The Facial Action Coding System (FACS) is an internationally recognized, sophisticated research tool that precisely measures the entire spectrum of human facial expressions. FACS has elucidated the physiological presence of emotion with very high levels of reliability. FACS has played a particularly important role in predicting patterns related to deception at about 80% accuracy. Created in the 1970s by psychologists Paul Ekman and Wallace V.

Friesen FACS provides a comprehensive taxonomy of human facial expressions. FACS remains the most widely used and acclaimed method for coding the minutest movements of the human face. The system dissects observed expressions by determining how facial muscle contractions alter appearance.

Each movement is categorized into specific Action Units (AUs), which represent the contraction or relaxation of one or more muscles. All facial expressions can be decomposed into their constituent AUs and described by duration, intensity, and asymmetry.

Observer-Based Measurement of Facial Expression. With the Facial Action Coding System. Zara Ambadar. Facial expression has been a focus of emotion research for over a hundred years (Darwin, 1872/1998). It is central to several leading theories of emotion (Ekman, 1992; Izard, 1977.

Trained experts examine patterns in the changing nature of facial appearance including: movement, changes in shape and location of the features, and the gathering, pouching, bulging and wrinkling of the skin. Understanding the coordination between action units and certain expressions illuminates the implications of human body language and non verbal behavior. Applications of FACS One of the most well known applications of FACS has been to distinguish Duchenne (or “genuine”) smiles from social (or “fake”) smiles. The specificity of FACS coding reveals the anatomical elements which make it difficult to fake a Duchenne smile. While the social smile involves the contraction of a singular facial muscle, the Duchenne smile is activated by the involuntary movement of multiple muscle groupings.

FACS can be used in the following ways: • The measurement of facial behavior and detailed detection of specific emotional expressions. • Research tool for measurement and discovery of new patterns of movements and relationships. Benefits of Using FACS over other facial measurement systems: • FACS is comprehensive and unbiased as a system of facial movement measurement. It can be used as a descriptive method encompassing all observable behavior or it can be specified to describe emotion specific behavior. • FACS is unobtrusive. FACS can be applied without the subjects awareness that their faces are being analyzed Research demonstrates FACS has successfully: • Discovered various patterns reliably related to deception, at about 80% accuracy (Ekman, 2001; Ekman et.

Al., 1988; Ekman, O’Sullivan, Friesen, & Scherer, 1991; Frank & Ekman, 1997). • Predicted coping with traumatic loss (Bonnano & Keltner, 1997) • Predicted the onset and remission of depression, schizophrenia, and other psychopathology (Ekman & Rosenberg, 1997) • Discriminated suicidal from non-suicidal depressed patients (Heller & Haynal, 1994) • Predicted transient myocardial ischemia in coronary patients (Rosenberg et al., 2001) • Identified patterns of facial activity involved in alcohol intoxication How can FACS work for you? Emotional expression transcends the barriers of race, ethnicity, culture, gender, religion, and age. Decades of research has shown that regardless of background, humans express facial emotions in exactly the same way. The ability to read the facial changes that accompany and predict emotional behavior is an indispensable component of effective communication.

Persons trained in FACS can utilize these concepts in conjunction with their expertise to benefit those who conduct interviews, interrogations, and business transactions as well as those involved in law enforcement, security, and the legal and healthcare systems with their expert insight and analysis. (notes courtesy of Maggie Pazian – VisualEmotion). C Program For Crc 12401.

Contents • • • • • • • • • • • • • Uses [ ] Using FACS, human coders can manually code nearly any anatomically possible facial expression, deconstructing it into the specific Action Units (AU) and their temporal segments that produced the expression. As AUs are independent of any interpretation, they can be used for any higher order decision making process including recognition of basic emotions, or pre-programmed commands for an ambient intelligent environment. The FACS Manual is over 500 pages in length and provides the AUs, as well as Ekman's interpretation of their meaning.

FACS defines AUs, which are a contraction or relaxation of one or more muscles. It also defines a number of Action Descriptors, which differ from AUs in that the authors of FACS have not specified the muscular basis for the action and have not distinguished specific behaviors as precisely as they have for the AUs. For example, FACS can be used to distinguish two types of as follows: • Insincere and voluntary: contraction of alone • Sincere and involuntary: contraction of zygomatic major and inferior part of. Although the labeling of expressions currently requires trained experts, researchers have had some success in using computers to automatically identify FACS codes, and thus quickly identify emotions.

Computer graphical face models, such as or, allow expressions to be artificially posed by setting the desired action units. The use of FACS has been proposed for use in the analysis of, and the measurement of pain in patients unable to express themselves verbally. FACS is designed to be self-instructional. People can learn the technique from a number of sources including manuals and workshops, and obtain certification through testing. The original FACS has been modified to analyze facial movements in several non-human primates, namely, rhesus macaques, gibbons and siamangs, and orangutans. More recently, it was adapted for a domestic species, the dog. Quicktech For Windows Iso To Usb.

Thus, FACS can be used to compare facial repertoires across species due to its anatomical basis. A study conducted by Vick and others (2006) suggests that FACS can be modified by taking differences in underlying morphology into account.

Such considerations enable a comparison of the homologous facial movements present in humans and chimpanzees, to show that the facial expressions of both species result from extremely notable appearance changes. The development of FACS tools for different species allows the objective and anatomical study of facial expressions in communicative and emotional contexts. Furthermore, a cross-species analysis of facial expressions can help to answer interesting questions, such as which emotions are uniquely human. EMFACS (Emotional Facial Action Coding System) and FACSAID (Facial Action Coding System Affect Interpretation Dictionary) consider only emotion-related facial actions. Examples of these are: Emotion Action Units Happiness 6+12 Sadness 1+4+15 Surprise 1+2+5B+26 Fear 1+2+4+5+7+20+26 Anger 4+5+7+23 Disgust 9+15+16 Contempt R12A+R14A Codes for Action Units [ ].

See also: For clarification, FACS is an index of facial expressions, but does not actually provide any bio-mechanical information about the degree of muscle activation. Though muscle activation is not part of FACS, the main muscles involved in the facial expression have been added here for the benefit of the reader. Action Units (AUs) are the fundamental actions of individual muscles or groups of muscles.

Action Descriptors (ADs) are unitary movements that may involve the actions of several muscle groups (e.g., a forward‐thrusting movement of the jaw). The muscular basis for these actions hasn't been specified and specific behaviors haven't been distinguished as precisely as for the AUs. For most accurate annotation, FACS suggests agreement from at least two independent certified FACS encoders. Intensity Scoring [ ] Intensities of FACS are annotated by appending letters A–E (for minimal-maximal intensity) to the Action Unit number (e.g. AU 1A is the weakest trace of AU 1 and AU 1E is the maximum intensity possible for the individual person).

• A Trace • B Slight • C Marked or Pronounced • D Severe or Extreme • E Maximum Other Letter Modifiers [ ] There are other modifiers present in FACS codes for emotional expressions, such as 'R' which represents an action that occurs on the right side of the face and 'L' for actions which occur on the left. An action which is unilateral (occurs on only one side of the face) but has no specific side is indicated with a 'U' and an action which is unilateral but has a stronger side is indicated with an 'A.'