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In looking at the research on smiles and on gratitude, these seemed to be part of a love attraction tapestry. Just as the persuasive “light up your life” smile can be practiced, gratitude can be practiced until one begins to feel grateful – even in the absence of the initial feeling. Both appear to be powerful love enhancers. With smiles there is one type in particular that radiates through a set of facial muscles that may predict our joy and our destiny.
To visualize the Duchenne smile, named after a 19th century physician, Guillaume Duchenne, MD, think of Julia Roberts and Mario Lopez, or even the smiley face emoticon. Monica Moore, psychologist atWebsterUniversity, who has studied flirting and courtship, documents the effects of a smile. (1)
Researcher Matthew Hertenstein from DePauw University noted that nonverbal communication and smiles can help predict everything from IQ scores to marital success. Looking through yearbooks, Hertenstein’s photo-prediction experiment appeared to accurately determine marriage success just based on smiles.
Further, from Victoria University of Wellington, Garth Fletcher, Deputy Head,School of Psychology, was first author among a team who compiled “The Science of Intimate Relationships.” The book is scientific and interdisciplinary approach to human sexual relationships.
Faking a Duchene smile for toothpaste and love
The coveted Duchenne smile comes about when there is a contraction from muscles that raise the corners of one’s mouth, the zygomatic major, and those that are reflected in crow’s feet around the eyes, the orbicularis oculi. It has often been noted that the Duchenne smile was genuine and could not be forced.
However, from a small 2012 study, Northeastern University researchers Sarah Gunnery and Judith Hall, whose initial research with Mollie Ruben found that Duchenne smiles could be faked, later noted:
“Results showed further evidence that a sizeable minority of people can deliberately produce a Duchenne smile and showed that those with this ability are more persuasive. “ (3)
In a study on toothpaste sales, it was found that people were willing to pay more for toothpaste promoted by actors with Duchenne smiles. If such a smile can sell toothpaste, imagine what it might do for your relationship? When You're Smiling (the Whole World Buys Your Toothpaste.
A smiling leap of faith and a gratitude parallel
Smiles and laughter are contagious, as we learned from studies by Robert R. Provine, a neuroscientist and professor of psychology at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, which focused on the development and evolution of the nervous system and human social behavior. (4) Try laughing alone in a group and within minutes the laughter and good feelings spread gleefully and bubble up and over.
Marina Davila-Ross, a primatologist at the University of Portsmouth, UK, has been doing evolutionary studies on laughter in children and apes adding weight to the contagious laughter theory. (5)
Is it possible that by practicing the Duchenne smile until it becomes a reality you will begin to find yourself feeling a bit happier? Consider this. Gratitude studies from the lab of psychologist Robert Emmons, the University of California, Davis, found that if you practice acts of kindness – expressing gratitude that you do not necessarily feel -- eventually you find yourself becoming a more grateful person. (6)
One might say that it can even change your personality for the better. Perhaps smiling more often at the person you love and laughing together you might begin to mimic the gratitude concept connecting the dots of attitude and emotion into healthy, positive intimacy.
References:
1.Moore, M. M. (2001). Flirting. In C. G. Waugh (Ed.). Let's talk: A cognitive skills approach to interpersonal communication. Newark,DE: Kendall-Hunt.
2. Matthew Hertenstein, PhD: The Tell: The Little Clues That Reveal Big Truths about Who We Are.
3. Fletcher Garth, et al. The Science of Intimate Relationships, Feb. 2013, Wiley.
4. Robert Provine: Laughter: A Scientific Investigation /NationalCenter for Biotechnology Information, J Foer - 2001
5. Gunnery, S., Hall, J., The Duchenne Smile and Persuasion, Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, June 2014, Volume 38, Issue 2, pp 181-194
5. Davila-Ross Marina, Allcock Bethan, Thomas C., Bard Kim (2011) Aping expressions? Chimpanzees produce distinct laugh types when responding to laughter of others Emotion 11 (5): 1113-1120 10.1037/a0022594
6. RA Emmons, CM Shelton - Handbook of positive psychology, 2002 - Oxford University Press
Photo/ Creative Commons: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ericmcgregor/124313181 / Eric McGregor
Copyright 2014 Rita Watson
