Reflections of thought: cognitive facial expressions in the human interface

Thought or cognitive activity induces facial expressions. The neurological connection is not as direct as facial expressions of emotions, but these cognitive expressions are still important. They indicate the degree of cognitive difficulty which a person is having or the type of cognitive activity that is occurring. Since computer-generated environments are often highly cognitive in nature, cognitive expressions may be even more meaningful than emotional expressions in the domain of human-computer interaction. An experiment is presented which characterizes the range of cognitive facial expressions found in human-computer interaction. The relationship between these expressions and cognitive activity is examined. Finally, the implications of the existence of these cognitive expressions is discussed.