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The Expression of Emotion in Man and Animals

C >> Charles Darwin >> The Expression of Emotion in Man and Animals





[16] Mrs. Oliphant, `The Brownlows,' vol. ii. p. 206.

Let it be observed how an indignant man, who resents, and will not
submit to some injury, holds his head erect, squares his shoulders,
and expands his chest. He often clenches his fists, and puts
one or both arms in the proper position for attack or defence,
with the muscles of his limbs rigid. He frowns,--that is,
he contracts and lowers his brows,--and, being determined,
closes his mouth. The actions and attitude of a helpless man are,
in every one of these respects, exactly the reverse. In Plate VI.
we may imagine one of the figures on the left side to have just said,
"What do you mean by insulting me?" and one of the figures
on the right side to answer, "I really could not help it."
The helpless man unconsciously contracts the muscles of his
forehead which are antagonistic to those that cause a frown,
and thus raises his eyebrows; at the same time he relaxes
the muscles about the mouth, so that the lower jaw drops.
The antithesis is complete in every detail, not only in the movements
of the features, but in the position of the limbs and in the attitude
of the whole body, as may be seen in the accompanying plate.
As the helpless or apologetic man often wishes to show his state
of mind, he then acts in a conspicuous or demonstrative manner.

In accordance with the fact that squaring the elbows and clenching
the fists are gestures by no means universal with the men of all races,
when they feel indignant and are prepared to attack their enemy,
so it appears that a helpless or apologetic frame of mind is expressed
in many parts of the world by merely shrugging the shoulders,
without turning inwards the elbows and opening the hands.
The man or child who is obstinate, or one who is resigned to some
great misfortune, has in neither case any idea of resistance
by active means; and he expresses this state of mind, by simply
keeping his shoulders raised; or he may possibly fold his arms
across his breast.

_Signs of affirmation or approval, and of negation or disapproval:
nodding and shaking the head_.--I was curious to ascertain how far
the common signs used by us in affirmation and negation were general
throughout the world. These signs are indeed to a certain extent
expressive of our feelings, as we give a vertical nod of approval
with a smile to our children, when we approve of their conduct;
and shake our heads laterally with a frown, when we disapprove.
With infants, the first act of denial consists in refusing food;
and I repeatedly noticed with my own infants, that they did so by
withdrawing their heads laterally from the breast, or from anything offered
them in a spoon. In accepting food and taking it into their mouths,
they incline their heads forwards. Since making these observations I
have been informed that the same idea had occurred to Charma.[17] It
deserves notice that in accepting or taking food, there is only
a single movement forward, and a single nod implies an affirmation.
On the other hand, in refusing food, especially if it be pressed on them,
children frequently move their heads several times from side to side,
as we do in shaking our heads in negation. Moreover, in the case of refusal,
the head is not rarely thrown backwards, or the mouth is closed,
so that these movements might likewise come to serve as signs of negation.
Mr. Wedgwood remarks on this subject,[18] that "when the voice is exerted
with closed teeth or lips, it produces the sound of the letter _n_ or _m_.
Hence we may account for the use of the particle _ne_ to signify negation,
and possibly also of the Greek mh in the same sense."


[17] `Essai sur le Langage,' 2nd edit. 1846. I am much
indebted to Miss Wedgwood for having given me this information,
with an extract from the work.

That these signs are innate or instinctive, at least with Anglo-Saxons,
is rendered highly probable by the blind and deaf Laura Bridgman
"constantly accompanying her _yes_ with the common affirmative nod,
and her _no_ with our negative shake of the head." Had not Mr. Lieber
stated to the contrary,[19] I should have imagined that these gestures
might have been acquired or learnt by her, considering her wonderful
sense of touch and appreciation of the movements of others.
With microcephalous idiots, who are so degraded that they never learn
to speak, one of them is described by Vogt,[20] as answering, when asked
whether he wished for more food or drink, by inclining or shaking his head.
Schmalz, in his remarkable dissertation on the education of the deaf
and dumb, as well as of children raised only one degree above idiotcy,
assumes that they can always both make and understand the common signs
of affirmation and negation."

Nevertheless if we look to the various races of man, these signs are
not so universally employed as I should have expected; yet they seem
too general to be ranked as altogether conventional or artificial.
My informants assert that both signs are used by the Malays,
by the natives of Ceylon, the Chinese, the negroes of the Guinea
coast, and, according to Gaika, by the Kafirs of South Africa,
though with these latter people Mrs. Barber has never seen a lateral
shake used as a negative. With respect to the Australians,
seven observers agree that a nod is given in affirmation; five agree
about a lateral shake in negation, accompanied or not by some word;
but Mr. Dyson Lacy has never seen this latter sign in Queensland,
and Mr. Bulmer says that in Gipps' Land a negative is expressed
by throwing the head a little backwards and putting out the tongue.
At the northern extremity of the continent, near Torres Straits,
the natives when uttering a negative "don't shake the head with it,
but holding up the right hand, shake it by turning it half round
and back again two or three times."[22] The throwing back of the head
with a cluck of the tongue is said to be used as a negative by the modern
Greeks and Turks, the latter people expressing _yes_ by a movement
like that made by us when we shake our heads.[23] The Abyssinians,
as I am informed by Captain Speedy, express a negative by jerking
the head to the right shoulder, together with a slight cluck,
the mouth being closed; an affirmation is expressed by the head
being thrown backwards and the eyebrows raised for an instant.
The Tagals of Luzon, in the Philippine Archipelago, as I hear from
Dr. Adolf Meyer, when they say "yes," also throw the head backwards.
According to the Rajah Brooke, the Dyaks of Borneo express an
affirmation by raising the eyebrows, and a negation by slightly
contracting them, together with a peculiar look from the eyes.
With the Arabs on the Nile, Professor and Mrs. Asa Gray concluded
that nodding in affirmation was rare, whilst shaking the head
in negation was never used, and was not even understood by them.
With the Esquimaux[24] a nod means _yes_ and a wink _no_.
The New Zealanders "elevate the head and chin in place
of nodding acquiescence."[25]


[18] `On the Origin of Language,' 1866, p. 91.

[19] `On the Vocal Sounds of L. Bridgman;' Smithsonian Contributions,
1851, vol. ii. p. 11.

[20] `Memoire sur les Microcephales,' 1867, p. 27.

[21] Quoted by Tylor, `Early History of Mankind,' 2nd edit.
1870, p. 38.


[22] Mr. J. B. Jukes, `Letters and Extracts,' &c. 1871, p. 248.

[23] F. Lieber, `On the Vocal Sounds,' &c. p. 11. Tylor, ibid. p. 53.

With the Hindoos Mr. H. Erskine concludes from inquiries
made from experienced Europeans, and from native gentlemen,
that the signs of affirmation and negation vary--a nod and a
lateral shake being sometimes used as we do; but a negative
is more commonly expressed by the head being thrown suddenly
backwards and a little to one side, with a cluck of the tongue.
What the meaning may be of this cluck of the tongue,
which has been observed with various people, I cannot imagine.
A native gentleman stated that affirmation is frequently shown
by the head being thrown to the left. I asked Mr. Scott to attend
particularly to this point, and, after repeated observations,
he believes that a vertical nod is not commonly used by
the natives in affirmation, but that the head is first thrown
backwards either to the left or right, and then jerked obliquely
forwards only once. This movement would perhaps have been
described by a less careful observer as a lateral shake.
He also states that in negation the head is usually held
nearly upright, and shaken several times.

Mr. Bridges informs me that the Fuegians nod their heads
vertically in affirmation, and shake them laterally in denial.
With the wild Indians of North America, according to
Mr. Washington Matthews, nodding and shaking the head have
been learnt from Europeans, and are not naturally employed.
They express affirmation by describing with the hand
(all the fingers except the index being flexed) a curve downwards
and outwards from the body, whilst negation is expressed by
moving the open hand outwards, with the palm facing inwards."
Other observers state that the sign of affirmation with these Indians
is the forefinger being raised, and then lowered and pointed
to the ground, or the hand is waved straight forward from the face;
and that the sign of negation is the finger or whole hand
shaken from side to side.[26] This latter movement probably
represents in all cases the lateral shaking of the head.
The Italians are said in like manner to move the lifted finger
from right to left in negation, as indeed we English sometimes do.


[24] Dr. King, Edinburgh Phil. Journal, 1845, p. 313.

[25] Tylor, `Early History of Mankind,' 2nd edit. 1870, p. 53.

On the whole we find considerable diversity in the signs
of affirmation and negation in the different races of man.
With respect to negation, if we admit that the shaking of
the finger or hand from side to side is symbolic of the lateral
movement of the head; and if we admit that the sudden backward
movement of the head represents one of the actions often
practised by young children in refusing food, then there is
much uniformity throughout the world in the signs of negation,
and we can see how they originated. The most marked exceptions
are presented by the Arabs, Esquimaux, some Australian tribes,
and Dyaks. With the latter a frown is the sign of negation,
and with us frowning often accompanies a lateral shake of the head.

With respect to nodding in affirmation, the exceptions
are rather more numerous, namely with some of the Hindoos,
with the Turks, Abyssinians, Dyaks, Tagals, and New Zealanders.
The eyebrows are sometimes raised in affirmation, and as a person
in bending his head forwards and downwards naturally looks up to
the person whom he addresses, he will be apt to raise his eyebrows,
and this sign may thus have arisen as an abbreviation.
So again with the New Zealanders, the lifting up the chin
and head in affirmation may perhaps represent in an abbreviated
form the upward movement of the head after it has been nodded
forwards and downwards.


[26] Lubbock, `The Origin of Civilization,' 1870, p. 277.
Tylor, ibid. p. 38. Lieber (ibid. p. 11) remarks on the negative
of the Italians. CHAPTER XII.

SURPRISE--ASTONISHMENT--FEAR--HORROR.

Surprise, astonishment--Elevation of the eyebrows--Opening the mouth--
Protrusion of the lips--Gestures accompanying surprise--
Admiration--Fear--Terror--Erection of the hair--Contraction of
the platysma muscle--Dilatation of the pupils--Horror--Conclusion.


ATTENTION, if sudden and close, graduates into surprise;
and this into astonishment; and this into stupefied amazement.
The latter frame of mind is closely akin to terror.
Attention is shown by the eyebrows being slightly raised;
and as this state increases into surprise, they are raised
to a much greater extent, with the eyes and mouth widely open.
The raising of the eyebrows is necessary in order that
the eyes should be opened quickly and widely; and this
movement produces transverse wrinkles across the forehead.
The degree to which the eyes and mouth are opened corresponds
with the degree of surprise felt; but these movements must
be coordinated; for a widely opened mouth with eyebrows only
slightly raised results in a meaningless grimace, as Dr. Duchenne
has shown in one of his photographs.[1] On the other hand,
a person may often be seen to pretend surprise by merely
raising his eyebrows.

Dr. Duchenne has given a photograph of an old man with his
eyebrows well elevated and arched by the galvanization of
the frontal muscle; and with his mouth voluntarily opened.
This figure expresses surprise with much truth.
I showed it to twenty-four persons without a word of explanation,
and one alone did not at all understand what was intended.
A second person answered terror, which is not far wrong; some of
the others, however, added to the words surprise or astonishment,
the epithets horrified, woful, painful, or disgusted.


[1] `Mecanisme de la Physionomie,' Album, 1862, p. 42.

The eyes and mouth being widely open is an expression universally
recognized as one of surprise or astonishment. Thus Shakespeare says,
"I saw a smith stand with open mouth swallowing a tailor's news."
(`King John,' act iv. scene ii.) And again, "They seemed almost,
with staring on one another, to tear the cases of their eyes;
there was speech in the dumbness, language in their very gesture;
they looked as they had heard of a world destroyed."
(`Winter's Tale,' act v. scene ii.)

My informants answer with remarkable uniformity to the same effect,
with respect to the various races of man; the above movements of
the features being often accompanied by certain gestures and sounds,
presently to be described. Twelve observers in different
parts of Australia agree on this head. Mr. Winwood Reade has
observed this expression with the negroes on the Guinea coast.
The chief Gaika and others answer _yes_ to my query with respect
to the Kafirs of South Africa; and so do others emphatically
with reference to the Abyssinians, Ceylonese, Chinese, Fuegians,
various tribes of North America, and New Zealanders. With the latter,
Mr. Stack states that the expression is more plainly shown by
certain individuals than by others, though all endeavour as much
as possible to conceal their feelings. The Dyaks of Borneo are said
by the Rajah Brooke to open their eyes widely, when astonished,
often swinging their heads to and fro, and beating their breasts.
Mr. Scott informs me that the workmen in the Botanic Gardens
at Calcutta are strictly ordered not to smoke; but they often
disobey this order, and when suddenly surprised in the act,
they first open their eyes and mouths widely. They then often
slightly shrug their shoulders, as they perceive that discovery
is inevitable, or frown and stamp on the ground from vexation.
Soon they recover from their surprise, and abject fear is exhibited
by the relaxation of all their muscles; their heads seem to sink
between their shoulders; their fallen eyes wander to and fro;
and they supplicate forgiveness.

The well-known Australian explorer, Mr. Stuart, has given[2]
a striking account of stupefied amazement together with terror
in a native who had never before seen a man on horseback.
Mr. Stuart approached unseen and called to him from a little distance.
"He turned round and saw me. What he imagined I was I do not know;
but a finer picture of fear and astonishment I never saw.
He stood incapable of moving a limb, riveted to the spot,
mouth open and eyes staring. . . . He remained motionless until
our black got within a few yards of him, when suddenly throwing down
his waddies, he jumped into a mulga bush as high as he could get."
He could not speak, and answered not a word to the inquiries made
by the black, but, trembling from head to foot, "waved with his
hand for us to be off."

That the eyebrows are raised by an innate or instinctive impulse
may be inferred from the fact that Laura Bridgman invariably
acts thus when astonished, as I have been assured by the lady
who has lately had charge of her. As surprise is excited
by something unexpected or unknown, we naturally desire,
when startled, to perceive the cause as quickly as possible;
and we consequently open our eyes fully, so that the field of vision
may be increased, and the eyeballs moved easily in any direction.
But this hardly accounts for the eyebrows being so greatly raised
as is the case, and for the wild staring of the open eyes.
The explanation lies, I believe, in the impossibility of opening
the eyes with great rapidity by merely raising the upper lids.
To effect this the eyebrows must be lifted energetically.
Any one who will try to open his eyes as quickly as possible
before a mirror will find that he acts thus; and the energetic
lifting up of the eyebrows opens the eyes so widely that they stare,
the white being exposed all round the iris. Moreover, the elevation
of the eyebrows is an advantage in looking upwards; for as long
as they are lowered they impede our vision in this direction.
Sir C. Bell gives[3] a curious little proof of the part
which the eyebrows play in opening the eyelids. In a stupidly
drunken man all the muscles are relaxed, and the eyelids
consequently droop, in the same manner as when we are falling asleep.
To counteract this tendency the drunkard raises his eyebrows;
and this gives to him a puzzled, foolish look, as is well
represented in one of Hogarth's drawings. The habit of raising
the eyebrows having once been gained in order to see as quickly
as possible all around us, the movement would follow from the force
of association whenever astonishment was felt from any cause,
even from a sudden sound or an idea.


[2] `The Polyglot News Letter,' Melbourne, Dec. 1858, p. 2.

With adult persons, when the eyebrows are raised,
the whole forehead becomes much wrinkled in transverse lines;
but with children this occurs only to a slight degree.
The wrinkles run in lines concentric with each eyebrow,
and are partially confluent in the middle. They are highly
characteristic of the expression of surprise or astonishment.
Each eyebrow, when raised, becomes also, as Duchenne remarks,[4]
more arched than it was before.


[3] `The Anatomy of Expression,' p. 106.

The cause of the mouth being opened when astonishment is felt,
is a much more complex affair; and several causes apparently concur
in leading to this movement. It has often been supposed[5] that
the sense of hearing is thus rendered more acute; but I have watched
persons listening intently to a slight noise, the nature and source
of which they knew perfectly, and they did not open their mouths.
Therefore I at one time imagined that the open mouth might aid
in distinguishing the direction whence a sound proceeded,
by giving another channel for its entrance into the ear through
the eustachian tube, But Dr. W. Ogle[6] has been so kind as to search
the best recent authorities on the functions of the eustachian tube,
and he informs me that it is almost conclusively proved that it remains
closed except during the act of deglutition; and that in persons
in whom the tube remains abnormally open, the sense of hearing,
as far as external sounds are concerned, is by no means improved;
on the contrary, it is impaired by the respiratory sounds being
rendered more distinct. If a watch be placed within the mouth,
but not allowed to touch the sides, the ticking is heard much less
plainly than when held outside. In persons in whom from disease
or a cold the eustachian tube is permanently or temporarily closed,
the sense of hearing is injured; but this may be accounted for by mucus
accumulating within the tube, and the consequent exclusion of air.
We may therefore infer that the mouth is not kept open under the sense
of astonishment for the sake of hearing sounds more distinctly;
notwithstanding that most deaf people keep their mouths open.


[4] Mecanisme de la Physionomie,' Album, p. 6.

[5] See, for instance, Dr. Piderit (`Mimik und Physiognomik,' s.
88), who has a good discussion on the expression of surprise.

[6] Dr. Murie has also given me information leading to the same conclusion,
derived in part from comparative anatomy.

Every sudden emotion, including astonishment, quickens the action
of the heart, and with it the respiration. Now we can breathe,
as Gratiolet remarks[7] and as appears to me to be the case,
much more quietly through the open mouth than through the nostrils.
Therefore, when we wish to listen intently to any sound, we either
stop breathing, or breathe as quietly as possible, by opening
our mouths, at the same time keeping our bodies motionless.
One of my sons was awakened in the night by a noise under
circumstances which naturally led to great care, and after
a few minutes he perceived that his mouth was widely open.
He then became conscious that he had opened it for the sake
of breathing as quietly as possible. This view receives
support from the reversed case which occurs with dogs.
A dog when panting after exercise, or on a hot day, breathes loudly;
but if his attention be suddenly aroused, he instantly pricks
his ears to listen, shuts his mouth, and breathes quietly,
as he is enabled to do, through his nostrils.

When the attention is concentrated for a length of time with fixed
earnestness on any object or subject, all the organs of the body
are forgotten and neglected;[8] and as the nervous energy
of each individual is limited in amount, little is transmitted
to any part of the system, excepting that which is at the time
brought into energetic action. Therefore many of the muscles
tend to become relaxed, and the jaw drops from its own weight.
This will account for the dropping of the jaw and open mouth of a man
stupefied with amazement, and perhaps when less strongly affected.
I have noticed this appearance, as I find recorded in my notes,
in very young children when they were only moderately surprised.


[7] `De la Physionomie,' 1865, p. 234.

[8] See, on this subject, Gratiolet, ibid. p. 254.

There is still another and highly effective cause, leading to the mouth
being opened, when we are astonished, and more especially when we
are suddenly startled. We can draw a full and deep inspiration much
more easily through the widely open mouth than through the nostrils.
Now when we start at any sudden sound or sight, almost all the muscles
of the body are involuntarily and momentarily thrown into strong action,
for the sake of guarding ourselves against or jumping away from
the danger, which we habitually associate with anything unexpected.
But we always unconsciously prepare ourselves for any great exertion,
as formerly explained, by first taking a deep and full inspiration,
and we consequently open our mouths. If no exertion follows, and we
still remain astonished, we cease for a time to breathe, or breathe as
quietly as possible, in order that every sound may be distinctly heard.
Or again, if our attention continues long and earnestly absorbed, all our
muscles become relaxed, and the jaw, which was at first suddenly opened,
remains dropped. Thus several causes concur towards this same movement,
whenever surprise, astonishment, or amazement is felt.

Although when thus affected, our mouths are generally opened,
yet the lips are often a little protruded. This fact reminds
us of the same movement, though in a much more strongly
marked degree, in the chimpanzee and orang when astonished.
As a strong expiration naturally follows the deep inspiration
which accompanies the first sense of startled surprise,
and as the lips are often protruded, the various sounds which
are then commonly uttered can apparently be accounted for.
But sometimes a strong expiration alone is heard; thus Laura Bridgman,
when amazed, rounds and protrudes her lips, opens them,
and breathes strongly.[9] One of the commonest sounds is a deep _Oh_;
and this would naturally follow, as explained by Helmholtz,
from the mouth being moderately opened and the lips protruded.
On a quiet night some rockets were fired from the `Beagle,' in a
little creek at Tahiti, to amuse the natives; and as each rocket,
was let off there was absolute silence, but this was invariably
followed by a deep groaning _Oh_, resounding all round the bay.
Mr. Washington Matthews says that the North American Indians
express astonishment by a groan; and the negroes on the West Coast
of Africa, according to Mr. Winwood Reade, protrude their lips,
and make a sound like _heigh, heigh_. If the mouth is not
much opened, whilst the lips are considerably protruded,
a blowing, hissing, or whistling noise is produced.
Mr. R. Brough Smith informs me that an Australian from the interior
was taken to the theatre to see an acrobat rapidly turning head
over heels: "he was greatly astonished, and protruded his lips,
making a noise with his mouth as if blowing out a match."
According to Mr. Bulmer the Australians, when surprised,
utter the exclamation _korki_, "and to do this the mouth is
drawn out as if going to whistle." We Europeans often whistle
as a sign of surprise; thus, in a recent novel[10] it is said,
"here the man expressed his astonishment and disapprobation
by a prolonged whistle." A Kafir girl, as Mr. J. Mansel Weale
informs me, "on hearing of the high price of an article,
raised her eyebrows and whistled just as a European would."
Mr. Wedgwood remarks that such sounds are written down as _whew_,
and they serve as interjections for surprise.

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