Our grins are not as simple as they might seem. There are many different ways to smile - and some of them hide more than just happy emotions. In 1924, sadistic student Carney Landis forced other psychology students, teachers, and patients—including a 13-year-old boy—into a room at the University of Minnesota. Walking among his victims with a knife, he voiced his instructions. The beheading was about to begin. To calm his charges, he changed clothes, hid laboratory equipment, threw cloth over the windows and hung pictures on the walls. Landis wanted to know whether certain experiences, such as pain or shock, always produced the same facial expressions. And to find out, he wanted to call them. He sat his victims down and then drew lines on their faces to better see their grimaces.
This man knows everything about smiling
For three hours, he repeatedly photographed them, subjecting them to unpleasant and strange taunts, placing fireworks under their chairs, passing electricity through their arms. The climax came when he took a live white rat and asked him to cut off its head with a butcher knife.
Landis's methods were, of course, unethical, but he discovered something unpleasant for himself. Even during the most brutal torture, the most common reaction was not tears or anger - but a smile. He recorded: “While the experiment continued, I saw no emotion except the smile, which was present in enough photographs to be considered typical of every situation.”
Functions of a smile
A person’s smile originates in the brain, in its subcortical zone (limbic system). By definition, a smile is a reaction to some external stimulus. If you like something, you get positive emotions. Otherwise - negative.
Each emotion triggers different biochemical processes in the brain. They cause visible changes in the body. A good example is expressive reactions. This is an external expression of emotions, evidence that a person is experiencing some kind of experience, no matter whether they are good or bad.
A smile in psychology is also considered an expression of emotions. If the face of your interlocutor does not express anything, naturally, you will treat him with some distrust. Even slight facial expressions and a slight smile will change the situation for the better and will put you at ease. Is not it?
A smile has other functions.
Communicative
In psychology it is said about smiling that it is one of the ways of non-verbal communication. One of its tasks is to tell others about what emotions a person is experiencing at the moment. And that is not all:
- Anyone who smiles automatically inspires confidence in others and instills in them a sense of security.
- Smiling and laughter are contagious. Therefore, by smiling, you can set your interlocutor in a positive mood. Often a smile appears on a person’s face even when he looks at photos of smiling people.
- Using this method of conveying emotions, you can easily express everything that you are feeling right now. We are talking not only about positive emotions, but also about sympathy, apology, contempt, etc.
- A smile communicates what kind of person you are. It can be used to judge sincerity, good nature, and aggression.
Also, a smile is a tool for business communications. Its absence can greatly interfere with communication.
Regulatory and psychotherapeutic
A smile as a defensive reaction in psychology helps to normalize the mental state. Remember when, in a sad mood, you suddenly remembered something good and smiled. Surely, the mood immediately became better.
All due to the fact that at this moment a complex reaction begins in the brain. Neurons trigger the production of substances that are associated with positive emotions. We are talking about dopamine and serotonin, the hormones of joy and satisfaction, respectively. By smiling at such a moment, you calm down and become more confident in yourself. They often say that your soul becomes lighter. Plus, self-esteem and intellectual activity increase. It is easier for you to understand a confusing situation and make a decision.
Smiling increases the production of endorphins. These are substances that are responsible for the feeling of happiness and euphoria. They slow down the production of cortisol, a hormone that causes anxiety, fear and other negative emotions. As a result, a person becomes more stress-resistant.
What other benefits does a smile have?
- Helps to relax, relieve muscle tone, and restore strength. It has a healing effect on the body.
- Makes a person attractive in the eyes of others. You, too, prefer to communicate with someone who smiles, rather than with gloomy, always dissatisfied people? There is nothing wrong. This is how your body protects you from “infection” with failures, problems and negativity.
It’s interesting that smiling people in a crowd are the first to be noticed. According to psychologist Paul Ekman, they are “conspicuous” from a distance of about 300 m.
Fact four: smiling keeps you healthy
This means that a smile, by activating the production of endorphins, spurs the activation of the body's immune system. A person begins to relax, blood flows through the body better, tissues and organs are nourished with oxygen more correctly. If we talk about laughter, then it becomes clear that it generally promotes fat burning and improves the relief of body muscles.
“To maintain health, a person’s emotional mood in relation to his own life, other people, and the reality around him is of particular importance. A physically healthy, confident and cheerful person smiles and laughs with pleasure.
Question answer
Why do Russian people smile so little? When laughing, the body uses up to 80 muscle groups, mainly the muscles of the face, abdomen, back and legs. Laughter has a positive effect on the autonomic nervous, cardiovascular systems of the body, and the gastrointestinal tract, accelerating metabolism. On a neurochemical level, it stimulates the production of endorphins. Laughter lowers cholesterol levels in the blood, improves blood circulation, normalizes breathing, and clears tear ducts. In addition, laughter has a beneficial effect on the functioning of the brain, synchronizing the interaction of the left and right hemispheres, which increases a person’s creative abilities. So be sincere, kind, give smiles, laugh, like children do, just from the heart!” - says the neuropsychologist.
So you should smile more often, because it helps you feel better and stay in a positive mood. And when a person is tuned to the positive, he is less susceptible to illness, since he does not stress, does not get upset and does not worry about various reasons and trifles.
Why is a smile so important and useful?
Psychology identifies 12 reasons why you should smile as often as possible. Here are some of them:
- As stated above, a friendly smile makes you attractive to other people. Imagine how different the world would be if everyone smiled at each other? This is a direct path to new acquaintances, interesting communication, and making friends.
- Improves mood. By smiling, you will undoubtedly look at the situation from the other side, no matter how sad it may be.
- You will infect those around you with your positivity. It will be easier for them to communicate with you, trust you, and reveal what is inside them.
- A smile is a powerful weapon in the fight against stress. It helps cope with fatigue, bad thoughts and depression.
- When a person smiles, the body relaxes. At this point, the immune system begins to work better. This means that the risk of getting colds is reduced. In addition, blood pressure is normalized.
- Scientists have conducted a lot of research that has proven that laughter is a medicine. During it, the production of endorphins, serotonins and other substances that eliminate pain increases.
- From 5 to 53 muscles are involved in a smile. Thanks to this, the face is tightened and the person looks younger.
- Smiling gives you confidence. That is why you need to do this not only in everyday life, but also at work, business meetings or serious negotiations. Try it and you will see how much easier it will be to build trusting relationships and a career with your interlocutors.
- The moment you smile, it is difficult for you to think about bad things. Do a simple exercise. Smile first, and then remember something sad. Happened? It must have been difficult for you. All due to the fact that a signal pulsates in the subconscious that everything is fine with you.
- A smile shows that the interlocutor is interesting to you, you are ready to open up to him. This is a manifestation of friendliness and kindness. A frown and lack of facial expressions, on the contrary, say that you do not want to communicate, are closed and are dissatisfied with something.
- It has long been proven that laughter has a positive effect on health and overall well-being. Most often it is a consequence of the fact that the person smiled.
- A smile helps in any field of activity. Wherever you are, it will help you avoid the feeling of awkwardness, feel relaxed, welcome. Agree, you hardly want to return to the place where you were treated unkindly.
It turns out that a smile is a universal tool against a bad mood. She helps to find a common language with any person.
Why do we smile?
Let's go back to 2022. Today, smiles are all around us - in the form of smiley faces, refrigerator magnets, advertisements, and even well-meaning strangers. Those who smile frequently are considered more likable, competent, approachable, friendly and attractive.
But the truth is much more sinister. Of the 19 different types of smiles, only 6 are associated with a truly good smile. The rest happen when we are hurt, uncomfortable, scared, sad or embarrassed. A smile can mean contempt, anger or mistrust, a lie or loss.
Of the 19 different types of smiles, only 6 are associated with a truly good smile.
While our genuine, happy smiles exist as a reward for having done something positive to support our existence, unhappy smiles have less to do with what you're experiencing internally and more to do with what you want to signal to others. “Some smiles have evolved to signal that we are cooperative and non-threatening; others have evolved to let people know, without aggression, that we are superior to them in our current situation,” says Paula Niedenthal, a psychologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Many of them are polite gestures that show that we are following the rules. But they can also be an effective way of manipulating others or distracting them from our true feelings. Most often, this universal symbol of happiness is used as a mask.
Types of smiles and their meaning in psychology
The parameter for classification is lips. They are either compressed or open. Each type of smile has its own meaning and tells about a person, his character, and personal qualities.
Pursed lips
This is how people smile who always have everything under control. They almost never show their emotions, sometimes even suppressing or completely eliminating them. Most often, such a smile is associated with contempt, rather than sympathy.
People who smile with pursed lips have no emotional intelligence and are therefore considered extremely untrustworthy. They can't be trusted. For example, remember famous politicians who, with a smile on their faces, make promises left and right that they have no intention of keeping.
What’s most interesting is that such personalities always have listeners who naively believe all their words.
Open
What does this type of smile mean? This is how open people who you can trust smile. But you shouldn't believe everyone. Remember, a fake smile can also expose your teeth. In this matter, it is important to learn to distinguish sincerity from falsehood.
Mechanical
The lower part of the face does not relax, the lips are tightly compressed, and wrinkles are clearly visible in the corners of the mouth. This smile is like a mask. There is no goodwill or charm in her.
It is worth noting that this type of smile repels the interlocutor. Sometimes it even seems that she will turn into a grin.
False
A fake or malicious smile is not attractive. She disappears from her face as quickly as she appears. You can reveal it by looking your interlocutor in the eyes. If both are shining, we can say that the person is smiling sincerely. Otherwise, it shows contempt or instability in feelings and thoughts.
Smile with your eyes
If your eyes are smiling, you have a person in front of you who feels as free and relaxed as possible. She has no complexes, she does not follow stereotypes. This is a symbol of the fact that a person has complete order in his soul and thoughts.
Flawless
A person who shows his upper teeth in a smile is an egoist who has no moral principles. He goes over his head on the way to achieving his goals.
Predatory
In this case, only the lower teeth are exposed. This suggests that the individual is hot-tempered and generous. He does not try to create some kind of image for himself, but strives to live for the sake of acquiring new knowledge, skills and abilities.
With a zipper
It seems that such a person’s lips are closed with a zipper. Such a smile reveals a person who is insecure and prone to depression. She always remains in the shadows, although she can share interesting and important information with others.
Comprehensive
It is about her that they say that a person smiles “with all 32 teeth.” Usually this is the soul of the company, a person who is always and everywhere in the spotlight. We can say that this is a Hollywood smile.
Half smile
This is how an arrogant person smiles. He skillfully manipulates those around him, trying to seduce them with his charms.
Those who mock others smile at the left corner of their mouth. Such people are extremely sensitive. Their feelings arise unexpectedly.
Cynics smile at the right corner of their lips. This is a tough person who does not allow himself to relax for a minute. An enthusiast is not about him.
taut
What kind of smile is this? It indicates that a person treats what is happening around him with a certain degree of skepticism. A smile looks like a frozen grimace.
Cold
Lips pursed. This suggests that the interlocutor is not sure that he needs a conversation with you.
Provocative
The head is slightly lowered, the gaze is flirtatious - this is how a smile of this type is characterized. For women, it is a manifestation of sensuality. In men it often expresses lust.
Distracted
It seems that the interlocutor is distant. Most likely, he wants to leave a certain distance between you because he considers himself higher in status, position, etc.
Sardonic
Sardonic smile - what is it? It is an expression of anger, contempt or indifference.
How to determine a sincere smile?
Do you think this is a sincere smile?
When we encounter faces in everyday life, our brains instantly compare their geometry with thousands of others we've encountered before to retrieve the appropriate expression from memory. Next, we evaluate the context—is the smile expected? Finally, automatic facial mimicry allows us to put ourselves in the place of the person smiling.
Niedenthal cautions against overemphasizing context. “It is important to give up the belief that the smile you see in a situation that does not make you smile is false. It may be authentic to a person in that culture or situation.”
There are other signs too. Conscious smiles may be too sharp or too long, or disappear quickly, or appear long before the phrase they are supposed to accompany. A confident smile is more than squinty eyes and shiny teeth.
How to learn to smile beautifully
The importance of a smile is difficult to overestimate. It is not for nothing that it is considered a tool that, skillfully used, can influence people. The only question is that I don’t know everything about the features of its use.
Insincere smile
You've probably seen tips on how to smile correctly. From TV screens and the pages of printed publications they advise to practice in front of a mirror, watch how exposed your teeth are, create dimples on your cheeks and a mysterious look. But, as practice has shown, they turned out to be ineffective.
The reason is that there is no sincerity here. You put on a mask. Therefore, it’s not a smile, but a grin, like an advertisement for toothpaste. She's cold, formal, fake. This is a whole set of negative epithets. The only thing it lacks is real, living emotions.
The art of smiling: advice from a psychologist
The first and most important advice is to be sincere. When you smile, you should only have positive emotions inside you. This is the only way you will show your openness and be able to win the trust of others.
What else do experts say?
- Relax. If you have an important meeting, take a walk in the park before it, take a bath, or just sit in a comfortable position. Think about something pleasant.
- Control your thoughts. Free yourself from unpleasant emotions and memories. They will cause irritation, anger, aggression. What kind of sincere smile can we talk about here?
- Tune in to a pleasant wave. Remember some pleasant moment from your life. This could be a past vacation, events related to children, family holidays. Discover bright memories hidden in the subconscious.
- Maintain the good mood that you managed to create. No need to spoil it with negativity. Don't let yourself or others do this.
- Before the meeting, try to form a good attitude towards the interlocutor. If you can do this, you will definitely smile sincerely.
The last piece of advice concerns situations where it was not possible to develop sympathy for a person. In this case, just don't concentrate on it. Keep thinking positive thoughts and smiling.
Sincerity
Did it seem to you that the person smiling at you was somehow unfriendly and insincere with you? In most cases, this is true. Our subconscious independently evaluates a smile, facial expressions, curves and sends a signal of sincerity. It is very easy to distinguish a forced smile, as psychologists report. Pay attention to your mouth muscles and eye movements. Of course, we can put on a smile, but moving pupils are difficult to control, especially at the moment of lying or insincerity. With a sincere smile, the muscles of the mouth stretch, corners form, teeth are exposed, and the eyes narrow, forming wrinkles. A sincere smile is always honest because it occurs automatically and unconsciously.
An insincere “brow” is asymmetrical, most often one side is more curved than the other, and the eyes do not narrow. If a person smiles only with his lips, he is being dishonest with you. You can see this type of smile in a photo when the photographer asks you to smile or says “cheese.”
Thus, to find out whether a smile is sincere, it is enough to pay attention to the eyes. Be careful with this type of smile: if the fake “brow” is too wide, due to the raised cheeks, you may think that the eyes have become narrower. In this case, pay attention to the symmetry of the eyebrows; a sincere smile lowers the tips of the eyebrows down.
Smile “at 32” or pursed lips
An open or closed smile is the most obvious and extremely simple classification. The type of smile depends on the temperament of the individual, on the atmosphere in which communication takes place. Some people smile only with their lips, while others smile with all their 32 teeth. It is difficult to tell about a certain mood from such a smile; rather, such a classification will help determine the temperament of the person talking to you.
More often than not, people who don't show their teeth are the control type. This type is stingy with emotions, often suppressing them until they disappear completely. Such smiles are often mistaken for a contemptuous grimace rather than a sign of sincere sympathy for you. Such people, a priori, should not be trusted. Have you noticed that the person talking to you makes promises with pursed lips? Know that he is unlikely to be sincere; most likely, he is talking to you for his own benefit.
The opposite type of people, with an open smile, are more sincere and relaxed around you. He is sensitive and knows how to win over. You can easily trust such people, but do not forget how to distinguish sincerity, because there are plenty of open fakes. The eyes will help you, a sincere open smile is accompanied by glowing, joyful eyes.
