Microexpression detection in undergraduate students

Microexpressions, facial expressions lasting for less than half a second, are a common but unnoticed occurrence. The accuracy of microexpression detection, and college major choice, have both been linked with personality. This led to the hypothesis that different majors should have different levels of accuracy in detection. A convenience sample of 121 undergraduate students, of different majors, was given a short survey about microexpression detection. 10 frontal headshots, portraying examples of 7 different microexpressions, were shown on a screen. Participants were asked to identO, the expressions by choosing from a provided list on the survey. There was no statistical significance in microexpression detection among majors, [F(3,118) = 0.92, p = 0.90], or between gender, t(118) = 1.23, p = 0.22. However, there was a statistically significant correlation between gender with the identification of contempt and disgust. While our results conflict with research that has already been done on emotion/microexpression detection, it is possible that another study with a larger sample could achieve results similar to existing research.