Biometric analysis is everywhere – even in our cell phone security through facial and fingerprint recognition. It has recently become widely useful in forensic settings as well, being used for facial, fingerprint/palmprint, iris, and voice identification1. Using the iMotions Facial Expression Analysis software, I looked at detection differences between concealed and unconcealed emotions when presented with various stimuli, specifically looking at the time in percentage that each emotion was elicited throughout the stimuli. Fourteen participants, eight females (F) and six males (M), were shown seven different videos aimed at eliciting specific emotions to be measured by the iMotions software. Prior to exposure to the stimuli, seven of these fourteen participants (4F, 3M) were asked to conceal their emotions while watching the following videos. The seven different emotions that were measured by the software include contempt, disgust, fear, joy, anger, surprise, and sadness. The alternative hypothesis states that individuals who concealed their emotions during presented stimuli will have significantly less detectable emotions elicited in comparison to individuals who were not asked to conceal their emotions. The null hypothesis states that there will be no significant difference between detectable emotions of individuals of the concealed group and the unconcealed group. There was no statistically significant difference of emotion detected between the overall concealed and unconcealed participant averages with regards to time (%) (p=0.07, a ≥0.05).
Keywords: Biometric identification, facial expression analysis
Materials & Methods – iMotions software suite (physiological and facial analysis software): version 7.0 – iMotions Shimmer Kit: Galvanic Skin Response and Photoplethysmography biosensors – Logitech HD camera – Laptop with Bluetooth capability – GP3 Professional Bundle – Additional display monitor – Windows 10 Operating System
