Have you ever heard the phrase, ‘smiling is contagious’? It seems that the emotional and mental benefits of sharing a smile can translate from one person to another; if someone smiles and another person sees it, it makes them smile too, and this sense of happiness can boost their sense of wellbeing.
New research however, suggests that people do not respond in the same way to all smiles, as they can tell that some smiles are fake and some smiles are genuine. This insight into emotional wellness proves that the value of having a genuine smile may be greater than previously thought.
The results of the study seem to show that human behaviour is automatically programmed to be able to recognise and understand the difference between genuine human behaviour and insincere behaviour.
The new study has been reported in the renowned journal called Psychological Science. One of the lead professors on the study points out that every interaction between two human beings is different, but that people change their behaviour, attitudes, speech and nonverbal behaviour patterns in order to match the other person.
This means, then that certain types of smiles may occur in specific situations, depending on the cues that the other person receives. For example, there may be a scenario where a polite and more formal smile is used, and anyone else in that situation would then reciprocate with this kind of smile.
Genuine smiles, however, that occur spontaneously, look entirely different, and are usually visible across the whole face, including the eyes, whereas polite smiles simply involve moving the mouth. A genuine smile spreads across the face, engaging the eye muscles, the cheeks and the lips, and is a far more rewarding experience than a polite smile. It is interesting to note, however, that smile types are usually matched – so a genuine smile will be responded to with a genuine smile and a polite smile with a polite smile.
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