
Paul Ekman on the Universality of Emotion
Paul Ekman, the psychologist whose cross-cultural work established that certain facial expressions of emotion are recognized universally, talks with June Gruber for Yale's Experts in Emotion series. Ekman traces how he first got drawn into studying emotion, then walks through the central discoveries of his career, including the fieldwork with isolated cultures that convinced him basic expressions like anger, fear, and disgust are not learned locally but shared across humanity. He discusses where he sees the field heading next and closes with practical advice for students considering research on emotion. The interview runs as a straightforward sit-down conversation, structured in chapters from introduction through discoveries to future directions and advice, with Ekman doing most of the talking about the research that made him one of the discipline's most cited figures.