Many people are bad at identifying fake smiles. One possible explanation for it is that it might be easier for people to get along if they do not regularly know what others are feeling.
Although fake smiles frequently look very similar to genuine smiles, they are insignificantly different. Because they are brought about by various muscles. They controlled by different parts of the brain.
Fake smiles could be performed at will because the brain signals that imagine them come from the conscious part of the brain and also prompt the zygomaticus muscles in the cheeks to contract. There are the muscles that pull the corners of the mouth outwards.
On the other hand,…
Genuine smiles are generated by the unconscious brain, are automatic. When people do feel pleasure, signals pass through the part of the brain that concocts emotion. As well as making the mouth muscles move, the muscles that lift the cheeks – the orbicularis oculi and the pars orbitalis – contract, causing the eyes to crease up, and the eyebrows dip somewhat.
Lines around the eyes do sometimes appear in bright fake smiles, and the cheeks may bunch up, making them look as if the eyes are contracting, and the smile is genuine. But there are a few requisite signs that distinguish these smiles from real ones. For example, when a smile is valid, the eye cover fold – the fleshy part of the eye between the eyebrow and the eyelid moves downwards, and the end of the eyebrows dip.
Scientists distinguish between genuine and fake smiles by using a coding system called the Facial Action Coding System, devised by Professor Paul Ekman of the University of California, and Dr. Wallace V. Friesen of the University of Kentucky.
Now I want to talk about other smiling faces you often see, but their meaning and expression are quite different from the usual smile. Here is a list of smiles that you can currently wear – for all occasions.
1. The Smug Smile
You know that smile – the self-satisfied, arrogant, and kind of evil laugh.
Signs:Lips – Pressed together and only one side coming up. It can be done with lips slightly separated. The upper lip might also rise a bit.
Eyes – Could narrow a little to create some suspicious look.
Meaning:
Usually a sign of self-satisfaction, arrogance, and expression of superiority.
It could also be a sign of doubt and an attempt to dismiss someone’s opinion.
If the upper lip rises – it is probably a sign of ridicule.
Interestingly, it could be used in flirting as a sign of humor and playfulness – to try and pay attention and interest from the other side.
2. Half Smile
This smile is similar to the smug, only with a slight adjustment and a different meaning.
Signs:
Lips – One-half of the lips creates a smile, the other half is expressing frown. It’s not that natural to make this facial expression, so it’s quite rare in my experience.
Meaning:
It sends a conflicting message – is it a smile or a frown? Usually, it’s a sign of sarcasm, embarrassment, or cynicism.
This smiling face can stir some protective and attentive emotional response in the eyes of the viewer – we connect to the person with his half-smile, and feel empathy because of the sad half.
3. Open Mouth Smile
Signs:
Lips – A wide free smile with the jaw drops down – it looks like a burst of frozen laughter.
Eyes – Can crease and arch, just like in a genuine smile.
Meaning:
It is a more trained smile that used to draw a lot of positive attention and suggests happiness mixed with playfulness. You can see a lot of politicians and actors with smiling faces like these for a photogenic photo. If you want to look much more photogenic and happy in your photos, you could try practicing this one. You think of something funny and smile.
4. Tight Lips Smile
Signs:
Lips – The lips are pressed together and forming a smile. Can be short, can be wide
Meaning:
In both cases, the purpose is quite the same. The person can be happy but restraining himself or not wholly showing his feeling or thoughts.
5. Natural Smilenatural smile
A natural smile produces characteristic wrinkles around the eyes-insincere people smile only with their mouth.
OK, let’s conclude all this happiness – I hope your face muscles got a little practice, and you learned a thing or two.
So, we discussed the meaning and power of the smile in body language. We learned to identify real smiles from fake ones, and now we know how to discern different types of smiling faces. I did not list them all here, but I showed you a lot so that you can identify other varieties yourself. Just remember as always – it is only guidelines, use them to guide you to reveal more, don’t judge people based solely on one facial expression.
Tips for smiling:
Fortunately, we did have some other good indicators to help spot the phony:
*How fast the smile appears– As you can know, genuine smiles are late-coming, they don’t appear on-demand instantly.
*How often and long it stays– A real smile appears in succession and lasts somewhat longer. They don’t wait for a frozen mug on the face, just think about slow bursts of delight.
*How bigand symmetrical they are– it may sound counterintuitive, but real smiles aren’t that big. They aren’t always balanced.
Why? As when we do fake a smile, we want to show it, so we often “overstretch” it – since real smiles are big and symmetrical, right? Wrong.
And:
- Know when and where to smile – of course, there is a range here (it is not five smiles per day or something like that), but learn from the feedback you get from the people around you. If people think you are a happy, lightweight guy, that is cool, but maybe you are perceived as too naive or straightforward or even worse – a phony. In such a case, you should perhaps regulate some of your smiles. On the other hand, Being forever grim isn’t any better – again, look at how others treat you.
- Practice in the mirror – it’s that simple, want your smile to appear more genuine, or wish to have a better mug in photos – try it out in front of the mirror. You will find that the best smiles are often “don’t feel” very tense in the muscles – they don’t need to be significant. Don’t be afraid of trying it out in the mirror
- Smiling to feel good or smiling when it is OK? The simple answer is both – smile to feel better, but at the same time try to get to a positive mindset as well – you want to get to a positive self-empowering cycle.
- Just use your smile to connect with others – making eye contact and smiling is the best, most direct, and positive approach you get along with others, especially new people. You do not need an elaborate opening line if you know how to make that simple connection.
Thank you for taking the time to read our article.If you have any questions you need, please feel free to comment under the comment section. We will try to answer you as soon as possible.
Hopefully, you will find useful tips and quick and effective to identify fake smiles! Good luck!
Also, you should readsome other articlelike “How to Get Rid Of Bad Breath“, “How to Stop Yourself From Overthinking“, ”How to Stop A Baby from Crying At Night“, and “How to stop hiccups“… to know more!
