Blink by Gladwell??????

Question

What was the primary focus in the research tested by Paul Ekman...i didn't understand what the point was

Answer 1

Paul Ekman wanted to know if facial expressions were interpreted the same universally.  For example, would people in China, France, and Peru all agree that a picture of someone with widened eyes and an O-shaped mouth was showing surprise?  He found that this was the case.  And to make sure that this wasn't a result of movies/tv, he went to remote villages in Papua New Guinea (without movies/tv) and found the same results there.

The point of this is that facial expressions are the universal products of evolution, and this has resulted in our ability to make decisions about people without really thinking.  If someone always looks angry (by our interpretations of his/her facial expressions), they might come off as scary, etc.  Hope that helps.