Human Facial Expressions in Response to Taste and Smell Stimulation

This chapter shows facial expressions in the experimental part of the discussion and illustrates the three prototypes of facial play described by Darwin as that of ‘good spirit,’ of “contempt,” and of � “low spirit or disgust.”

Abstract

Facial expressions, whether innate or acquired, are one of the richest nonverbal communicational catalogs of man. This chapter shows facial expressions in the experimental part of the discussion and illustrates the three prototypes of facial play described by Darwin as that of "good spirit," of "contempt," and of "low spirit or disgust." Darwin intended to describe facial expressions used by man to reflect his feelings, his mood, and his spirit. The expressions demonstrated in the chapter are by no means acquired; they are present at the date of birth, perhaps even earlier, and are elicitable by different chemical stimuli. The hedonically different meaning of the sweet and the bitter and the hedonically polar value of odors of fresh and good food and that of rotten one, unlock facial expressions identical to those indicating "high and low spirits." The individual first exposed to typical stimulants of "good" and "bad" food-related chemical cues evaluates these signals at low levels of the central nervous system.