The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals allows cultural factors only an auxiliary role in the shaping of expression. This biological emphasis leads to an appreciation of the universal nature of expression, with its implication of a single origin for the entire human species; and Darwin points to the significance of emotional communication with children in their psychological development. Darwin sought out the opinions of some leading British psychiatrists, notably James Crichton-Browne, in the preparation of the book which forms his main contribution to psychology. Amongst the innovations with this book are Darwin's circulation of a questionnaire (probably inspired by his cousin, Francis Galton) in his preparatory
The Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication grown too long, & I think I shall publish separately a very small volume, 'an essay on the origin of mankind'". This "essay" would become two books: "The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex" (1871) and "The Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals" (1872). The book had been advertised as early as 1865 with the unwieldy title "Domesticated Animals and Cultivated Plants, or the Principles of Variation, Inheritance, Reversion, Crossing, Interbreeding, and Selection under Domestication" but Darwin agreed to the shorter "The Variation of Animals and Plants Under Domestication" suggested by the compositors. By May he