Social Psychology Network

Maintained by Scott Plous, Wesleyan University

Paul Ekman

Paul Ekman

For 32 years, Paul Ekman was a professor of psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California at San Francisco. He received his undergraduate education at the University of Chicago and New York University, and his Ph.D. from Adelphi University in 1958 after spending a year in clinical internship at the Langley Porter Psychiatric Institute (part of UCSF). He served as chief psychologist in the U.S. Army, Fort Dix, New Jersey, from 1958-1960. Upon discharge he returned to UCSF, where he held a three-year postdoctoral research fellowship. He then initiated his research program supported by grants from the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Science Foundation, and the Advanced Research Projects Agency of the DoD, loosely affiliated with UCSF. In 1972 he was appointed Professor of Psychology at UCSF.

Professor Ekman's research interests have focused on several distinct but related topics. He originally focused on nonverbal behavior, and by the mid-1960’s concentrated on the expression and physiology of emotion. He has also had a long-standing interest in interpersonal deception.

Over the course of his career, Professor Ekman's many honors have included the Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award of the American Psychological Association in 1991, and an honorary doctor of humane letters from the University of Chicago in 1994. In 2004 Professor Ekman retired from UCSF, but he continues to consult on research and training related to emotion and deception.

Primary Interests:

  • Applied Social Psychology
  • Emotion, Mood, Affect
  • Interpersonal Processes
  • Nonverbal Behavior

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Image Gallery

Video Gallery

19:17 Featured SVG

On Expression and Gesture and Their Role in Emotion and Deception

Select video to watch

  • 19:17

    On Expression and Gesture and Their Role in Emotion and Deception

    Length: 19:17


  • 59:15

    The Atlas of Emotions: Designing Emotional Awareness

    Length: 59:15


  • 56:08

    Face to Face: The Science of Reading Faces

    Length: 56:08


  • 1:07

    Dr. Ekman Explains Facial Action Coding System (FACS)

    Length: 1:07


  • 22:17

    The Development of the Facial Action Coding System: Part 1

    Length: 22:17


  • 22:41

    The Development of the Facial Action Coding System: Part 2

    Length: 22:41


  • 43:14

    Empathy

    Length: 43:14


  • 3:46

    How to Control Your Emotions

    Length: 3:46


  • 19:57

    Compassion and Emotion

    Length: 19:57


  • 1:51

    Micro Expressions

    Length: 1:51


  • 1:16:21

    Conversations on Compassion

    Length: 1:16:21



Books:

Journal Articles:

Paul Ekman
San Francisco, California 94133
United States of America

  • Phone: 415.986.2854

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