Who would study psychology if they didn't have some kind of problem?

Chapter 252 I am a human-shaped camera
"Micro-expression analysis?"

Many consultants who had already closed their notebooks reopened them and picked up their pens again upon hearing this.

This is the expression on someone's face after hearing something substantial, meaning there will be something new in this report or presentation.

In a way, they even had a premonition that something big was about to happen here.

"Micro-expression analysis?"

The professors in the first row are all scholars with solid foundations and who are always paying attention to cutting-edge research, so naturally they would not make any ridiculous remarks such as "micro-expression analysis is pseudoscience".

Most of the professors raised their eyebrows, indicating interest.

Then he glanced in Bai Qinghua's direction, seemingly casually.

A small group of professors, however, had a gleam in their eyes; they had sensed something amiss—

—The aura of a core journal!

As mentioned before, psychological counseling is a very difficult research area within the broader field of psychology to write articles on.

If we disregard the literal meaning of language, we could even change "very" to "most" in the sentence above—"psychological counseling" is the "most" difficult research area to write articles in the field of psychology.

Among the psychological counseling journal articles currently available on CNKI, apart from those masters who localize foreign techniques or even create new ones, most people rely on researching unique cases to publish articles.

However, while research on unique cases can lead to published articles, it is difficult to publish in core journals because case studies generally lack the quality of being "promoted" and learned from, and are not very "original".

But right now, what Nan Zhuren was talking about is starting to show some promise.

From the perspective of "smiling depression," this is an intervention using a new technique for a specific group of people!
From the perspective of micro-expression analysis, this has led to the development of a practical application for an emerging technology!

Wait a minute... if we make a few minor changes, wouldn't we be able to publish two articles?

Two articles in core journals?!
The professors fell into deep thought once again.

Nan Zhuren saw the reactions of the people in the audience.

This is exactly the reaction he wanted.

This is not finished.

"In 1969, American psychologists Ekman and Friesen were commissioned by a psychiatrist to examine a video of a depressed patient lying to cover up his suicidal intentions."

Nan Zhuren switched to a new slide and then proceeded to elaborate on an argument that supported her theory:

"Initially, the two psychologists did not find any abnormal behavior from the patient in the video. It was not until they played the video in slow motion and examined it frame by frame that they unexpectedly discovered that the patient had a strong expression of pain when answering the doctor's question about future plans. In the entire video, this expression only occupied two frames and lasted for only 1/12 of a second."

"That uncontrollable physiological expression that appears in 1/12 of a second is called a microexpression!"

People outside this research area wouldn't bother to trace the origins of such stories, so most of the psychologists present were unaware of it.

But the story itself is quite novel.

Nan Zhuren once again drew everyone's attention.

"Unfortunately, although micro-expressions originated from psychological counseling, they were not ultimately applied to psychological counseling because the condition of 'video recording' is very demanding in counseling."

Even in the United States, where it originated, micro-expression analysis is mostly used in criminal investigations or in mental hospitals where visitors have completely lost their right to self-care.

Nan Zhuren spoke quickly and steadily, swiftly presenting his views while everyone was still processing the information.

Therefore, I have two appeals regarding interventions for "smiling depression":

"First, after confirming that depression poses a suicide risk, video counseling should be used to allow counselors to carefully assess the client's true mental state after the consultation—after all, suicide intervention can be subject to the confidentiality exception."

"Second, based on the first point, strengthen the training of grassroots counselors. At the very least, ensure that counselors who deal with patients with depression have the ability to analyze micro-expressions through video; if possible, cultivate counselor talents who can interpret the micro-expressions of 'smiling depression' without video analysis."

"That concludes my report."

The last slide appeared, with the words "Thank you for listening, please feel free to offer your feedback" appearing on the screen as the ending.

The ending felt abrupt. Because of this, it took the audience about ten seconds to process it.

For a moment, the scene became surprisingly quiet.

Nan Zhuren's report was full of surprises, and the host only realized it at this point: "...Thank you, Professor Nan, for your wonderful report. Does anyone have any questions they would like to ask Professor Nan?"

This is the usual procedure after each teacher's presentation, and the host spoke very fluently.

That's why, after the host finished speaking, he noticed the principal and the dean of the cardiology department repeatedly making gestures towards him, as if to say, "Let this all end quickly."

But it's too late.

However, it's not a big problem; even if the host doesn't bring the Q&A session into the flow, people will still ask questions.

Huang Xin, standing in the crowd, cleared his throat and prepared to stand up.

Incidentally, Liu Pan, who was beside him, had long since disappeared, leaving only Zhuang Junzhe, whose eyes had become extremely adoring.

"At the end, you mentioned training psychological counselors capable of micro-expression analysis? Do you think that's possible?"

A voice suddenly came from the professors' seats in the first row.

Huang Xin silently sat down again, because this was the question he was supposed to ask according to the original plan.

Now that someone has taken over on their own initiative, there's no need for him to do anything unnecessary.

……

The question was asked by Bai Qinghua.

Bai Qinghua looked at Nan Zhuren with intense interest in his eyes.

He said slowly, "The story you just told was good. But you have to understand, even a micro-expression lasting 1/12 of a second is considered a long-lasting micro-expression. A true micro-expression might only linger on a person's face for a very short time. Do you think a counselor can master this skill and become a human camera?"

The question coming from the professor's chair surprised Nan Zhuren a little.

But Nan Zhuren was not greatly affected: "First of all, thank you for the question, teacher."

"Therefore, it's definitely not feasible to have a counselor become a human camera. But it is possible to have counselors specialize in interpreting clients with 'smiling depression,' which is what I appealed at the end of my report."

Nan Zhuren corrected Bai Qinghua's wording.

"First of all, interpreting a person's micro-expressions requires an extremely good understanding of their facial movements. It is often impolite to carefully observe other people's expressions. However, when counselors are counseling, their eyes are on the client's face for more than forty minutes. It can be said that they are born with the ability to interpret the client."

"Secondly, counselors do not need to interpret all of a client's facial expressions; it is enough to look beyond the smile to perceive the pain. This kind of specialized training is far easier than the imagined task of 'training a counselor who can analyze micro-expressions'."

There is a significant gap between specialized talents and generalists.

Just like in basketball, if you want to find an all-around player who can shoot, defend, drive, and dunk, you might only be able to find one among the few hundred players in the NBA.

But if all you want is a spot-up shooter who makes nine out of ten three-pointers—you could probably find several in your neighborhood.

The consultant specializing in "interpreting smiling depression" mentioned in Nan Zhuren's report is just such a "three-point spot shooter".

Bai Qinghua's expression became even more interested: "Do you have any research to back up your claim? Is there any evidence to support it?"

Nan Zhuren nodded: "Yes."

Under the gaze of thousands of people, Nan Zhuren said calmly, "That's just who I am."

"Furthermore, I'm not the kind of person who 'specializes in interpreting smiling depression.'"

“I am the kind of ‘human camera’ you’re talking about.”

“And regarding this point,” Nan Zhuren looked in Lin Lilin’s direction, “I can testify to it on the spot.”

(End of this chapter)