What ”always” makes
people smile? Muscles.
If you’ve read
any of my blogs, I’m sure you aren’t the least surprised I didn’t say babies,
kittens, pizza, or puppies—although those things do make my chipmunk cheeks do
the happy squirrel dance.
Problem
is, people smile for a whole lot of reasons and each person does it differently.
There are at least 19 different kinds of smile. Regardless of the specific grin-bearing-muscle
count, all researches agree a genuine grin requires more exertion than the fake
smile. All smiles require five sets of muscles to raise the upper lip and
corners of the mouth, but the phony-baloney grin doesn’t activate the muscles that
crinkle the outer eyes like the genuine smile. Thus, most of us can recognize a
faker in a Miss America minute.
What I find more fascinating than the HOW, is
WHY our muscles behave the way they do when something tickles our fancy. Most researches point to the monkeys—don’t
they always? On a side note, don’t monkeys always make you smile? 😊
I
digress. Back to the monkey grin… Primates
bear teeth when frightened or trapped. Or as an aggressive action to frighten
and trap. Theorists say the human smile evolved for the same reason—to show
submissiveness and communicate we’re not a treat. Those same know-it-alls, uh…I
mean exports, say smiling also shows our social ranking. A.k.a. people on the
low end of the power totem-pole smile more than the big bad boss.
Only
I can’t buy that—not completely anyway. Infants who are blind from birth never
see a smile, yet these children display the same variety of smiles as people
with full vision. Some suggest we even
smile in the womb. Wow, that’s something
considering how icky it must be in there.
Anyway, studies also show that ten-month-old babies have a special “real”
smile for mommy and give strangers a fake grin.
Science
aside, keep smiling. Bearing those teeth
makes you feel better, decreases stress and can even make you live longer. According
to one researcher, “smiling stimulates our brain’s reward mechanisms in a way
that even chocolate…cannot match.” (I know, I said “science aside” but doesn’t
chocolate excuse my faux pax? More important, smiling makes people respond to
you in positive ways. It comforts people and makes them feel good.
So for you
writers out there, maybe we shouldn’t be perfecting our pitches for editors and
agents. Maybe we should be perfecting our smiles. Add a smile to any human situation,
and you make things better.
Till then, keep
grinning.
6 comments:
Fascinating (and fun) post, Robin! The research you mentioned explains facial expressions like the "evil grin", "haughty smile", "devilish grin", "shy smile", etc.
Another use for the smile is to acknowledge people in a positive way, even people we don't know. Smiling leaves both the smiler and the smilee feeling uplifted.
Very informative and entertaining blog post! Thanks for posting it!!!
I smile a lot. I found it stretches out my mouth wrinkles, and you can't see them as much. So, people think you're pleasant and younger looking. What could be better than that. Fun blog post, Robin, and thanks for posting Linda's nomination. I shall write her immediately.
This one added a "smile" to my day. Thanks Robin!
Great post! I love smiles and practice it as much as possible. My mother is a almost constant smiler. Even in repose she has that Mona Lisa smile.
On The Good Doctor, Sean researches smiles by smiling to elicit a smile in return. He was quick to realize the eye muscles are not used in a "fake" smile. (l love that show.) Enjoyable read as always, Robin.
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