The face of memory: Do facial expressions influence recall?

Facial expressions are integral for social communications and interactions; they serve as vital signals in conveying emotions, allowing individuals to interpret the mental states of others. However, no research has tested the difference in all of the universally recognized facial expressions on memory recall. According to Paul Ekman, “some basic human emotions (happiness/enjoyment, sadness, anger, fear, surprise, disgust, and contempt) are innate and shared by everyone, and they are accompanied across cultures by universal facial expressions.” This paper aims to investigate the impact of these seven universal facial expressions on memory recall.