From en.wikipedia.org:
[Conscious or unconscious facial muscular movement conveying happiness or
pleasure] [the facial expression] [Simile] A SMILE is a facial expression
formed primarily by flexing the muscles at the sides of the mouth. Some
smiles include a contraction of the muscles at the corner of the eyes, an
action known as a Duchenne smile. Among humans, a smile expresses delight,
sociability, happiness, joy, or amusement. It is distinct from a similar but
usually involuntary expression of anxiety known as a grimace. Although
cross-cultural studies have shown that smiling is a means of communication
throughout the world,[1] there are large differences among different cultures,
religions, and societies, with some using smiles to convey confusion,
embarrassment, or awkwardness.
** Evolutionary background
Primatologist Signe Preuschoft traces the smile back over 30 million years of
evolution to a "fear grin" stemming from monkeys and apes, who often used
barely clenched teeth to portray to predators that they were harmless[2] or to
signal submission to more dominant group members. The smile may have evolved
differently among species, especially among humans.[3]
** Social effects
SMILING seems to have a favorable influence upon others and makes one
_likable_ and more _approachable_.[4] In the social context, smiling and
laughter have different functions in the order of sequence in social
situations:
- Smiling is sometimes a pre-laughing device and is a common pattern for paving the way to laughter;
- Smiling can be used as a response to laughter. [5]
*** As reinforcement and manipulation
The influence of smiling on others is not necessarily benign. It may take the
form of positive reinforcement, possibly for an underhand manipulative and
abusive purpose.<ref name=braiker>[title=Who's Pulling Your Strings ? How to
Break The Cycle of Manipulation ]
** Cultural differences
Researchers have found that smiling is more common in some cultures than other
cultures. For example, smiles are more common in the U.S. and France than in
China or Japan.[6][7] This pattern has been found in posed photos, such as the
smiles of political leaders in official pictures<ref name=":0" /> and of
students in school ID photos.<ref name=":1" /> It has also been found when
researchers observed rates of smiling in everyday life.<ref name=":1" />[8]
While smiling is perceived as a positive emotion most of the time, there are
many cultures that perceive smiling as a negative expression and consider it
unwelcoming. Too much smiling can be viewed as a sign of shallowness or
dishonesty.[9] In some parts of Asia, people may smile when they are
embarrassed or in emotional pain. Some people may smile at others to indicate
a friendly greeting. A smile may be reserved for close friends and family
members. Many people in the former Soviet Union area consider smiling at
strangers in public to be unusual and even suspicious behavior,[10] or even a
sign of stupidity.[11]
Systematic large cross-cultural study on social perception of smiling
individuals[12] documented that in some cultures a smiling individual may be
perceived as less intelligent than the same non-smiling individual (and that
cultural uncertainty avoidance may explain these differences). Furthermore,
the same study showed that corruption at the societal level may undermine the
prosocial perception of smiling—in societies with high corruption indicators,
trust toward smiling individuals is reduced.
There can also be gender differences. In the United States and Canada, women
report men telling them to smile. For example, Greg Rickford, a member of the
Canadian Parliament, told a female journalist to smile rather than answer the
question she had asked.[13] Biological anthropologist Helen Fisher states
that, while this could be either caring or controlling behavior, such behavior
is unlikely to be welcome.[14]
{{Gallery |width=200|height=250 |align=center
|File:"Smiling" Figure MET DP104829.jpg|A _sonriente_ ceramic figurine, 600 to
1000 CE, Classic Veracruz culture. Although their purpose is uncertain, the
profusion of these smiling figurines is distinctive since depictions of such
expressions are uncommon in other Mesoamerican cultures.[15]
|File:Gerrit van Honthorst - Smiling Girl, a Courtesan, Holding an Obscene
Image - 63-1954 - Saint Louis Art Museum.jpg|_Smiling Girl, a Courtesan,
Holding an Obscene Image_ (1625) by Gerard van Honthorst. Humor has been
noted as a source of inspiration for many notable Dutch Golden Age
painters.[16]
|File:Madame Vigee-Lebrun and her daughter, Jeanne Lucia (Julie).jpg|In her
_Self-portrait with her daughter Julie_ (1786), Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun
painted herself smiling. When it was exhibited at the Salon of 1787, the
court gossip-sheet [fr] commented: "An affectation which artists, art-lovers
and persons of taste have been united in condemning, and which finds no
precedent among the Ancients, is that in smiling, [Madame Vigée LeBrun] shows
her teeth."[17]
|File:'Willy' smiling. Mary Dillwyn Col. 1853.jpg|A photograph of a Welsh
boy, William Mansel (1838–1866), titled 'Willy', smiling at something off
camera. Taken [1853], it is the earliest known photograph of a smile.[18][19]
|File:"No Lessons Today" - Flora Rankin, by Lewis Carroll
(1863).png|Photograph taken by Lewis Carroll titled "No Lessons Today" (1863),
depicting a child's feelings when school holidays begin. Carroll later sent
the photograph to Charles Darwin for possible use in his publication _The
Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals_.[20] |File:Eating rice, China -
collected by Berthold Laufer.jpg|In the late 19th century and early 20th
century, photographs taken in the United Kingdom rarely depicted people
smiling, in accordance with the cultural conventions of Victorian and
Edwardian society. In contrast, the photograph _Eating Rice, China_ depicts a
smiling Chinese man.[21] }}
** Dimples
Cheek dimples are formed secondary to a bifid zygomaticus major muscle, whose
fascial strands insert into the dermis and cause a dermal tethering
effect.[22] Dimples are genetically inherited and are a dominant trait.[23]
Having bilateral dimples (dimples in both cheeks) is the most common form of
cheek dimples.[24] A rarer form is the single dimple, which occurs on one side
of the face only.
This bifid variation of the muscle originates as a single structure from the
zygomatic bone. As it travels anteriorly, it then divides with a superior
bundle that inserts in the typical position above the corner of the mouth. An
inferior bundle inserts below the corner of the mouth. Dimples are analogous
and how they form in cheeks varies from person to person. The shape of a
person's face can affect the look and form as well:<ref name="surgery"/>
leptoprosopic (long and narrow) faces have long and narrow dimples, and
eryprosopic (short and broad) faces have short, circular dimples.<ref
name="surgery"/> People with a mesoprosopic face are more likely to have
dimples in their cheeks than any other face shape.<ref name="surgery"/>
** Duchenne smile
While conducting research on the physiology of facial expressions in the
mid-19th century, French neurologist Guillaume Duchenne identified two
distinct types of smiles. A Duchenne smile involves contraction of both the
zygomatic major muscle (which raises the corners of the mouth) and the
orbicularis oculi muscle (which raises the cheeks and forms crow's feet around
the eyes). The Duchenne smile has been described as "smizing", as in "smiling
with the eyes".[25] An exaggerated Duchenne smile is sometimes associated with
lying.[26]
** Non-Duchenne smile
A non-Duchenne smile involves only the zygomatic major muscle.[27] According
to Messenger _et al._, "Research with adults initially indicated that joy was
indexed by generic smiling, any smiling involving the raising of the lip
corners by the zygomatic major .... More recent research suggests that
smiling in which the muscle around the eye contracts, raising the cheeks high
(Duchenne smiling), is uniquely associated with positive emotion."[28]
The "Pan Am smile", also known as the "Botox smile", is the name given to a
fake smile, in which only the zygomatic major muscle is voluntarily contracted
to show politeness. It is named after the now-defunct airline Pan American
World Airways, whose flight attendants would always flash every passenger the
same perfunctory smile.[29] Botox was introduced for cosmetic use in 2002.[30]
Chronic use of Botox injections to deal with eye wrinkles can result in
paralysis of the small muscles around the eyes, preventing the appearance of a
Duchenne smile.
** Other animals
In other animals, the baring of teeth is often used as a threat or warning
display—known as a snarl—or a sign of submission. For chimpanzees, it can
also be a sign of fear. However, not all animal displays of teeth convey
negative acts or emotions. For example, Barbary macaques demonstrate an open
mouth display as a sign of playfulness, which likely has similar roots and
purposes as the human smile.[31]
** See also
<!-- new links in alphabetical order please --> {{columns-list|colwidth=20em|
- Facial Action Coding System
- Frown
- Praise
- Say cheese
- Smiley
- Pleasure
}}
** References
[Reflist]
** Further reading
- [ last1 = Conniff ] [date=January 2025] [bot=medic]
- Ottenheimer, H.J. (2006). _The anthropology of language: An introduction to linguistic anthropology._ Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworh. [978-1111828752]
- [ last1 = Ekman ] Cited in: Russell and Fernandez-Dols, eds. (1997).
- Russell and Fernandez-Dols, eds. (1997). _The Psychology of Facial Expression_ . Cambridge. [0-521-58796-4] .
** External links
[Smiling] [wikiquote]
- BBC News: Scanner shows unborn babies smile (see http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3105580.stm)
[Authority control]
Category:Facial expressions Category:Laughter Category:Mouth
Category:Happiness Category:Social influence