Perceiving Emotions
Astrid Hopfensitz
Toulouse School of Economics

Emotions influence:
- Perceptions
- Values
- Decisions

Emotions influence:
- Perceptions
- Values
- Decisions Emotions are
communicated:
- Face
- Voice
- Body language
- Language

Emotions influence:
- Perceptions
- Values
- Decisions Emotions are
communicated:
- Face
- Voice
- Body language
- Language
Emotions are perceived and interpreted:

Emotions influence:
- Perceptions
- Values
- Decisions Emotions are
communicated:
- Face
- Voice
- Body language
- Language
Emotions are perceived and interpreted:
jealousy

Emotions influence:
- Perceptions
- Values
- Decisions Emotions are
communicated:
- Face
- Voice
- Body language
- Language
Emotions are perceived and interpreted:

Emotions influence:
- Perceptions
- Values
- Decisions Emotions are
communicated:
- Face
- Voice
- Body language
- Language
Emotions are perceived and interpreted:
happiness

What are
emotions?
– Emotions have evolved to enhance
survival.
– Each emotions serves a very specific
purpose:
– anger: conflict => attack
– fear: danger => flight
– sadness: loss => recover
– disgust: contagion => avoid
– joy: good state to be maintained
– Each emotion comes with a specific
physiological reaction and a specific
facial expressions

The New Guinea man featured below was living in an isolated, preliterate culture
using stone implements which had never seen any outsiders before. Paul
Ekman asked him to show what his face would look like if:
• His child had just died
• He stepped on a smelly dead pig
• He was about to fight
• Friends had come
www.paulekman.com

Facial
expressions:
– Measurement of emotional state
– Measurement of emotional message

Facial
expressions
Happiness (smiling) of MEP’s
Emotional messages

Perceiving
emotions
– In communication by leaders to
citizens:
– We need to take the emotional
messages into account
– In communication by citizens to
leaders:
– We need to differentiate between:
– Experienced emotions
– Signaled emotions

Thank you