Final answer:
Ekman and his colleagues found that there are six basic emotions with associated universal facial expressions: happiness, surprise, sadness, fear, disgust, and anger, suggesting that such expressions are innate and universal.
Step-by-step explanation:
Paul Ekman and his colleagues identified that six basic emotions are universally recognized and expressed through distinct facial expressions. These emotions are happiness, surprise, sadness, fear, disgust, and anger. According to Ekman's research and cross-cultural studies, these emotional expressions are innate and not learned from our environment; even individuals who are congenitally blind, and who have never seen these expressions, will still display them. This universality supports the idea that our facial expressions of basic emotions are hardwired into our biology.
These emotions are happiness, sadness, anger, and fear. Ekman's landmark study involved observing facial expressions in different cultures and settings, including an isolated New Guinea tribe and congenitally blind individuals and found consistent patterns of emotion recognition and expression.