How many smiles

The ability to identify a truly group-minded person would be particularly useful to those prone to social exclusion. With this in mind, a group of researchers from Miami University of Ohio recently asked test participants to rate various smiles as genuine or fake. Before the task, some were primed for exclusion through an essay task that required them to write about a time they were rejected.

Compared with a control group and others primed for inclusion, the excluded participants showed an enhanced ability to distinguish Duchenne smiles from false ones, the authors reported in Psychological Science in Not only do people deduce useful information from smiles, they also use this knowledge to direct their own behavior. In a follow-up experiment, published in in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, the same researchers found that people primed for exclusion showed a greater preference to work with individuals displaying genuine Duchenne smiles than those bearing cheap grins.

Another function of smiling and one that anecdotal evidence supports is that it enhances our attractiveness. One of the most famous characters in American letters, F. While this held true for all pretty mugs, the activity in this region was even stronger when the face in focus wore a smile. Although some might argue that the brain, in seeing a smile, has already considered the reward attained.

Abel E. Bernstein M. Young, S. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 46, — Cohn, J. Darwin, C. Duchenne G. Cuthbertson, Cambridge University Press. Ekman, P. Wallace V. Fredrickson, B. Fridlund, A. Schaut, J. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 80, — Hertenstein, M. Motivation and Emotion. Keltner D. Kraut, R. LaFrance M. Landis, C. Livingstone, M. Is it real? Or just low spatial frequency? Science, , Mehua, M.

Perrett, D. Neuropsychologia, 41, — Ozono H. Yuki, M. Cultural differences in using the eyes and mouth as cues to recognize emotions in Japan and the United States, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 43, — This article inspired me to the point of exaggeration.

This is where I prefer to reside. Thank you for the insight and the inspiration in a new address to whom ever might enjoy the smile. Having just stumbled across this article, I appreciate its consideration of so many elements, such as gender, culture, social situation, and history.

Measuring the hard science of smiles may help America learn the value of retaining smiles, and to be alarmed when america loses its smile. Studying how children lose their smiles is among the most important science any nation can do to measure its well being. Pat — I would love more information about the study of how children loose their smile.

Please share! I found this article very interesting and also very informative, with its research carried out by very reliable sources. In each the smile is deliberately made. Often these smiles will show some asymmetry. The qualifier smile removes some of the harshness from an otherwise unpleasant or critical message, often trapping the distressed recipient of the criticism into smiling in return.

The smile is set deliberately, with a quick, abrupt onset. The qualifier smile is often marked with a head nod and a slightly down and sideways tilt to the head so that the smiler looks down a little at the person criticized. The compliance smile acknowledges that a bitter pill will be swallowed without protest. No one thinks the person showing it is happy, but this smile shows that the person is accepting an unwanted fate.

Instead, the brows may be raised for a moment, a sight may be heard, or a shrug shown. The coordination smile regulates the exchange between two or more people. It involves a slight smile, usually asymmetrical, without the action of the muscle orbiting the eyes.

The listener response smile is a particular coordination smile used when listening to let the person speaking know that everything is understood and that there is no need to repeat or rephrase. Any of these four smiles—qualifier, compliance, coordination, or listener—may sometimes be replaced by a genuine felt smile. Someone who enjoys giving a qualifying message, who takes pleasure in complying, listening, or coordinating, may show the felt rather than one of the unfelt smiles I have described.

Nothing much may be felt, or negative emotions may be felt that the liar tries to conceal by using the false smile as a mask. Unlike the miserable smile that acknowledges pleasure is not felt, the false smile tries to mislead the other person to think the smiler is having positive feelings. It is the only smile that lies.

There are a number of clues for distinguishing false smiles from the felt smiles they pretend to be:. You must be logged in to post a comment. Paul Ekman is a well-known psychologist and co-discoverer of micro expressions.

He was named one of the most influential people in the world by TIME magazine in He has worked with many government agencies, domestic and abroad. Ekman has compiled over 50 years of his research to create comprehensive training tools to read the hidden emotions of those around you. Start Training View All Posts.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply You must be logged in to post a comment. Search Submit Clear. Paul Ekman. It is also known to make people seem more trustworthy, friendly, and approachable.

Also known as the Pan Am smile, the forced smile is named for Pan Am flight attendants who were required to continue to smile in spite of frustrations or disgruntled customers. Forced, fake and characterized by overly exposed teeth, this smile can be detrimental to your health. They attempt to hide their feelings of discomfort for the sake of covering up their true emotions.

A study found that women tend to overcompensate for their unease more than men and that same study found that most men who tend to sexually harassment interpret this smile as flirtatious. Polite smiles are great for instances that call for friendliness without emotional intimacy. A polite smile is usually tight-lipped and with low intensity, signaling the desire to appease without being overly friendly. People often use this smile with acquaintances and strangers as a way to say hello.

The sarcastic smile suggests a positive emotion, but the eyes give it away with a look of disdain. Crooked and with conflicting emotions, this small smile often comes with narrowed eyes and could be considered a smirk. A duping smile is often displayed as a result of the excitement of getting away with manipulation. Depending on the culture, there are different variations of a flirtatious or seductive smile. A slight smile accompanied by direct eye contact can be a marker of seduction.