MacLoughlan
Well-Known Member
I was diagnosed late (48), after falling into something of a hole (flat broke, out of work, no prospects etc). One of my key problems is that I am very limited in reading emotional states and in recognizably signalling my own with the effect that I can categorically state with absolute honestly that I have never got through a job interview &c.
One side of this is that I don't signal the "you really shouldn't say any more" and not doing so has had me hear some very disturbing stories that would really rather not have heard, sometimes from strangers. That might sound interesting and exciting, but you haven't of the goings on that I've heard.
After the encounter with for example business people, I can usually analyze what each person is actually about and often make more shrew judgements than colleagues (when I had colleagues), so my judgement of character or more accurately of what motivates individuals is not so bad, but I can't do it at meetings, sales pitches or interviews and really flounder, that is, I am absolutely lost in the face to face situations.
To try to address these problems, I've enrolled in a screen acting class, and the experience really shows how blind I am to social cues and emotion expression - it really is amazing. Now, many years ago I attended a course in spoken English and public speaking given by a really superb voice coach and as a result I don't have the same problems with voice - so for example, you can lie to me face to face but you will never get away with it on the phone. I want to try to learn how to read and signal facial and micro facial expressions, to achieve an "in the moment" competency equivalent to what I have achieved in voice.
To this end, I think (but might be wrong) that working through thousands of facial photographs with the emotional expressions stated and described would help me a great deal: what I think is that if I work a large enough pile, I will train myself to habitually look for cues and so start a virtual cycle of learning by observation, experience and practice and intentional imitation, and so improve my comprehension of these cues etc.
[by the way, when you hear voice that you don't understand, intentionally imitating what you've heard - which means manipulating the machinery of voice production to get the same inflections etc - not only helps you hear what you've heard, it seems to at least partially induce the emotional state that gave rise to the voice you've heard, even more so if you mimic the body movements and postures. I've found this observation really useful over the years - all those years I didn't know I was an aspie]
So my question is: can anyone point me to a (very large) collection of photographs of people in various emotional states that have those emotional states clearly stated and described?
It is possible this is a dumb strategy; if it is, my nose will not be out of joint if you propose a better one!
Thanks for you help!
One side of this is that I don't signal the "you really shouldn't say any more" and not doing so has had me hear some very disturbing stories that would really rather not have heard, sometimes from strangers. That might sound interesting and exciting, but you haven't of the goings on that I've heard.
After the encounter with for example business people, I can usually analyze what each person is actually about and often make more shrew judgements than colleagues (when I had colleagues), so my judgement of character or more accurately of what motivates individuals is not so bad, but I can't do it at meetings, sales pitches or interviews and really flounder, that is, I am absolutely lost in the face to face situations.
To try to address these problems, I've enrolled in a screen acting class, and the experience really shows how blind I am to social cues and emotion expression - it really is amazing. Now, many years ago I attended a course in spoken English and public speaking given by a really superb voice coach and as a result I don't have the same problems with voice - so for example, you can lie to me face to face but you will never get away with it on the phone. I want to try to learn how to read and signal facial and micro facial expressions, to achieve an "in the moment" competency equivalent to what I have achieved in voice.
To this end, I think (but might be wrong) that working through thousands of facial photographs with the emotional expressions stated and described would help me a great deal: what I think is that if I work a large enough pile, I will train myself to habitually look for cues and so start a virtual cycle of learning by observation, experience and practice and intentional imitation, and so improve my comprehension of these cues etc.
[by the way, when you hear voice that you don't understand, intentionally imitating what you've heard - which means manipulating the machinery of voice production to get the same inflections etc - not only helps you hear what you've heard, it seems to at least partially induce the emotional state that gave rise to the voice you've heard, even more so if you mimic the body movements and postures. I've found this observation really useful over the years - all those years I didn't know I was an aspie]
So my question is: can anyone point me to a (very large) collection of photographs of people in various emotional states that have those emotional states clearly stated and described?
It is possible this is a dumb strategy; if it is, my nose will not be out of joint if you propose a better one!
Thanks for you help!
