Are there universal expressions of emotion? - Sophie Zadeh

翻译人员: Chloe Ma 校对人员: Jenny Yang

The 40 or so muscles in the human face can be activated in different combinations

人类面部有超过40块肌肉

人们通过触发不同的肌肉群， 去做出数以万计的表情。

to create thousands of expressions.

但在不同的文化中，

But do these expressions look the same

这些相同的表情，

在世界范围内传达的意思都相同吗？

and communicate the same meaning around the world,

regardless of culture?

Is one person’s smile another’s grimace?

一个人做笑脸 会不会也是在做鬼脸呢？

Charles Darwin theorized that emotional expression was a common human feature.

查尔斯·达尔文的理论是 情绪表达是人类的共同特点。

But he was in the minority.

那时他的理论受众并不广。

Until the mid-20th century,

直到二十世纪中期，

many researchers believed that the specific ways we show emotion

许多研究人员相信 我们展示情绪的具体方式

were learned behaviors that varied across cultures.

是习得性行为， 并存在文化差异。

Personality theorist Silvan Tomkins was one of the few to insist otherwise.

人格理论家西尔万·汤姆金斯 是为数不多支持这一理论的人。

Tomkins claimed that certain affects—

汤姆金斯声称一定的影响---

emotional states and their associated facial expressions—

情绪状态和与之相关的面部表情

were universal.

是普遍适用的。

In the 1960s, psychologist Paul Ekman set about testing this theory

在19世纪60年代， 心理学家保罗·埃克曼测试了这个理论。

by examining hundreds of hours of film footage

通过检查前往与世隔绝的部落

of remote tribes isolated from the modern world.

拍摄的成百上千小时的录像片段，

Ekman found the native peoples’ expressions to be not only familiar,

埃克曼发现原住民的表情 不只熟悉，

but occurring in precisely the situations he would expect.

而且准确出现在他期待的情形下。

Conversely, he ran tests with tribes who had no prior exposure to Western culture.

反过来，他测试了一些 完全隔绝于西方文明的部落。

They were able to correctly match photos of different facial expressions

随着触发 特定情绪的故事设定，

with stories designed to trigger particular feelings.

他们能正确选出与之匹配的 不同面部表情的照片。

Over the next few decades,

之后的几十年中，

further research has corroborated Darwin’s idea

后续研究确实了达尔文的想法

that some of our most important emotional expressions are in fact universal.

即一些重要的情绪表达方式 事实上是具有普遍性的。

The degrees of expression appropriate to a given situation can, however,

然而特定情况下的表情

vary greatly across cultures.

在各种文化中表现很不一样

For instance, researchers have studied facial expression

举个例子，研究者在学习 面部的表情

in people who are born blind,

在那些天生就失明的人身上

hypothesizing that if expressions are universal,

假设情绪是通用的，

they would be displayed in the same way as sighted people.

他们会和不失明的人 做出一样的动作。

In one study, both blind and sighted athletes

在一项研究中，盲和不盲的运动员

displayed the same expressions of emotion when winning or losing their matches.

做出了一样的表情 当他们赢或输了比赛。

Further evidence can be found in our evolutionary relatives.

更多的证据可以在进化论中找到。

Comparisons of facial expression between humans and non-human mammals

对比人类和非人类的 哺乳动物的表情

have found similarities in the structure and movement of facial muscles.

找到了面部肌肉相似的 构造和动态。

Chimpanzee laughter looks different from ours,

猩猩笑起来看上去和我们不同，

but uses some of the same muscle movements.

但是使用的是同样的肌肉。

Back in the 60s, Ekman identified six core expressions.

在上世纪60年代， 埃克曼定义了6种核心表情。

Anger is accompanied by lowered eyebrows drawn together,

愤怒伴随着紧缩在一起的眉毛

tense and narrowed eyes,

狭窄而紧绷的眼睛

and tight lips;

以及紧绷的嘴唇

disgust, by the lips pulled up and the nose crinkling.

讨厌，表现在嘴唇嘟起 和鼻子皱在一起。

In fear, the upper white of the eyes are revealed as the eyebrows raise

恐惧，上眼白露出，眉毛高挑

and the mouth stretches open,

嘴巴张着，

while surprise looks similar,

惊讶看起来很相似，

but with rounded eyebrows and relaxed lips.

只不过眉毛是比较圆润的， 嘴唇放松。

Sadness is indicated by the inner corners of the eyebrows

悲伤表现在眉头的部分

being drawn inwards and upwards,

不断的上下浮动，

drooping eyes,

下垂的眼睛，

and a downturned mouth.

嘴巴缩小。

And of course there’s happiness:

当然了还有愉快：

lips drawn up and back,

嘴唇上扬，

and raised cheeks causing wrinkling around the eyes.

鼓起的脸颊使眼角的鱼尾纹露出。

More recently, researchers have proposed additional entries

最近不久， 研究者发现了额外的一些

such as contempt,

像是鄙视

shame,

耻辱

and disapproval,

以及不赞成

but opinions vary on how distinct boundaries

但是在关于如何定义

between these categories can be drawn.

这些表情的观点 各不相同。

So if Ekman and other researchers are correct,

如果埃克曼和其他研究人员 是正确的，

what makes certain expressions universal?

是什么使特定的表情普遍呢

And why are they expressed in these particular ways?

为什么它们都表现在 某一种特殊方式呢？

Scientists have a lot of theories rooted in our evolutionary history.

科学家们有许多基于 进化史的理论。

One is that certain expressions are important for survival.

一是 一种表情对于生存很重要，

Fear and surprise could signal to others an immediate danger.

恐惧和惊讶是 即将到来的危险的信号。

Studies of humans and some other primates

人类和其他灵长类动物的研究

have found that we pay more attention to faces that signal threats

发现我们会更加注意 有威胁的信号。

over neutral faces,

相比于自然的面部表情，

particularly when we’re already on high alert.

特别是当我们已经敲响了警钟。

Expressions also could help improve group fitness

表情也可以帮助改善合群性

by communicating our internal states to those around us.

与在我们身边的这些人 进行内部交流。

Sadness, for example, signals to the group that something’s wrong.

悲伤，打个比方，对于群体来说 是事情不对劲的信号。

There’s some evidence that expressions

这里有一些证据，关于表情

might be even more directly linked to our physiology.

可能对我们的生理 有更加直接的联系。

The fear expression, for instance,

恐惧的表情，作为例子

could directly improve survival in potentially dangerous situations

可以直接增加 在潜在危险情况中存活的几率

by letting our eyes absorb more light

让我们的眼睛接收更多光

and our lungs take in more air, preparing us to fight or flee.

让我们的肺吸入更多的空气， 让我们准备好战斗或逃离。

There’s still much research to be done in understanding emotional expression,

关于表情的学习和研究 依然有很长的路要走，

particularly as we learn more about the inner workings of the brain.

特别是当我们更加了解 大脑内部的运行方法。

But if you ever find yourself among strangers in a strange land,

如果你发现自己身处陌生的小岛 还有一群陌生的人。

a friendly smile could go a long way.

一个友好的微笑总会是有用的。