Stephanie Witte Wisconsin Lutheran College Deborrah Uecker COM 205 A Study of Student Classification of Facial Expressions by Using Facial Cues Stephanie Witte Wisconsin Lutheran College Deborrah Uecker COM 205

Literature Review In this study the researcher was looking at nonverbal communication in facial expressions through facial cues. The face can be a primary source for interpersonal communication and can take the place of spoken messages. One of the most important functions of facial expressions is to convey one’s emotional state (Leathers, 1997). There has been extensive research done that focus on the categorical perspective of facial expressions. Meaning that, at any given time, the face translates a dominant meaning associated with your emotional state. Researchers have gone as far as classifying universal facial expressions such as: happiness, surprise, fear, anger, sadness, disgust, and interest (Ekman, 1992). The researcher’s study applied the categorical perspective to determine how accurately students can identify and differentiate between facial expressions. Researchers have been able to identify muscular movements and visually distinct actions that signal an expressed emotion. Distinctive facial cues in the brows/forehead, eyes/lids/bridge of nose, and the lower face can be used to further identify the given expression (Ekman, Rolls, Perrett, &Ellis, 1992).

Research Question How do college students classify facial expressions? The researcher choose this area in nonverbal communication because she believed many individuals can misread others emotions. The researcher wanted to observe participants accuracy and their given statements on perceived facial cues. The researcher’s hypothesis was that college students use a combination of facial cues to classify facial expressions.

Methods-Procedure This research was a descriptive study with a non- experiment design. It used a researcher developed survey with open and closed ended questions. Participants were first given an informed consent then a debriefing statement. This study took place during research night in the science building at Wisconsin Lutheran College.

Methods-Participants This study held 30 participants. All were a convenience sample of WLC students, who participated in research night. Ages ranged from 18 to 22 years old. 19 females and 11 males. Year in school ranges as followed: Freshmen 19, Sophomore 7, Junior 2, Senior 2.

Results

Discussion The results of this study seemed to support prior researchers, in the fact that, for each facial expression, the majority of participants choose the correct expression. Though, surprise was the only expression where the majority of students choose the incorrect answer. Participants, as well, had trouble identifying fear. This supports the researcher’s notion that individuals can misinterpret facial expressions. The researcher looked further into the misidentification of the facial expression and noted that participants who choose the incorrect answer also, attributed the wrong facial cues to the pictured emotional state.

Limitations The researcher had many limitations in her study. The sample size was small, only 30 participants, and if the study were to be repeated, a greater number of volunteers would be more appropriate. The sample was convenient and did not produce a wide diversity of the on- campus population. If the study were repeated participants from other departments would be encouraged to participate. This could show a wider range of individuals and their perceptions. In running this study again, the researcher would have changed some survey questions. First, when giving directions to answer questions 4-9 the researcher should have stated that participants can only choose a facial expression once. Secondly, when the researcher asked the open-ended question for each expression she should have asked for more specificity. Finally, the photos used for depicting facial expressions could have been in color. This could have helped some participants determine the correct expression.