FEX602 - Ch1 - FACS in Infants

Question 1

What is FACS, and developed by whom?

Answer 1

FACS - Facial Action Coding System
Developed by Ekman (1978).

• Defines Action Units (AU) independent of any interpretation.
• Standard for systemically classifying physical expression of emotions.
• Virtually encode any facial expressions by deconstruction AUs according to muscle movements in the face.
• Highly useful for scientific purposes (observation, not interpretation).

Question 2

How does FACS compare to MAX?

Answer 2

MAX - maximally discriminative facial movement coding system.
- Developed by Izard (1979).
- less comprehensive than FACS.
- Less description than FACS.
- Fail to differentiate between some anatomically distinct expressions while arguing some do not exist.

Question 3

Which other coding systems were developed in cooperation with Ekman?

Answer 3

EMFACS - Emotion Facial Action Coding System.

FACSAID - Facial Action Coding System Affect Interpretation Dictionary.

Question 4

What does FACS do?

Answer 4

It allows the identification of emotions based on the muscular activity involved in facial gestures and changes in appearance due to visible muscle changes.

It describes distinctive actions such as skin movements, temporary changes in shape and location of features, skin folds and onset, termination, intensity, and asymmetry of facial expression.

Ignore non-visible changes (changes in muscle tone, superficial skin coloration,
sweating, tears, rashes, etc.) are also important in recognizing emotions.

Question 5

What is the limitation of FACS in emotion recognition?

Answer 5

Ignore non-visible changes (changes in muscle tone, superficial skin coloration,
sweating, tears, rashes, etc.) are important in recognizing emotions.

Question 6

What does FACS reveal about Infants?

Answer 6

Their facial musculature is fully functional at birth.

Question 7

What do infant expressions say about emotional expression’s innate character and evolutionary value?

Answer 7

For authors such as Darwin, Ekman, or Izard, studying the expression of emotions in infants could justify the innate character since basic emotions are produced without being learned or the product of early experiences (Fernández & Chóliz, 2008).