Cool Concept: Facial Feedback

When was the last time you smiled?

Can’t remember?

Psychologists who study the phenomenon of facial feedback show that smiling can be a cause of happiness, not just a consequence.That’s right. Smiling makes you feel better.

Strack, Martin and Stepper (1988) conducted one early test of the facial feedback hypothesis, using a sneaky lab technique. Participants were asked to hold a pen in their mouths while they rated cartoons. Some participants were asked to hold the pen with their teeth.

Try it, I’ll wait.

Holding the pen in your teeth forces your face into a smiling position, without consciously activating the concepts of smiling or happiness.

Other participants were asked to hold the pen in their mouths with their lips. Go ahead, try this, too. Holding the pen with your lips prevents you from smiling.

The super-cool result? Participants who held the pen with their teeth thought the cartoons were funnier than those who help the pen with their lips.

Smiling (even if you aren’t aware that you’re smiling) makes you feel happier. Feedback from the muscles of the face sends signals to the brain, where interpretation takes place. When you smile, your brain thinks you’re happy. When you frown, your brain perceives sadness. More recent studies by Robert Soussignen (2002) show a genuine smile has an even bigger effect on emotion than a fake one. You can help yourself feel better by taking advantage of the facial feedback effect.

Even if you’re not feeling joyful, put on a happy face. Make it genuine, if you can. When you can’t, fake it til you make it.

Renowned Buddhist teacher Thich Nhat Hahn practices smiling as a form of meditation. He encourages others to smile on purpose, with purpose, recognizing that the act of smiling puts us into a pleasant, social state of mind. He says:

Waking up this morning I smile
knowing there are 24 brand new hours before me.
I vow to live fully in each moment,
and look at beings with eyes of compassion.

Bottom line? Smiling is good for you, emotionally and physically. It tells your brain you are happy. It diminishes physical reactions to stress that can lead to illness. It welcomes others and encourages them to connect. When you smile, the whole world smiles with you. Don’t wait to feel happy. Smile now.

Image credit: DavidABenjamin at Flickr