Based on a large body of decoding studies in various cultures, Ekman and
Friesen (1978) devised a table (FACS Table 11-1) of different Action Unit
combinations that correspond to different emotions and have a high
probability of being recognized as such. To each basic emotion of joy,
surprise, anger, sadness, disgust, and fear different AU combination
possibilities are indicated. In the present case the most intense
combinations for each emotional expression were chosen. They are defined
as follows:
| Emotion | Action Unit Combination |
| Joy | 6 + 12y + 25 |
| Sadness | 1 + 4 + 15 |
| Disgust | 10 + 17 + 4 |
| Anger | 4 + 5 + 7 + 24 |
| Surprise | 1 + 2 + 5 + 26 |
| Fear | 1 + 2 + 4 + 5 + 20 + 25 |