Making the Invisible Visible: Toward Micro-Expression Visualization for Empathy in Social Interaction

TL;DR

This paper proposes a framework to visualize micro-expressions, making subtle facial cues perceptible to enhance empathy in social interactions, and discusses a pilot study to evaluate its feasibility.

Contribution

It introduces a novel conceptual framework for micro-expression visualization aimed at improving empathic understanding in social contexts.

Findings

Framework enables perceptible micro-expression visualization

Pilot study planned to assess feasibility under controlled conditions

Aims to explore impact on empathic experience

Abstract

Micro-expressions are brief and subtle facial movements that convey nuanced affective information but often remain imperceptible during natural social interaction. Although prior research has primarily focused on computational recognition and spotting of micro-expressions, their application in human-centered contexts remains limited. From the perspective of social augmentation, this work proposes a conceptual framework for micro-expression visualization that transforms otherwise imperceptible micro-expressions into perceptible affective cues, with the aim of exploring their potential influence on empathic experience. Furthermore, we outline a planned pilot study to preliminarily assess the feasibility of this framework under controlled conditions.