Facial gestures

[Judge]

I'm a bit perplexed of these online tests that allow you to identify facial gestures. I seem to score nominally enough in them. It's just that looking at a static image for a prolonged period of time just to answer a question "correctly", is very different from having a real-time conversation with someone standing in front of you.

The physicality of the situation in real life makes it much more difficult for me to "read" actual facial gestures than this kind of test can measure, IMO. Anyone have similar sentiments about this?

 

[tw3]

Everyone used to ask me if or why I was angry. My facial expression did not represent my feelings, but was more a nervous gesture like toe tapping.
With my wife's prompting, serious effort, and a lot of practice I learned to make socially acceptable neutral facial expressions. While it felt phony at first I sort of developed new habits. It's still a conscious effort, but it's worth the peace of not having to respond to irrelevant questions.

 

[ghoulbler]

I'm always told that my facial expressions never "match" my actual emotions and seem to be unrelated to whatever I'm talking about... and also that I make a lot of weird movements with my face that apparently don't even seem to be related to emotions either... either that or it's a blank face, and that I often look disgusted, confused, or angry blblbl. Apparently I also make many "weird gestures". I have no idea what anyone is talking about but I get it a lot so it must be true.

 

[HelloDizzy]

I've been working on eye contact a little, but it turns out when I make it, I become too intense for people to focus. Much like the eye contact of a psychopath.

 

[ifightdragons]

I've been working on eye contact a little, but it turns out when I make it, I become too intense for people to focus. Much like the eye contact of a psychopath.

All the same, we'd make for a thrilling staring contest

 

[Divrom]

I've been working on eye contact a little, but it turns out when I make it, I become too intense for people to focus. Much like the eye contact of a psychopath.

I can so relate to that!

I do okay with faking eye-contact. The risk now is that I can go too far and look as if I'm staring at people.

It tires me sometimes. I just want to be able to look at people naturally and not have people presuming things about me as a result (eg. "He's angry, scared, sad, staring, nosey, judgemental...").

 

[Judge]

I can so relate to that!

I do okay with faking eye-contact. The risk now is that I can go too far and look as if I'm staring at people.

It tires me sometimes. I just want to be able to look at people naturally and not have people presuming things about me as a result (eg. "He's angry, scared, sad, staring, nosey, judgemental...").

I hear that. I make eye contact just long enough to let them know they have my attention...but I don't stare them down. Still the whole process is taxing. Mind-blowing to hear about it from so many others!

 

[Axeman52]

I'm told i have a blank expression most of the time but my blank facial expression looks like i'm smiling a little somehow, i guess it's just the shape of my mouth. It helps in some ways but not others, people see what they perceive as a smile and assume i'm very nice and friendly. In combination with my blank staring into middle distance though, and a lot of people assume i'm high or something, which is very annoying - people at college used to call me "charlie horse" because of it. The kind of smile also meant that when i was seriously depressed and had major anxiety about school, everyone just presumed that because i "looked happy enough", i must be ok, and obviously just faking the anxiety attacks.