Online facial affect test

[Tiramisu]

http://www.cio.com/article/facial-expressions-test

 

After seeing Jean's post, I tried this online test and did absolutely horribly. I think there was only one I didn't have to try multiple times. Then dh did it. I think he got all but one on the first try. My two oldest dd's didn't do as well as dh, but much better than I did. It was interesting that even as I watched dh and the girls take the test, I still couldn't quite get it. It could be that it was just too quick for me.

 

FWIW, I think I get along with people well and am rather functional. :)

 

ETA: Here's a different one. I found this easier but certainly not easy. http://www.dnalc.org/view/867-Reading-Faces.html

[PeterPan]

http://www.cio.com/article/facial-expressions-test

 

After seeing Jean's post, I tried this online test and did absolutely horribly. I think there was only one I didn't have to try multiple times. Then dh did it. I think he got all but one on the first try. My two oldest dd's didn't do as well as dh, but much better than I did. It was interesting that even as I watched dh and the girls take the test, I still couldn't quite get it. It could be that it was just too quick for me.

 

FWIW, I think I get along with people well and am rather functional. :)

 

ETA: Here's a different one. I found this easier but certainly not easy. http://www.dnalc.org/view/867-Reading-Faces.html

I got 3 of them on that micro test by guessing.  I couldn't see most of them at all to even tell what was going on, no matter how many times I clicked.  I found little slices of change if I watched a couple of them enough and just sort of extrapolated off that, leading to a couple correct guesses.  So if your dh could actually see them and get them, that's astonishing.   :ohmy:   

 

So you think most people can see those?  Wow.

[Jennifer-72]

I was able to get 8 of them right the first time. The other two even after watching a few times took three guess each.

 

ETA: thanks for the second link as well. I think that will be great to work on with ds.

[PeterPan]

I was able to get 8 of them right the first time. The other two even after watching a few times took three guess each.

 

ETA: thanks for the second link as well. I think that will be great to work on with ds.

Ok, so then what's up with that?  It's one thing not to know an expression when you see it.  It's another not to even see it, lol.  Do you think those micro-expressions are real speed and true to life?  That 2nd link was more exaggerated, acted expressions, very stereotypical, not necessarily how they look in real life.  Says the woman who couldn't see the micro-expressions, lol.

[LaughingCat]

I got 8 right on the first try - the other 2 I think I clicked all the other buttons first lol!

Interesting because I consider myself quite poor at picking up on emotions.

[LaughingCat]

OhElizabeth, I do not feel like I saw the expression - I went more on what my 'feeling' that the expression was.   I read something recently that said you normally pick up on changes in someone's mood within milliseconds.   I think this test is more along those lines than 'true to life' - although I suppose if someone were hiding their emotions you might only get a flash of the emotion.

[Jean in Newcastle]

I'm sorry but I think these things are the stupidest things I've ever seen.  I am very good at reading people and have excellent people skills.  But I'm not a spy.  I don't have to rely on micro-expressions flashed for a millisecond in order to figure out what is going on.  I use facial expressions, tone, the content of what they actually say and other cues.  I may be talking to someone who is very tired but is still telling me that they are very satisfied with their life.  I'm not going to tell them "no you're not,  your facial expression is telling me something very different."  Even the second test, the one that was longer, was incomprehensible to me.  For example, the third photo looked to me like she was skeptical.  But "skeptical" was not on the list.  It tells me that she was being "cruel".  What?  Unless I know the person and know what she looks like right before she stabs me in the back, I'm not going to know that.  

[Ivey]

I got all of them correct on the first test, but 2 or 3 were complete guesses. I found the second one a little harder, because I thought a lot of them looked "unfriendly" :blush:. After I used up that one, I answered the rest correctly. I don't think I'm particularly good at reading facial expressions, but I've always been good at multiple choice tests. 

 

I'll have to get some of my boys to try these tomorrow. I have two on the spectrum and two who are very socially adept, so it could be interesting! 

[PeterPan]

I got 8 right on the first try - the other 2 I think I clicked all the other buttons first lol!

Interesting because I consider myself quite poor at picking up on emotions.

I've seen this multiple times though in talking with people. The mom will have a dc with spectrum and really feel like she is too, then she gets a facial test (one of the freebies online) and gets ALL of them right, lol.  (Sorry, I'm not saying your kids are on the spectrum.  I have no clue.  I'm just saying it's funny to me how often moms feel gaslighted in that situation and turn out to be fine.)

 

 

I'm sorry but I think these things are the stupidest things I've ever seen.  I am very good at reading people and have excellent people skills. 

Jean, I didn't know I was missing things till someone told me.  It's not really something you figure out for yourself.  Highly intelligent people extrapolate, reason, and find workarounds.  For instance on the 2nd link from Tiramisu, not only are the expressions extremely exaggerated, but you have a limited field of options where each only gets used once.  I can get 1/3-1/2 of them by eliminating previous correct answers found and gaming the system.  That's no reflection on my actual ability to recognize them, but just reflects that I'm smart enough to game it.  

 

 

I'll have to get some of my boys to try these tomorrow. I have two on the spectrum and two who are very socially adept, so it could be interesting! 

Yes, we'd love to hear their scores!  Be very scientific about it and don't let them watch each other doing it, hehe...   :)

 

I'm still left wondering what affect processing speed and visual processing has on this.

[PeterPan]

Well folks, I'm back!  I tried the micro-expressions on dd, and she got 8 of 10 on the first try and the rest with more looks.  So that eliminates low processing speed as a cause.  She's considered socially typical btw.  She has had VT including for visual processing, where I didn't finish mine.  I've read some suggestion that visual issues are behind this sometimes, but I really don't know.  

[Lecka]

I disagree with your gaslighting conclusion, OHE.  Or at least in all cases.

 

I think that these skills (in recognizing facial expressions) can be learned or can develop later.  It doesn't mean someone doesn't have autism or does have autism.  There is a thing where some things can be difficult in earlier life, but then with learning or development they get easier.  

 

I think that is accounted for.

 

I don't think it is like -- oh, so you DON'T have autism, b/c you have learned how to recognize facial expressions by age 35.  

 

I would expect for many, many people with autism to learn these skills by the time they are old enough to have children.

 

I think it is supposed to be like -- is it totally 100% automatic, or did you learn it more over time compared to picking it up automatically.  That is how I think of it.  

 

But I also don't think anyone has to think they have autism or not, I just think, if someone thinks they does but does well on a facial expression test, then that is good news -- they have learned it!  I just don't think it means "oh, you actually don't have autism."  I just don't think that is the conclusion to draw.  I would just draw a conclusion -- at the current time the person does have these skills. 

 

I am really against thinking people with autism must be frozen in time with poor facial expression or poor theory of mind or whatever, when really, many people do learn these things.  And it is harder for some people, but it is not like -- oh, you will be bad at it forever.  If that was the case -- why are we trying to help our kids with therapy, what is the point.  

 

Or maybe some people do really have hard struggles and really do not do as well at picking things up, I am aware of that.  But that is not everyone's story, some people have a story where they do pick things up.  Or - at least make a lot of progress, or at least make a little progress -- and a little progress can go a long way.  

 

 

[LaughingCat]

Both the tests had a pretty exaggerated expression (you can see the actual expression in the first one by typing the # that matches that test after it 'flashes' the expression).    There is another test I've seen in the past that might be a better indicator -it was about picking the moment when the face changed expression enough that you could recognize the new emotion (or something like that).  Unfortunately I have no link and couldn't find it with a quick google (and I can't remember how I did either lol!)

[kbutton]

The micros looked like some demonic flashing .gif to me!

 

The other test was better. I thought some were exaggerated and some were pretty true to life. The despairing one made me want to cry, lol! I chose correctly for 16 of them the first try, and one correctly on the 2nd. On nearly all of them, two emotions at a time would register in my head--sometimes one wasn't on the list (I'm picky about words sometimes), other times it was a "if my first guess isn't right, then I think they are trying to show this." The rest were totally off for me, or I got them from a process of elimination (forgiving was one I guessed correctly this way). I knew the rest were negative emotions, but I didn't know what word to choose. I would've guessed cruel correctly, but it was early in the test, and I simply didn't see it as an option on the list at first. I didn't get unfriendly and grumpy, but I did get aggressive and some of the others.

 

[Jean in Newcastle]

Don't read the rest of this post unless you've done the test for yourself first.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grumpy just looked like he was contemplating something to me - perhaps something nefarious.  

 

Cruel looked like she had a hint of a smile so I couldn't take it seriously.

 

Forgiving? looked like he heard something he had expected and was agreeing with.  Why else would he nod?  Do you nod when you forgive someone?  

 

Unfriendly looked like she was saying "Whatev'" with her body but I still didn't see it as unfriendly!  

 

Aggressive looked like he was watching a sporting match that he was particularly into.  He didn't look personally aggressive.  

 

Begging looked like he was having a particularly bad time in the bathroom. . . 

 

Adoring looked like he had a crick in his neck.  

[Jean in Newcastle]

I'm an actor.  There is more than one way to portray an emotion.  And it includes a lot more than facial expression.  

[Heathermomster]

It must be my Internet connection, but I saw only one face on the first link. I couldn't read any of those faces.  I did much better with the second link.  

 

You know, I generally ask people if I'm unsure what is up with them.  That's kinda my thing, and they either tell me what's up or tell me its personal.  I hear funny, odd, scary, and crazy stuff.  DH cannot believe the things strangers tell me because I look so benign.

 

[kbutton]

Don't read the rest of this post unless you've done the test for yourself first.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grumpy just looked like he was contemplating something to me - perhaps something nefarious.  

 

Cruel looked like she had a hint of a smile so I couldn't take it seriously.

 

Forgiving? looked like he heard something he had expected and was agreeing with.  Why else would he nod?  Do you nod when you forgive someone?  

 

Unfriendly looked like she was saying "Whatev'" with her body but I still didn't see it as unfriendly!  

 

Aggressive looked like he was watching a sporting match that he was particularly into.  He didn't look personally aggressive.  

 

Begging looked like he was having a particularly bad time in the bathroom. . . 

 

Adoring looked like he had a crick in his neck.  

 

Lol! I thought the exact same thing about aggressive--"he's watching sports." These observations are awesome.

[PeterPan]

We could have a psych party and have all the ladies come over and bring in a psych to diagnose us, one by one...   :lol:  Or we could give up and just watch Psych... (in case you're needing a little levity right now)

 

 

[Jean in Newcastle]

Elizabeth, we just finished watching an episode of Psych over lunch!  

[Storygirl]

I did both tests. The first one I got about six right.  They flashed much more quickly than any expression in real life.  I had to pause and consider before answering. I thought the second test was going to be easier, and some of them seemed very obvious to me.  But others seemed iffy.  I mean aggressive, cruel, and unfriendly, for example -- not everyone makes these kind of faces in the exact same way. One person's cruel could be another person's aggressive expression.  IRL I pick up a lot from overall body language and tone of voice as well as facial expression. I didn't count how many I got correct on the second test.  Some were totally easy; the rest I had to guess. Got many wrong.  I wonder what percentage the average NT person gets right.  Can't be 100%??

[geodob]

The way that facial expressions are processed in the brain?

Is with what is termed as the brain's 'Mirror Process', using dedicated 'mirror neurons'.

Which causes a 'muscle response' in the observer, that matches the facial expression.

So that the observer feels the facial expression, as if they were making it.

 

So that when look at those photos?

We imitate the facial expression, and then retrieve the feeling associated with it.

But for many of those facial expressions.  When mirrored/ imitated, they don't have feeling associated with them.

 

Though this 'Mirror Process', extends beyond the face, to the whole body of the 'other' person.

So that if we observe someone hit their thumb with a hammer?

It is felt in our own thumb.

Where this Mirror Process, is the foundation of Empathy.

So that we feel the pain, joy, sadness of the 'other'.

Not simply see it.

[Tiramisu]

FWIW, I think I had the hardest time with the negative emotions and it's interesting to reflect on how that could be part of how I was born as well as my experiences.

 

My father once told me I was like a machine, while my sister was all emotion, and how something in between would be nice. My mother says I'm analytical. Ironically, I've had very good, satisfying relationships in my life and many wonderful friends, whereas my sister has had a much more difficult time. 

 

Once a counselor told me he thought I had very effectively suppressed a lot of anger I had toward my father. He recommended I had done it so successfully that I shouldn't try to dig it up and deal with it. I was my father's "favorite" and he left my family when I was nine and then left town and effectively disappeared a couple of years later.

 

I remember breaking up with a long term boyfriend and being completely unable to deal with his emotions that when I would try to talk to him I would feel like I couldn't focus at all and like I was going to fall asleep.

 

Meanwhile, my mother thinks I'm a little like Pollyanna because I always try to see the good in things, but I think that's a habit that's been cultivated over the years through actively trusting in God's goodness during hard times.

 

 

[Jean in Newcastle]

The thing is, all of us in my family looked at those and had specific emotions attached to them but often there wasn't a label that matched.  Like you, Tiramisu, the positive emotions were easier for us to get.  Perhaps negative emotions esp in adults are not quite so stereotypical?  How many times do we ask someone "What's wrong" when we see a negative emotion on their face.  I don't think that is simply because we want to know what triggered it.  Plus, most of us have a mix of emotions when dealing with things.  So you might be sad about something but also have some fear about how things are going to be now plus some concern for others involved. . .   

[PeterPan]

The thing is, all of us in my family looked at those and had specific emotions attached to them but often there wasn't a label that matched.    

Jean, when you say all, do you mean your two kids and you or your dh as well?  (That's not going anywhere.  I was just curious.)

[Jean in Newcastle]

Jean, when you say all, do you mean your two kids and you or your dh as well?  (That's not going anywhere.  I was just curious.)

Yes.  Both dh and I do a fair amount of counseling.  We're good at reading people.  

[IsabelC]

The second one wasn't too hard. I got most right immediately, and the rest within 2-3 guesses. The first one I was hopeless at. I just can't take anything in that fast. Are 'normal'/neurotypical people really able to read emotions at that speed? If so, I'm more disadvantaged by being on the spectrum than I thought.

[PeterPan]

The second one wasn't too hard. I got most right immediately, and the rest within 2-3 guesses. The first one I was hopeless at. I just can't take anything in that fast. Are 'normal'/neurotypical people really able to read emotions at that speed? If so, I'm more disadvantaged by being on the spectrum than I thought.

So you're diagnosed or know you're on the spectrum?  That's interesting to hear your experience with those tests.  I agree with the others earlier in the thread who suggested not getting *too* freaky about the results simply because there probably are some other things that can account for it, that you wouldn't look at one thing in isolation.  I don't think it's processing speed though, because my dd's processing speed is in the dumps (35th percentile) and she had NO issue with the first link at all.

[IsabelC]

My psych did an assessment and said I would be Aspergers under the old diagnostic criteria, but she has not actually written me up a formal evaluation/diagnosis because I declined to pay the extra $ to get it. This has only happened in the last year, so I'm still getting to grips with the whole thing. 

 

I don't think I am slow in general to take things in because I can react to some things quickly. And I can do mental arithmetic much faster than most people.

 

Anyway, I am planning to ambush my one NT child later and see whether she can pick up the fast faces!

[PeterPan]

My psych did an assessment and said I would be Aspergers under the old diagnostic criteria, but she has not actually written me up a formal evaluation/diagnosis because I declined to pay the extra $ to get it. This has only happened in the last year, so I'm still getting to grips with the whole thing. 

 

I don't think I am slow in general to take things in because I can react to some things quickly. And I can do mental arithmetic much faster than most people.

 

Anyway, I am planning to ambush my one NT child later and see whether she can pick up the fast faces!

Interesting!  Did you see the link EKS made to the MRI research (oldish) on the Eide's blog where they showed autism brains are sort of inverse of dyslexic.  Might explain what you're feeling.

[OneStepAtATime]

Well, I guess my eye sight and processing speed sunk me on the first test. I honestly could barely even register that something on the screen had changed.  I never could see a single expression, even long enough to guess.  I am usually pretty good at seeing body language/facial expression changes and usually judging fairly accurately what someone is feeling, even if I don't know the why.   In fact, my introvert husband relies on me to judge social situations. But I guess they are holding the expression long enough for me to register the change.   :)

 

But on the second one I did really well, expect I really disagree with the cruel face.  She looked like she was trying not to laugh.  

[theYoungerMrsWarde]

I loved Lie to Me. :D I'll take this when I'm not on my phone.

[theYoungerMrsWarde]

Dp.

[imagine.more]

Hm, interesting, I'd seen this test elsewhere but never actually clicked the link. This time I clicked the link for fun and did it. I got all of them correct, 2 I looked at a second time to double check myself. My Dh did it and he got 8 of them correct, 3 of those he had to look at 2-3 times to get it correct. We have no Autism or anything in our families and we're both pretty average people. DH is way better adjusted than me (he's just a better person all around so people like him :) ) but I'm far more intuitive (INFP). I'm one who can walk into a new church and almost immediately pick out the trouble makers....it's like my pastor's wife super power ;) 

 

For me I couldn't fully see each face but I was able to register a strong emotion with each one immediately even with only half-seeing it because it was so fast. Not sure, maybe that's kind of the intent? I dunno, but it was an interesting little test!

[PeterPan]

Total aside and rabbit trail, but I have to look at the code/labels on the emoticons to figure out what they mean.  Anyone else?   :lol: 

[Tiramisu]

Total aside and rabbit trail, but I have to look at the code/labels on the emoticons to figure out what they mean. 

 

Me, too. Sometimes I like one and think that's what I need and then I read the description and find out it's not what I thought.

[LaughingCat]

Funnily enough, I just go by the picture and don't bother reading the labels... and sometimes I use a smilie to mean something completely different than what it's label says

:crying:  <-- this one is not crying, sad/upset yes, but you need tears to = crying

:eek:  and :scared: <--  both of these are "shocked"  not "eek" and "scared"

 

 

[LaughingCat]

Here's a face test site I just found - I got 85% on the famous faces test (thankfully you don't have to remember the person's name to count it correct)

 

http://www.faceblind.org/facetests/index.php