by Lori Mueller
Facial Coding, a way of assessing emotional reactions by coding universal facial expressions, has gained a lot of traction in market research as a way to capture emotional response with more precision. While self-reported data is critical in making sound business decisions with regard to stimuli, facial coding is a complement that can provide the information people are unwilling or unable to tell us.
As far as new market research tools go, facial coding meets the three key criteria that dictate whether or not a new market research tool becomes and stays mainstream. First, it offers unique information that traditional response cannot provide. Part of its uniqueness is its ability to measure the non-conscious emotional response, while the other part is centered around the temporal nature of the measurement, which is a perfect fit, primarily, for evaluating the effectiveness of video content. Second, facial coding provides meaningful information – measuring emotional response is an important component to the questions market researchers attempt to answer and can add insight to stated responses. Lastly, facial coding is scalable and with the aid of technology is becoming sharper. It’s also a fairly inexpensive, simple addition to current research studies and its output is easy to understand, which lowers the risk of incorporating facial coding into your learning plan.
As interest in non-conscious measurement tools increases, it will become increasingly important to integrate different information sources for a more holistic perspective on actual behavior and emotional response. There are a number of uses for facial coding inputs beyond video content evaluations. For example, facial coding can be used to measure responses to static content, such as print ads, or to gain a deeper understanding in qualitative settings. You may already use facial coding in these ways or you may have only started the conversation on facial coding and how to use it; either way, here are a few fun facts on facial coding that you can use to impress your colleagues in your next meeting!
DID YOU KNOW…?
- The muscles that control facial expressions are called mimetic muscles.
- Typically, there are 43 muscles in the human face. However, we only control about 12.
- Everyone has 5 core muscles believed to help us convey anger, happiness, surprise, fear, sadness, and disgust.
- Not everyone has the same number of facial muscles. There are 19 muscles you may or may not have, which explains why some people can’t raise just one eyebrow!
- The Risorius muscle, believed to control our ability to express extreme fear, is only found in about two thirds of the population. You might be fine with not knowing if you do or don’t.
- Facial muscles are also used for micro-expressions, which are brief, involuntary facial expressions.
- Micro-expressions typically only last around 1/25 of a second. Long enough to start a marital argument?
- Humans are not the only living creatures with facial expressions; many primates (especially apes) have the same muscles and expressions as we do.
- Facial coding is used by law enforcement and anti-terror agencies during interrogations to identify and interpret expressions as well as determine if someone is lying. They can read your face like a book!
If you have any other fun facts, share them in the comments! I’d love to hear them.
As a Senior Consultant at Burke, Inc., Lori Mueller uses her quantitative nature and collaborative style to tackle her clients’ toughest business issues. Her creative approaches to meeting client objectives ensure the appropriate techniques are used to produce meaningful, actionable insights.