Not All Smiles are Created Equal

Which of these two smiles looks more genuine? 

                                    A.                                                   B.

One of the first things I noticed when I immigrated to Canada is how much Canadians smile. Not only do they smile, nearly everyone's smile reveals perfect teeth. North Americans are willing to spend thousands of dollars on orthodontics because smiling is just so darn important here. Wearing braces is something that has become part of teenage life. Almost like a rite-of-passage.  

Given how heavily perfect teeth and smiling are valued, without a doubt smiling is often associated with like ability and openness. This is true all around the world. However, not all smiles are created equal.

Since smiling is such a popular part of communication, we are most comfortable concealing negative emotions with a smile.

The answer to the first question is A. The genuine smile is one that engages the whole face. It's usually reflected in the eyes tightening around the eyes, that's where the saying "smiling with your eyes" comes from. You can see more crow's feet wrinkles around my eyes in A than in B. Generally, a longer, more intense smile indicates a genuine one.

Here are some examples of most commonly used smiles with explanations of the true emotions they are communicating:

1. Fear Smile - a fear emotion (as can be seen from the slightly raised eyebrows) is combined with a rectangular stretch of the risorious muscle pulling the lips horizontally to the ears. This sometimes tilts the lips upward, making them resemble a smile.

2. Contempt smile - tightened lip corners, slight angling and a bit of a dimple can confuse someone into thinking it's a smile

3. Dampened smile - Used when someone feels very positive emotions but tries to reduce their appearance. Lips are more pressed and lip corners are pulled down..but the smile still shows through.

4. Sad smile - follows a negative emotion and is usually asymmetrical

5. Seductive smile - head is tilted, eyes are softened and looking out of the corner of the eyes

Turns out that smiling doesn't only communicate happiness and appreciation. The trick is to pay attention to the upper part of the face in addition to the mouth in order to interpret what the smile is really saying.

Now you can even take Facebook stalking to the next level by trying to interpret what kinds of smiles your friends have.

Happy D-coding,

Darya

Sources:

Ekman, Paul. Telling Lies: Clues to Deceit in the Marketplace, Politics, and Marriage. W.W. Norton & Company, © 2001. New York, N.Y.
 

The Sydney Morning Herald. The face value of a smile. Oct 2010 <http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/life/the-face-value-of-a-smile-20101022-16wp5.html>