Sneer

This article is about the facial expression. For the music group, see Sneer (band).
Depiction of sneering used in Darwin's The Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals

A sneer is a facial expression of scorn or disgust characterized by a slight raising of one corner of the upper lip, known also as curling the lip or turning up the nose.[1] In The Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals, Charles Darwin defined a "sneer" as "the upper lip being retracted in such a manner that the canine tooth on one side of the face alone is shown"[2] Darwin related the sneer to the snarl observed in non-human animals, particularly carnivores, observing that:

The uncovering of the canine tooth is the result of a double movement. The angle or corner of the mouth is drawn a little backwards, and at the same time a muscle which runs parallel to and near the nose draws up the outer part of the upper lip, and exposes the canine on this side of the face. The contraction of this muscle makes a distinct furrow on the cheek, and produces strong wrinkles under the eye, especially at its inner corner. The action is the same as that of a snarling dog; and a dog when pretending to fight often draws up the lip on one side alone, namely that facing his antagonist.[3]

It is suggested that the sneer is a universal expression of contempt[4] and that Darwin was the first to observe this.[5] Cats may be observed to sneer, though this is probably related to the Flehmen response.[6]

  1. ^ The Power of the Sneer, The Age, Apr 10, 1937
  2. ^ Charles Darwin, The Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals, 1872, pp 249-250
  3. ^ Darwin, above; p. 251
  4. ^ Carroll E. Izard; O. Maurice Haynes (March 1988), "On the form and universality of the contempt expression", Motivation and Emotion, 12 (1): 1–16, doi:10.1007/BF00992469, S2CID 145534507
  5. ^ Joan C. Borod; Cornelia Santschi Haywood; Elissa Koff (March 1997), "Neuropsychological aspects of facial asymmetry during emotional expression", Neuropsychology Review, 7 (1): 41–60, doi:10.1007/BF02876972, PMID 9243530, S2CID 23549147
  6. ^ Desmond Morris (1987), "Why Do Cats Sneer?", Cat watching, Crown Publishers, p. 112, ISBN 9780517565186