5. Sad expressions are often conceived as opposite to happy ones, but this view is too simple, although the action of the mouth corners is opposite. Sad expressions convey messages related to loss, bereavement, discomfort, pain, helplessness, etc. Until recently, American culture contained a strong censure against public displays of sadness by men, which may account for the relative ease of finding pictures of sad expressions on female faces. A common sense view, shared by many psychologists, is that sad emotion faces are lower intensity forms of crying faces, which can be observed early in newborns, but differences noted between these two expressions challenge this view, though both are related to distress. Although weeping and tears are a common concommitant of sad expressions, tears are not indicative of any particular emotion, as in tears of joy.
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9. The crying baby face shows elements of thesad expression: narrowedeyes and raised cheeks, eyebrows pulledtogether, lip corners pulled down, chin bosspushed up, but also includes lateral lip stretching and has noraising of the eyebows in the center of the forehead
10. A suffering child showsa typical sad expression,with narrowed eyes and raised cheeks, eyebrowspulled together and raisedin the center of foreheadforming wrinkles in theglabella, and a slightly pushed up chin boss. Thelips may be slightly pulledlaterally and downwards
11. This depiction of sadnessshows the downturned lipcorners and pushed up chinboss consistent with a sadexpression. Also, the eyesare narrowed, but anyactions in the brow area areobscured. Her posture,gaze direction, and headorientation help convey theoverall sad expression