<p><strong>The fundamental question here is</strong>: Can we "read" emotions in a perceiver-independent, objective way?</p>

<p><strong>The answer, I'd venture, is</strong>: We don't really know (although, currently, we cannot do this with great reliability or specificity).</p>

<p>It would be painstaking to go through the history of emotion research and to go over every emotion theory that supposedly has a definitive answer to this question.  <strong>Fortunately, a great overview of this history can be found <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1754073909338877" rel="nofollow noreferrer">here</a>.</strong></p>

<p>It would also be a pain to go through every emotion perception study, in cultures near and far, every psychophysiology study, every behavioral or neuroimaging study, and the many (sometimes quite giant) limitations of this literature.  <strong>Fortunately, you can find meta-analyses on these topics, which mostly suggest we cannot "recognize" contempt, or any other emotion, with notable reliability or specificity</strong> (although we can "perceive" it; e.g., <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1754073912457227" rel="nofollow noreferrer">1</a>, <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301051113002603" rel="nofollow noreferrer">2</a>, <a href="https://academic.oup.com/cercor/article/27/3/1944/3056293/Multivoxel-Pattern-Analysis-Does-Not-Provide" rel="nofollow noreferrer">3</a>, <a href="http://journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol/article?id=10.1371/journal.pcbi.1004066" rel="nofollow noreferrer">4</a>.)  </p>

<p>So, it's hard to answer this question.  <strong>We might be able to one day, but we are very, very, very, very far away from sampling the dynamic and highly variable range of potential expressions of "contempt," let alone any other emotion</strong> (no study has actually tried to do this ever).  Moreover, quite a few emotion theories do not recognize contempt as universal (see <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/behavioral-and-brain-sciences/article/on-the-deep-structure-of-social-affect-attitudes-emotions-sentiments-and-the-case-of-contempt/4A17A398E5C7A29ACDAF3C0410C84124" rel="nofollow noreferrer">here</a> for a recent overview).</p>

<p>If the above doesn't confuse you enough, I'll pull in the picture I pointed to in the comments.  Same "disgust" face, different emotion.  Well, what about contempt?</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/IxK8d.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/IxK8d.png" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

<p>I realize my answer is pretty unsatisfying, but if you read a great deal of the emotion literature, you might just arrive to the same conclusion.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-05-16T12:38:36.623Z
This is inaccurate. We most certainly can recognize universal emotions, including contempt, with reliability. There are endless ethnographic studies showing this in all cultures around the world. Not understanding the basis of emotional affect is not akin to not being able to recognize the character of specific emotions.
ebrohman
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-05-16T16:21:51.243Z
@Ebrohman  *"We most certainly can recognize universal emotions, including contempt, with reliability."*  Do you have statistics for this? *"There are endless ethnographic studies showing this in all cultures around the world."*  This isn't true.  There is actually a very, very tiny set of studies experimentally examining universality in remote tribes.  *"Not understanding the basis of emotional affect is not akin to not being able to recognize the character of specific emotions."*  I agree, but there isn't much evidence that specific emotions have special corresponding facial movements.
mrt
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-05-16T01:53:23.023Z
2017-05-16T01:53:23.023Z
mrt
<p>Contempt is expressed through a curled or snarled lip on one side of the face. It is a universal emotional expression that can be seen in all cultures.</p>
<p>The expression is often accompanied by a slight smile and raised chin, sometimes referred to as a &quot;sneer&quot;, further showing disapproval to the target of one's contempt.</p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/Go9qk.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/Go9qk.jpg" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p>
<p>References:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Passion and Reason: Making Sense of Our Emotions, by Richard S. Lazarus, Bernice N. Lazarus</p>
<p>Liespotting, by Pamela Meyer, 2010</p>
<p>The Cognitive Structure of Emotions, by Andrew Ortony, Gerald L. Clore, Allan Collins</p>
<p>Scalar Ratings of Contempt Expressions by David Matsumoto, San Francisco State University</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-05-15T01:53:58.670Z
2017-05-15T18:26:18.807Z
2020-06-17T09:55:31.633Z
ebrohman
<p>What are the obvious signs of contempt/hatred in human relations and what is the cause for these behaviors?</p>

<p>In other words, are there physical and behavioral traces/signs of contempt and hatred? Can a person be kind and friendly with you, but in reality he/she feels a great amount of contempt and hatred towards you?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-04-28T16:40:35.163Z
Hiding one's negative feelings behind apparent smile is common practice because negativity is strongly discouraged in our society, but I don't know if you can tell the true feelings of a person using physical and/or behavioral traces. Hopefully someone here ill be able to provide good answer. The cause part is unanswerable though.
Spero
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-04-29T04:02:22.930Z
There is no known objective, perceiver-independent way to measure contempt.  The best way is to ask the person if they're feeling contemptuous (i.e., self-report).
mrt
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-04-29T12:55:18.050Z
The company I currently work at [has a quite accessible overview of how to recognize contempt (and other emotions) through facial expressions](https://imotions.com/blog/facial-expression-analysis/), and an explanation of _why_ physiologically they are shown through facial expressions.
Steven Jeuris
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-04-29T16:00:41.253Z
@StevenJeuris  FWIW, that there's a specific and reliable correspondence between discrete emotions and facial movements is highly contested.  For a particularly impressive counterexample, see p. 726 of [this paper by Hillel Aviezer](http://labconscious.huji.ac.il/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/angry-disgusted-or-afraid-psychscience-2008.pdf).
mrt
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-04-29T17:30:42.227Z
I see potential for two very nice answers ;)
Robin Kramer-ten Have
<social-psychology><psychology>
How to recognize contempt
Regen
# How to recognize contempt

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-04-28)

What are the obvious signs of contempt/hatred in human relations and what is the cause for these behaviors?

In other words, are there physical and behavioral traces/signs of contempt and hatred? Can a person be kind and friendly with you, but in reality he/she feels a great amount of contempt and hatred towards you?

**Tags:** social-psychology, psychology

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Hiding one's negative feelings behind apparent smile is common practice because negativity is strongly discouraged in our society, but I don't know if you can tell the true feelings of a person using physical and/or behavioral traces. Hopefully someone here ill be able to provide good answer. The cause part is unanswerable though.  
> **username_2**: There is no known objective, perceiver-independent way to measure contempt.  The best way is to ask the person if they're feeling contemptuous (i.e., self-report).  
> **username_3**: The company I currently work at [has a quite accessible overview of how to recognize contempt (and other emotions) through facial expressions](https://imotions.com/blog/facial-expression-analysis/), and an explanation of _why_ physiologically they are shown through facial expressions.  
> **username_2**: @StevenJeuris  FWIW, that there's a specific and reliable correspondence between discrete emotions and facial movements is highly contested.  For a particularly impressive counterexample, see p. 726 of [this paper by Hillel Aviezer](http://labconscious.huji.ac.il/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/angry-disgusted-or-afraid-psychscience-2008.pdf).  
> **username_4**: I see potential for two very nice answers ;)  

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2017-05-16. Score: 2

**The fundamental question here is**: Can we "read" emotions in a perceiver-independent, objective way?

**The answer, I'd venture, is**: We don't really know (although, currently, we cannot do this with great reliability or specificity).

It would be painstaking to go through the history of emotion research and to go over every emotion theory that supposedly has a definitive answer to this question. **Fortunately, a great overview of this history can be found [here](http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1754073909338877).**

It would also be a pain to go through every emotion perception study, in cultures near and far, every psychophysiology study, every behavioral or neuroimaging study, and the many (sometimes quite giant) limitations of this literature. **Fortunately, you can find meta-analyses on these topics, which mostly suggest we cannot "recognize" contempt, or any other emotion, with notable reliability or specificity** (although we can "perceive" it; e.g., [1](http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1754073912457227), [2](http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301051113002603), [3](https://academic.oup.com/cercor/article/27/3/1944/3056293/Multivoxel-Pattern-Analysis-Does-Not-Provide), [4](http://journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol/article?id=10.1371/journal.pcbi.1004066).)

So, it's hard to answer this question. **We might be able to one day, but we are very, very, very, very far away from sampling the dynamic and highly variable range of potential expressions of "contempt," let alone any other emotion** (no study has actually tried to do this ever). Moreover, quite a few emotion theories do not recognize contempt as universal (see [here](https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/behavioral-and-brain-sciences/article/on-the-deep-structure-of-social-affect-attitudes-emotions-sentiments-and-the-case-of-contempt/4A17A398E5C7A29ACDAF3C0410C84124) for a recent overview).

If the above doesn't confuse you enough, I'll pull in the picture I pointed to in the comments. Same "disgust" face, different emotion. Well, what about contempt?

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/IxK8d.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/IxK8d.png)

I realize my answer is pretty unsatisfying, but if you read a great deal of the emotion literature, you might just arrive to the same conclusion.

> **Comments:**
> **username_5**: This is inaccurate. We most certainly can recognize universal emotions, including contempt, with reliability. There are endless ethnographic studies showing this in all cultures around the world. Not understanding the basis of emotional affect is not akin to not being able to recognize the character of specific emotions.  
> **username_2**: @Ebrohman  *"We most certainly can recognize universal emotions, including contempt, with reliability."*  Do you have statistics for this? *"There are endless ethnographic studies showing this in all cultures around the world."*  This isn't true.  There is actually a very, very tiny set of studies experimentally examining universality in remote tribes.  *"Not understanding the basis of emotional affect is not akin to not being able to recognize the character of specific emotions."*  I agree, but there isn't much evidence that specific emotions have special corresponding facial movements.  

---

### Answer by username_5 on 2017-05-15. Score: 1

Contempt is expressed through a curled or snarled lip on one side of the face. It is a universal emotional expression that can be seen in all cultures.

The expression is often accompanied by a slight smile and raised chin, sometimes referred to as a "sneer", further showing disapproval to the target of one's contempt.

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/Go9qk.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/Go9qk.jpg)

References:

> Passion and Reason: Making Sense of Our Emotions, by Richard S. Lazarus, Bernice N. Lazarus
>
> Liespotting, by Pamela Meyer, 2010
>
> The Cognitive Structure of Emotions, by Andrew Ortony, Gerald L. Clore, Allan Collins
>
> Scalar Ratings of Contempt Expressions by David Matsumoto, San Francisco State University


---

