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Seeing emotions: a review of micro and subtle emotion expression training

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Abstract

In this review I explore and discuss the use of micro and subtle expression training in the social sciences. These trainings, offered commercially, are designed and endorsed by noted psychologist Paul Ekman, co-author of the Facial Action Coding System, a comprehensive system of measuring muscular movement in the face and its relationship to the expression of emotions. The trainings build upon that seminal work and present them in a way for either the layperson or researcher to easily add to their personal toolbox for a variety of purposes. Outlined are my experiences across the training products, how they could be used in social science research, a brief comparison to automated systems, and possible next steps.

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Correspondence to Ernest Andre Poole.

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Lead Editor: K. Tobin.

S. M. Ritchie and K. Tobin Editors for Special Issue on Researching Emotions in Science Education.

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Poole, E.A. Seeing emotions: a review of micro and subtle emotion expression training. Cult Stud of Sci Educ 11, 823–835 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11422-015-9698-0

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