the truth. Such poor performance is not because lies are told flawlessly. Most liars make …
Cultural differences in emotional expressions
Reviewing Darwin’s studies of universal expressions
Emotional events and themes There are a number of ways in which cultures do differ in their emotional expressions. One important way is through what I’ve coined as display rules, …
Paul Ekman Group announces new Portuguese micro expressions training
Increasing accessibility to your training tools
Due to popular demand, Paul Ekman Group is now offering Portuguese translations of Dr. Ekman’s micro expressions training tools. Starting in 2006, Dr. Ekman and his team created training programs …
How our emotions help us
When and why we get emotional
When are our emotional reactions appropriate vs inappropriate? Most of the time, our emotions serve us well by bringing meaning (i.e., value) to our experiences; they mobilize us to deal …
Sixteen Enjoyable Emotions
All happiness emotions are enjoyable but not in the same way.
What does one mean by saying an emotion is either positive or negative? When we use the term negative we don’t know which emotion is being referred to. Is it …
Characteristics of Emotions
What science has taught us about emotional experiences
Have you ever caught yourself wondering how and why we become emotional? First, it’s important to note the similar characteristics of emotions, regardless of the emotion being felt. Here’s a …
Emotional Bias
Emotion and perception: How our emotions change the way we see the world
Emotion and the “chicken-or-the egg” paradox Our emotions impact how we perceive and respond to the world around us; how we interpret and, subsequently, judge the actions of others. We …
Heroic Compassion
Extreme altruism: Why do some people put their own lives at risk to help others?
Rather than being a different type of compassion, heroic compassion is a subset of each of the main forms of compassion: global, stranger, familiar, or familial compassionate actions. The distinguishing …
How to Detect Lies by Analyzing Facial Expression
The importance of context in Micro Expression Detection
Micro expressions can occur either as the result of conscious suppression or unconscious repression of emotions. As such, spotting micro expressions (or analyzing facial expressions) is key to learning how …
Errors in Detecting Lies
Dangers and Precautions when Catching Lies
When it comes to deception and catching lies, there are a number of common errors you need to be wary of. The two biggest failures of judgment in deception detection …
How we experience emotions differently
Individual differences of emotional response
We each experience the same emotions, but we all experience them differently. While my best known work is on the universal elements in emotion, I am now examining the exact …
How to Achieve Emotional Balance
Dr. Ekman and the Dalai Lama in Discussion
The following has been taken from discussions between Dr. Ekman and the Dalai Lama. Read more in their book Emotional Awareness. Ekman: What I have been able to distill from …
The Science of Smiling
Different types of smiles
What’s in a smile? Smiles, specifically the different types of smiles, are probably the most underrated and misunderstood of the seven universal facial expressions, with the science of smiling being …
Building Social Connectedness to Cultivate Our Compassion
How we can move toward a more connected and compassionate world
It has always been a Buddhist tenet that compassion should be cultivated so that it extends to all living beings, not just the members of your family, tribe, or nation; …
Pathological Liars, Psychopaths & Natural Liars
How can we tell natural liars from pathological liars and psychopaths?
Natural Liars During my research into deception and nonverbal communication, I discovered a small population of people I would come to refer to as “natural liars”. These individuals, while gifted …
Do lie detectors actually work?
A deception detection expert’s account of the polygraph exam
Is it called a lie detector or a polygraph? First created in 1921 by a law enforcement officer, the polygraph machine’s sole purpose was to track moment-to-moment physiological changes in …
Nonverbal Communication Quiz Can you answer these questions about nonverbal communication?
Take the Nonverbal Communication Quiz to see if you know the answers to questions about emotions, expressions, gestures, and other nonverbal communication.
Lying to hide your feelings
Here’s what happens when you try to conceal emotions
Excerpt from Telling Lies A failure to think ahead, plan fully, and rehearse the false line is only one of the reasons why mistakes that furnish clues to deceit are …
Suppressed Emotions and Deception: The Discovery of Micro Expressions
From emotional expressions research to modern micro expressions
Excerpt from Emotions Revealed pp. 213-215 Suppressed emotions versus truthfulness It was not my idea to find out how emotions might be useful in evaluating truthfulness. The question arose nearly …
Deception & Lying Quiz Can you tell if someone is lying?
Take this deception quiz to find out how much you know about the signs and reasons for lying.
How to Tell if Someone is Lying
Clues to deceit
Two clues to deceit Have you ever wondered how to tell if someone is lying? For starters, there are two kinds of clues to deceit. A mistake may reveal the …
Feelings about Lying to Someone
Delight, guilt and the fear of being caught lying
Excerpt from Emotions Revealed The range of emotions we feel when lying to someone The three emotions most frequently experienced by people when they are lying are fear, guilt, and …
Feeling Gratitude and Rejoicing
Dr. Ekman and the Dalai Lama discuss the gratitude emotion and the experience of rejoicing
Excerpt from Emotional Awareness pp. 211-215 Sharing Gratitude Ekman: I would like to mention two other emotions that I think are relevant to the development of compassion. Often, though not …
Feeling Fear
How fear makes you feel
Is feeling fear a good or a bad thing? The core of fear is the threat of harm and the possibility of pain, physical or psychological. Fear is a complicated …
Fake Smile or Genuine Smile?
The importance of the Duchenne smile
Types of smiles What is the meaning of the smile? Recent research has shown that there are many types of smiles, and that one type of smile — the enjoyment …
How to Deal with Emotions
Influence your emotional reactions with increased awareness of impulses and behaviors
Awareness is against our nature Nature doesn’t make it easy for us to learn how to deal with our emotions. After nearly 50 years of research, I don’t believe that …
Facial Micro Expressions
How to respond to emotional information you weren't meant to see
Proper etiquette when spotting facial micro expressions If you’ve ever witnessed a person’s micro expressions and weren’t sure how best to respond, there are some important considerations that can help guide …
Paul Ekman Trivia How well do you know Dr. Ekman and his work with emotions and facial expressions?
Take the Paul Ekman Trivia Quiz to see how well you know Dr. Ekman and his work with emotions, facial expressions, and the hit TV show Lie to Me.
Emotional Vocabulary Quiz Obscure Emotions
How much do you know about emotions? Test your knowledge with these obscure emotions.
Emotion Families: Part 2
How to interpret facial expressions of emotion
Excerpt from Semiotics around the World: Synthesis in Diversity From Emotion Families: Part 1, we learned that “…we consider each emotion as constituting a family of related affective states, which …
Emotion Families: Part 1
Organizing facial expressions of emotion
Excerpt from Semiotics around the World: Synthesis in Diversity How do we categorize facial expressions of emotion? While there are seven universal facial expressions of emotion we all experience, there …
Are there honest liars?
The truth about being deceitful
Are all liars being deceitful? Don’t you have to be one or the other: honest or dishonest, a liar or a truthful person? As I see it, no. An honest …
What is Global Compassion and How Can We Attain It?
Moving toward a more compassionate world by defining compassion and suffering
Excerpts taken from Moving Toward Global Compassion pp. 13-16 What is global compassion? In the last few years, there has been a renewed interest in compassion. Yet focus on how …
Mood vs. Emotion: Differences & Traits
A quick view of mood vs. emotion
In an excerpt taken from “The Nature Of Emotion“, Dr. Ekman lays out five factors of mood vs. emotion. Variations in duration, provocation, modulation, facial expression, and awareness of cause …
Reading Micro Expressions on a Date
Understanding their true emotions
February 14, 2019 For many of us, going on a first date can be a daunting, if not confusing experience… and that makes sense! Think about it: not only are …
Are facial expressions universal or culturally specific?
A look at cultural expressions in public and private
Excerpts taken from Dr. Paul Ekman’s scientific autobiography, Nonverbal Messages: Cracking the Code (pp. 70-74) January 22, 2018 Display Rules As I was preparing to make my second trip to New Guinea, …
Psychologist Paul Ekman: Getting to Know the Man Behind the Success
An Intimate Paul Ekman Interview
December 26, 2018 The world knows Dr. Ekman as a celebrated research psychologist, a best-selling author, a sought-after scientific advisor to Hollywood, and even a “brother” to the Dalai Lama. …
Types of Lying
Different Types of Lying
Original excerpt from “Telling Lies” (pp. 329-330) October 31, 2018 What makes a lie a lie and what distinguishes a lie from another form of untruth? Dr. Ekman takes a look …
Learning to Lie
From "Why Kids Lie" by Dr. Paul Ekman (pp. 86-89)
August 27, 2018 Developing the Ability to Lie Many of the abilities that develop with age-abilities necessary for children to take increasing responsibility for themselves — also allow them to …
Signs of Lying
Articles About Lying
February 28, 2018 Excerpts taken from Dr. Paul Ekman’s scientific autobiography, “Nonverbal Messages: Cracking the Code” (p. 237-239) When is it a lie? Many observable signs of lying have been …
Compassionate Actions
Exploring the feeling of compassion
January 31, 2018 Why compassionate actions feel good I believe that it is rewarding, literally, to engage in compassionate actions because such acts generate a feeling of compassion joy. It …
Herramientas de capacitación en español de microexpresiones
Herramientas de capacitación en español de Microexpresiones ahora con leyendas y subtítulos
November 22, 2017 Esforzándose por brindar las mismas oportunidades educativas, el Grupo Paul Ekman ahora ofrece Herramientas de Capacitación en Español de Microexpresiones para todos los usuarios, tanto actuales como …