THE MIND’S CANVAS 167or complement each other. By assessing facial behaviors in context and
comparing them to other nonverbal behaviors, we can use them to help
reveal what the brain is processing, feeling, and/or intending. Since the
brain tends to use everything above the shoulders as a single canvas for
expression and communication, we are going to refer to the face and its
mantle, the neck, as one: our public face.
NEGATIVE AND POSITIVE EMOTIONAL
DISPLAYS OF THE FACENegative emotions—displeasure, disgust, antipathy, fear, and anger—
make us tense. That tension manifests in many ways in and on the
body. Our faces may show a constellation of tension-revealing cues si-
multaneously: tightening of jaw muscles, flaring of nose wings (naral
wing dilation), squinting of the eyes, quivering of the mouth, or lip oc-
clusion (in which lips seemingly disappear). On closer examination, you
might note that eye focus is fixed, the neck is stiff, and head tilt is non-
existent. An individual might not say anything about being tense, but if
these manifestations are present there is no doubt that he is upset and
that his brain is processing some negative emotional issue. These nega-
tive emotional cues are displayed similarly throughout the world, and
there is real value in looking for them.
When someone is upset, either all or only a few of these nonverbal
behaviors may be present, and they may manifest as mild and fleeting or
may be acute and pronounced, lasting for minutes or even longer. Think
of Clint Eastwood in the old spaghetti westerns, squinting at his oppo-
nents before a gun battle. That look said it all. Of course actors are
trained to make their facial expressions particularly easy to recognize.
However, in the real world, these nonverbal cues are sometimes more
difficult to spot, either because they are subtle, intentionally obfuscated,
or simply overlooked (see figure 59).
Consider, for example, jaw tightening as an indication of tension. Af-
ter a business meeting, an executive might say to a colleague, “Did you