Mastering the Art of Microexpression Decoding: Enhance Your Perception Abilities with Dr. David Matsumoto
A Fresh Take on "The World's Most Interesting People"
In the latest episode of our series, "The Riveting Puzzles of Life," I sat down with Dr. David Matsumoto. He's the mastermind behind Humintell and the founder and director of San Francisco State University's Culture and Emotion Research Laboratory.
Dr. Matsumoto, a world-class authority in emotion, nonverbal behavior, deception, and culture, boasts an impressive bibliography brimming with over 400 scholarly works, including books, book chapters, journal articles, and conference presentations. He shared his insights on utilizing observation skills to discern true intentions and signs of deception.
Introducing Dr. Matsumoto
Beyond his academic achievements, Dr. Matsumoto is also the author of "The Handbook of Culture and Psychology" and the "APA Handbook of Nonverbal Communication."
Adding an intriguing twist, he's a 7th degree black belt in judo – pretty impressive, huh?
I've wondered, how on earth do you manage it all? Do you have your own set of productivity hacks?
Dr. Matsumoto attributes his success to his commitment to judo, a lifestyle he's pursued since he was seven years old, keeping him going for over five decades! He practices judo nearly every night of the week and schedules his academic work around it. Judo serves as his daily rejuvenator.
"I just keep on producing," Dr. Matsumoto shared.
Interestingly enough, his consistent practice reminds me of research showing that introducing obstacles, such as a "bench" or a roundabout in open spaces, helps people flow more smoothly by organizing traffic patterns. Dr. Matsumoto's "bench" is judo – it helps the rest of his life flow more efficiently.
Action Item: What's your "judo"? Do you have an everyday ritual that offers a mental break to structure the rest of your life around? What's one thing in your life are you not willing to sacrifice? Adding a challenge to your daily routine can help you structure and organize the rest of your life.
Want to stay updated on our latest interviews? Don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter!
Diving into Microexpressions and Human Lie Detection
I must confess, I'm a fanatic follower of your blog, Humintell. Every new research revelation grabs my curiosity, and one recent finding fascinated me – the first scientific study confirming that microexpressions can be a crucial factor in detecting lies. Can you expand on this research?
Dr. Matsumoto enlightened us that while there's been a good deal of rhetoric describing microexpressions as indicators of deception or sincerity for decades, there's never been a scientifically validated study published in a peer-reviewed journal to support these claims until now.
Read the in-depth study, "Microexpressions Differentiate Truths From Lies About Future Malicious Intent" here and the Humintell summary here.
So what exactly is a microexpression? A microexpression is a fleeting, unconscious expression that reveals a hidden emotion.
Previously, it was believed that microexpressions occur as quick as 1/25th of a second, but Dr. Matsumoto warns us against taking this estimate too seriously as he finds it questionable and doesn't fully understand how it was derived. Instead, his research reveals that microexpressions play out in approximately half a second or less. While it may sound fast, this is actually slower than earlier research had suggested.
Earlier microexpression studies found microexpressions occurred too infrequently to serve as an accurate indicator of deception. Dr. Matsumoto attributes this to the restrictive method used for measuring microexpressions and the inaccurate estimation of their speed.
What was the goal for using microexpressions for detection, and how did you get people to participate in your experiments?
Dr. Matsumoto walked us through how his lab designed a "mock crime" to convince participants to lie.
People came into the lab, some of whom were asked to commit a crime. As you can imagine, this crime was intentionally limited in scope and adhered to the experiment's context. For this study, participants were instructed to steal something from a room.
Before the theft, participants underwent a brief interview to express their intentions. This offered researchers a peek into the participant's mind before the action took place, helping to determine their intentions. These interviews were quick, around 60-90 seconds, meant to swiftly gauge someone's state of mind before committing a crime.
It's essential to pay close attention to one factor, the stakes surrounding the experiment. Participants must feel as though there are consequences involved or they won't show genuine emotions and behaviors.
For instance, in studies involving college freshman psychology students, there are usually no consequences attached to their participation. As such, they don't tend to behave in the same way as when stakes are involved. They don't feel emotionally engaged or even think twice.
Dr. Matsumoto's team restricts their studies to community participants, welcoming individuals of all ages to participate. This diversified sample better represents a larger portion of the population compared to a lab that only uses college students. The researchers carefully measured participants' emotionality, looking to see if they displayed fear or other negative emotions commonly associated with having something to lose.
Did you consistently see the same microexpressions repeated among liars?
Dr. Matsumoto said they observed a variety of expressions among the dishonest participants in the study, and these reactions almost always correlated with negative emotions. These include contempt, disgust, anger, fear, sadness, and surprise.
What's fascinating is that the same context can generate different expressions and emotions for different people. For example, someone may show anger if they feel their statement is being attacked, or someone may show sadness if they're feeling extremely uncomfortable in the situation.
Guilt doesn't have a universal expression or universal signal.
Dr. Matsumoto defines guilt as a subjective interpretation of another emotion given a specific context. This means someone's guilt may manifest as disgust, contempt, anger, or another negative emotion based on the context.
Action Item: Look for research experiments involving real consequences for participants. Stakes are one of the strongest indicators for accurate behavior. For more insights on human lie detection, check out this resource:
Mastering Your People Skills
- Create an Unforgettable Impression
- Communicate with Confidence
- Achieve Your Goals
Join People SchoolDo you have questions about the presentation or People School? Email our website support.
The Art of Observation in Real Life
So what sort of strategy have you shared with people such as the FBI that everyday folks can use?
Dr. Matsumoto was once an instructor for the FBI National Academy. He advised us:
Observe.
Based on his experience, Dr. Matsumoto observes so many people having conversations but not truly observing. He believes it is possible to actively listen and actively observe simultaneously.
This is no walk in the park! To be a keen observer, one must attend to the signals occurring and also process what those signals may be revealing about the person.
What would be a homework assignment to help someone improve their observation skills?
Dr. Matsumoto suggested honing your observational skills on your daily commute. He also proposed this challenge:
Challenge: Exercise your observation muscles by counting how many times I (Vanessa) blink in the above video. Find out the final count at the end!
Dr. Matsumoto conducted this exact observational challenge when he visited Japan – a culture known for being conservatively expressive. He observed a five-minute video of a Japanese man talking and counted hundreds of blinks in just five minutes. This far exceeds the number most people expected. Sometimes, how we think we express ourselves isn't always the reality – it's crucial to observe both our own and others' nonverbal cues.
Do you have a favorite program you watch for practicing your decoding skills?
Dr. Matsumoto recommended watching the news to observe expressions in their natural habitat. He particularly enjoys watching politicians during interviews for genuine displays of emotions that can't be replicated in scripted messages.
Challenge: Select one of the seven microexpressions and keep track of how many times someone uses it – either in person or on TV!
- Dr. Matsumoto's success in both academia and martial arts demonstrates the importance of leadership and dedication in different aspects of business, such as research and personal discipline.
- In the field of business, Dr. Matsumoto's research on microexpressions and lie detection showcases the significance of keen observation skills in understanding human behavior, particularly in finance and leadership roles.
