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Unmasking The Face Kindle Edition

4.5 out of 5 stars 742 ratings

This reprint edition of Ekman and Friesen's breakthrough research on the facial expression of emotion uses scores of photographs showing emotions of surprise, fear, disgust, anger, happiness, and sadness. The authors of UNMASKING THE FACE explain how to identify these basic emotions correctly and how to tell when people try to mask, simulate, or neutralize them. It features several practical exercises that help actors, teachers, salesmen, counselors, nurses, law-enforcement personnel and physicians -- and everyone else who deals with people -- to become adept, perceptive readers of the facial expressions of emotions.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Paul Ekman is Professor Emeritus of Psychology in the department of psychiatry at the University of California Medical School, San Francisco, and the author of 13 books. He is a frequent consultant on emotional expression to the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, Central Intelligence Agency and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, as well as to animation studios such as Pixar and Industrial Light and Magic.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B002NGO5IC
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Malor Books (August 17, 2009)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ August 17, 2009
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 9.1 MB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 277 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 out of 5 stars 742 ratings

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Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
742 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book highly readable and informative, with one noting it serves as a foundational guide for understanding facial expressions. The information quality receives positive feedback, with one customer highlighting how it provides great insight into daily interactions. The picture quality receives mixed reviews, with some finding the pictures very informative while others report poor illustrations.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

71 customers mention "Readability"56 positive15 negative

Customers find the book highly readable and engaging, with one customer noting it serves as a foundational guide for understanding facial expressions.

"...I've said before that with a clear understanding of body language and the knowledge of how to use persuasion and speak deliberately, you become able..." Read more

"...In his phenomenal and fascinating book, Dr. Ekman covers some of the tools and data available in order to determine people’s true feelings via their..." Read more

"...course to get even better at using these techniques and its very affordable...." Read more

"...Yet, despite the well-researched, well-explained material in the text, the book itself is dry and difficult to read...." Read more

62 customers mention "Information quality"57 positive5 negative

Customers find the book informative, with one customer noting how it provides great insight into daily interactions.

"...This is an informative book, well written, with the strongest grasp you're going to find on the topic of facial expressions that is not in the..." Read more

"...to a quick sidebar that dovetails with this topic, the highly intriguing and groundbreaking show Lie To Me [2009] brought to the fore the issue of..." Read more

"...These books are powerful and wonderful tools for those who will take the time to read them and practice the techniques until they are proficient...." Read more

"...Yet, despite the well-researched, well-explained material in the text, the book itself is dry and difficult to read...." Read more

9 customers mention "Facial expressions"9 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's approach to facial expressions, with one describing it as an easy step-by-step guide to recognizing them, and another noting it serves as a great reference for studying facial signals.

"The face is a remarkable fascinating subject, and this book touches upon all the ways in which are emotions are physical transmitted on it...." Read more

"This is a good introduction to understanding facial expressions...." Read more

"...This book examines the myriad of facial expressions and helps make sense of them." Read more

"Unmasking faces is great for deciphering what happens when you have only a partial microexpression or when you have mixed microexpressions happening..." Read more

12 customers mention "Picture quality"7 positive5 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the pictures in the book, with some finding them informative while others report poor illustrations and low quality images.

"...This book is the basics with a significant amount of photographs to point out each emotion and compares and contrasts each emotion...." Read more

"...Note: do not buy this for a Kindle, because it is graphics intensive and the Kindle has extremely poor image functionality.)..." Read more

"...is detailed sections on each emotion and is augmented with pictures to give you a better understanding...." Read more

"...The illustrations could be better, however...." Read more

A Top-Down Methodical View Into The Physiology & Emotions Of The Face
5 out of 5 stars
A Top-Down Methodical View Into The Physiology & Emotions Of The Face
In the current state of worldwide affairs, knowing how people feel is a vital skill. Knowing when people are lying, even more so. While reading emotions might seem like a straight forward task, it is quite certainly not for most. If such were the case, why is it that so many people fall prey for the lies from politicians & people in power when it’s obvious to others they are lying? Why is most of the populace unable to read lies when a select few can do so at will? Dr. Ekman’s book answers those questions rather poignantly. Transitioning to a quick sidebar that dovetails with this topic, the highly intriguing and groundbreaking show Lie To Me [2009] brought to the fore the issue of spotting lies to solve crimes when coupled with reading microexpressions in individual’s faces. What are micro expressions a curious mind might inquire? Excellent question. Micro expressions are very brief facial expressions lasting only a fraction of a second. They occur when a person is either deliberately or unconsciously concealing a feeling. These emotions have universal signals: happiness, surprise, fear, anger, disgust and sadness. Along with that, throughout the series, not only did Lie To Me feature still-frames of people acting deceitfully, but the show also began to cover various other aspects of people’s behavior in order to find dishonesty. And it just so happens that individuals can be taught, or can learn by themselves how to spot these errant behaviors. In plainspeak, in Lie To Me various methods of psychology were employed in order to ascertain whether or not people were being duplicitous. This is vital because it just so happens that the above show was in large part based on the work of behavioral psychologist Dr. Paul Ekman. Getting back on track, Unmasking The Face – A Guide To Recognizing Emotions From Facial Expressions by Dr. Paul Ekman is an incredible book that details part of the knowledge that was used within the TV show referenced above. Unmasking The Face helps individuals be able to pierce of the veil of lies that’s often cast upon them. In his phenomenal and fascinating book, Dr. Ekman covers some of the tools and data available in order to determine people’s true feelings via their facial expressions. At its core Ekman gives individuals the facial schematics to enable people to read the emotions referenced above. Along with that, the author also covers many of the psychological reasons why people carry out the actions that they do. The author also notes why many people make mistakes in reading emotions at certain times. In cataloguing facial deceit, Ekman also narrows down facial expressions to four reasons: cultural display rules, personal display rules, vocational requirement and the need of the moment. The author then proceeds to expound upon those four reasons at length. Coupled with that, the three management techniques individuals employ, which are simulating, neutralizing and masking, are also covered in some detail. Without a doubt, this book is foundational for a robust understanding of reading/understanding people’s behavior at a much more deeper/comprehensive level. Given all that, the skills in this book should definitely become part of everyone’s repertoire. Kindest Regards, Zy Marquiez TheBreakaway.wordpress.com
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Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on April 23, 2011
    I have been a writer since I was fourteen years old. Being a writer, you watch people, you study them from afar, you take note of those small looks, those simple smiles, those cringed expressions, and those annoyed twitches that define their feelings on any host of a number of topics or events. People become easy to figure out. I've been a salesman, and the rule of thumb there is, you have seven seconds, from the point that you outstretch your hand, to the point that you say, "Hello, how are you today?" to size a person up, to figure out what type of mood they're in, are they serious about buying, or are they there really to just look. As a heavy man with a taste for beautiful women, you have to know when a woman is interested, when she wants that moment of escalation, when it's the right time to touch her hand, and the right time to kiss her, and the right time to suggest a change of venue. And last but not least, at a poker table, asking those four simple words, "Do you have them?" can mean all the difference between walking home with empty pockets and walking home with a few extra thousand dollars.

    People wear their emotions on their sleaves, whether they want to admit it or not, we are all emotional creatures, bound to bouts of anger, happiness, sadness, contempt, disgust, fear, and surprise. This book is a great book to start your education with, though I'm personally more in favor of Emotions Revealed by Eckman. This is an informative book, well written, with the strongest grasp you're going to find on the topic of facial expressions that is not in the academic field. I will be the first to say, for those who have a great interest in understanding how to read people, that this book is not the only material you will ever need. No, there are at least three commercial texts on body language that everyone should have, then, I would recommend for those who seek greater knoweldge, getting home study courses from some of the professionals. Kevin Hogan, Patti Wood, Janine Driver, and the such. I have personally only tried Kevin Hogan's course and I have no regrets.

    Now, to some fun stuff. I'm 22, so, I'm always looking on how things can be used for either dating, or party entertainment. After studying Paul Eckman's books, I have been able to consistently 8 out of 10 times, guess the card in a person's hand, by reading their facial expressions, in 5 to 7 questions. It's a fun trick that leaves everyone amazed and I'm asked to do it a lot because people believe they can't be read. Here's the fun secret about people, the harder they try not to be read, the easier they can be read. Though the book does not delve into micro-expressions, for which, Emotions Revealed, Second Edition: Recognizing Faces and Feelings to Improve Communication and Emotional Lifedoes a far clearer job with, this book is still a strong foundation into the knowledge of the face and emotions.

    I've said before that with a clear understanding of body language and the knowledge of how to use persuasion and speak deliberately, you become able to sell anything, get any job, seduce any woman (if you're a guy), and just have a lot more fun and control in and of your life.

    Books on body langauge that I would recommend.

    1. What Every BODY is Saying: An Ex-FBI Agent's Guide to Speed-Reading People
    2. The Definitive Book of Body Language
    3. Winning Body Language: Control the Conversation, Command Attention, and Convey the Right Message without Saying a Word
    4.You Say More Than You Think: A 7-Day Plan for Using the New Body Language to Get What You Want
    54 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on July 20, 2016
    In the current state of worldwide affairs, knowing how people feel is a vital skill. Knowing when people are lying, even more so.

    While reading emotions might seem like a straight forward task, it is quite certainly not for most. If such were the case, why is it that so many people fall prey for the lies from politicians & people in power when it’s obvious to others they are lying? Why is most of the populace unable to read lies when a select few can do so at will? Dr. Ekman’s book answers those questions rather poignantly.

    Transitioning to a quick sidebar that dovetails with this topic, the highly intriguing and groundbreaking show Lie To Me [2009] brought to the fore the issue of spotting lies to solve crimes when coupled with reading microexpressions in individual’s faces.

    What are micro expressions a curious mind might inquire? Excellent question.

    Micro expressions are very brief facial expressions lasting only a fraction of a second. They occur when a person is either deliberately or unconsciously concealing a feeling. These emotions have universal signals: happiness, surprise, fear, anger, disgust and sadness.

    Along with that, throughout the series, not only did Lie To Me feature still-frames of people acting deceitfully, but the show also began to cover various other aspects of people’s behavior in order to find dishonesty.

    And it just so happens that individuals can be taught, or can learn by themselves how to spot these errant behaviors.

    In plainspeak, in Lie To Me various methods of psychology were employed in order to ascertain whether or not people were being duplicitous. This is vital because it just so happens that the above show was in large part based on the work of behavioral psychologist Dr. Paul Ekman.

    Getting back on track, Unmasking The Face – A Guide To Recognizing Emotions From Facial Expressions by Dr. Paul Ekman is an incredible book that details part of the knowledge that was used within the TV show referenced above.

    Unmasking The Face helps individuals be able to pierce of the veil of lies that’s often cast upon them.

    In his phenomenal and fascinating book, Dr. Ekman covers some of the tools and data available in order to determine people’s true feelings via their facial expressions.

    At its core Ekman gives individuals the facial schematics to enable people to read the emotions referenced above. Along with that, the author also covers many of the psychological reasons why people carry out the actions that they do.

    The author also notes why many people make mistakes in reading emotions at certain times.

    In cataloguing facial deceit, Ekman also narrows down facial expressions to four reasons: cultural display rules, personal display rules, vocational requirement and the need of the moment. The author then proceeds to expound upon those four reasons at length.

    Coupled with that, the three management techniques individuals employ, which are simulating, neutralizing and masking, are also covered in some detail.

    Without a doubt, this book is foundational for a robust understanding of reading/understanding people’s behavior at a much more deeper/comprehensive level.

    Given all that, the skills in this book should definitely become part of everyone’s repertoire.

    Kindest Regards,
    Zy Marquiez
    TheBreakaway.wordpress.com
    Customer image
    5.0 out of 5 stars
    A Top-Down Methodical View Into The Physiology & Emotions Of The Face

    Reviewed in the United States on July 20, 2016
    In the current state of worldwide affairs, knowing how people feel is a vital skill. Knowing when people are lying, even more so.

    While reading emotions might seem like a straight forward task, it is quite certainly not for most. If such were the case, why is it that so many people fall prey for the lies from politicians & people in power when it’s obvious to others they are lying? Why is most of the populace unable to read lies when a select few can do so at will? Dr. Ekman’s book answers those questions rather poignantly.

    Transitioning to a quick sidebar that dovetails with this topic, the highly intriguing and groundbreaking show Lie To Me [2009] brought to the fore the issue of spotting lies to solve crimes when coupled with reading microexpressions in individual’s faces.

    What are micro expressions a curious mind might inquire? Excellent question.

    Micro expressions are very brief facial expressions lasting only a fraction of a second. They occur when a person is either deliberately or unconsciously concealing a feeling. These emotions have universal signals: happiness, surprise, fear, anger, disgust and sadness.

    Along with that, throughout the series, not only did Lie To Me feature still-frames of people acting deceitfully, but the show also began to cover various other aspects of people’s behavior in order to find dishonesty.

    And it just so happens that individuals can be taught, or can learn by themselves how to spot these errant behaviors.

    In plainspeak, in Lie To Me various methods of psychology were employed in order to ascertain whether or not people were being duplicitous. This is vital because it just so happens that the above show was in large part based on the work of behavioral psychologist Dr. Paul Ekman.

    Getting back on track, Unmasking The Face – A Guide To Recognizing Emotions From Facial Expressions by Dr. Paul Ekman is an incredible book that details part of the knowledge that was used within the TV show referenced above.

    Unmasking The Face helps individuals be able to pierce of the veil of lies that’s often cast upon them.

    In his phenomenal and fascinating book, Dr. Ekman covers some of the tools and data available in order to determine people’s true feelings via their facial expressions.

    At its core Ekman gives individuals the facial schematics to enable people to read the emotions referenced above. Along with that, the author also covers many of the psychological reasons why people carry out the actions that they do.

    The author also notes why many people make mistakes in reading emotions at certain times.

    In cataloguing facial deceit, Ekman also narrows down facial expressions to four reasons: cultural display rules, personal display rules, vocational requirement and the need of the moment. The author then proceeds to expound upon those four reasons at length.

    Coupled with that, the three management techniques individuals employ, which are simulating, neutralizing and masking, are also covered in some detail.

    Without a doubt, this book is foundational for a robust understanding of reading/understanding people’s behavior at a much more deeper/comprehensive level.

    Given all that, the skills in this book should definitely become part of everyone’s repertoire.

    Kindest Regards,
    Zy Marquiez
    TheBreakaway.wordpress.com
    Images in this review
    Customer image
    26 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on November 23, 2011
    I first found out about Dr.Paul Ekman by accidentally watching the TV series "Lie to Me" with Tim Roth and an incredible supporting cast. I was very intrigued by the idea of becoming a "human lie detector" like Dr. Lightman was on the show. I was especially interested once I saw the episode about reading people while playing Poker since I am a huge Poker enthusiast. I then found out that all of this stuff on the show was based on the real work of Dr.Paul Ekman so I had to of course buy as many of his books as I could get my hands on. Unmasking the face is foundational in learning how to read emotion in human facial gestures known as "Micro-expressions. If you really want the upper hand in any social situation you must read this book and learn how to decode what people are really telling you with their emotions and their facial gestures,especially if you want to learn how to tell when someone is lying to you or trying to bluff you in a poker game. These books are powerful and wonderful tools for those who will take the time to read them and practice the techniques until they are proficient.I can't recommend these books highly enough.There is also a website where you can take some of his online training course to get even better at using these techniques and its very affordable. All praises to Dr.Ekman for his dedication and decades of valuable research. These books are a MUST HAVE for anyone who wants a leg up in life's many social situations.
    8 people found this helpful
    Report

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English
  • Luis G
    4.0 out of 5 stars Retorno ao "Universo da Emoção"
    Reviewed in Spain on January 28, 2022
    A leitura do livro ainda me ocupa algum tempo. Mas as linhas de contacto com os textos de divulgação do pensamento que tive previamente me levara a adquirir esta obra estão a ser satisfeitas.
    Quando e se houver novidades partilharei convosco.
    Report
  • Silvia
    5.0 out of 5 stars Hard to get through but great of you can
    Reviewed in Canada on April 28, 2020
    This is a great book if you have the patience to get through it. It's very dry and progresses slowly, but great teachings in it.
  • giorgio d
    5.0 out of 5 stars Ottimo
    Reviewed in Italy on January 28, 2020
    Velocissimo
  • Victor
    5.0 out of 5 stars Cómpralo sin dudar
    Reviewed in Mexico on March 24, 2019
    Libro más que obligatorio si estás estudiando el comportamiento humano, las teorías del Doctor Ekman así como sus múltiples estudios sobre la universalidad de las emociones están sencillamente explicados aquí, las emociones universales explicadas maravillosamente en este libro con ejemplos de los diferentes músculos involucrados en cada una, además de un Excelente plus de traer al final una sección completa de ejercicios para desarrollar la habilidad de la lectura de emociones. Vale completamente su precio.
  • Russel
    5.0 out of 5 stars Den kompletta guiden till ansiktens kroppsspråk
    Reviewed in Sweden on August 31, 2023
    Den kompletta guiden till ansiktens kroppsspråk

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