WIRED Staff
Culture

Slideshow: What a Half-Smile Really Means

Micro-expressions -- facial expressions that last a fraction of a second -- give away exactly how you feel, no matter how hard you try to conceal it. A CD-ROM set teaches how to detect the emotions people try to hide. By Kim Zetter.
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In Ekman's tests, subjects the world over often confuse this expression of fear with the one for surprise.

See related story: What a Half-Smile Really Means

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This half smile or smirk reveals that the listener is feeling contempt (or moral superiority) toward the speaker.
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A smile indicating true happiness engages the mouth and eyes, whereas a phony smile (or social smile) engages only the lower half of the face.
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People often confuse this expression for surprise with the one for fear when it flashes quickly across someone's face.