Reminding yourself to smile often can not only make more friendships but it can also make you feel better.
asserted
you → remind → friendships
And rather than wait for a reason to smile, just making the physical change of literally turning that frown upside down could impact emotions, according to experts.
uncertain
making → wait → experts
Research backs up the fact that smiling goes a long way.
asserted
smiling → back → way
Some older research has focused on this “facial feedback hypothesis,” according to Jeanne Tsai, a longtime psychology professor at Stanford University who runs the Culture and Emotion Lab.
uncertain
who → focus → Lab
In one classic study in the late 1980s, researchers would have subjects put a pencil between their lips and adopt a smile or a frown while viewing a positive movie clip like a cartoon.
asserted
subjects → have → cartoon
Some subjects who smiled would feel the sensation of the smile more and be more amused.
asserted
who → smile → smile
“When we’ve done that demonstration in classes, it works,” Tsai said.
asserted
Tsai → do → classes
“When you’re doing it in a room by yourself, you’re not doing it in a social interaction, maybe it’s making you remember, or it’s an effect of remembering some good thing that happened and that would put you in a better mood.”
asserted
that → do → mood
At the Orange County Academy of Sciences and Arts in Southern California, the power of a smile is taken very seriously.
asserted
power → take → smile
An entire section on the charter school group’s website is dedicated to its philosophy that a smile can make a difference.
asserted
smile → dedicate → difference
“Smiling creates a supportive classroom culture that makes students relaxed, active, and motivated,” according to the website.
uncertain
students → create → website
“It increases emotional well-being, lowers stress, and gives students confidence.”
asserted
It → increase → confidence
How smiling can benefit health
asserted
smiling → benefit → health
Dr. Judy Ho, a Los Angeles clinical and forensic neuropsychologist who also teaches at Pepperdine University, discusses smiling as a coping strategy with some patients suffering depression or anxiety.
“I’m not suggesting that that’s the only way they can fix things,” Ho said.
asserted
Ho → teach → things
“It’s just like another thing that you can add to your toolbox.”
asserted
you → ’ → toolbox
Smiling can affect one’s level of cortisol, a hormone the body releases partly to help regulate stress and mood, according to Ho.
uncertain
body → affect → Ho
Smiling can affect brain chemicals that are associated with positive feelings including endorphins, dopamine and serotonin.
asserted
that → affect → endorphins
“People who smile during stressful tasks generally demonstrated lower heart rates during recovery than those maintaining neutral expressions,” Ho said.
asserted
Ho → smile → expressions
“Smiling also reduced aspects of the body’s physiological stress response.”
asserted
Smiling → reduce → response
The hope is if you smile enough, you will start feeling it emotionally.
asserted
you → smile → it
“In some ways it’s like a mediating effect,” she added.
asserted
she → ’ → effect
The value of a smile varies culture to culture
How smiling and even the openness of a smile are perceived are not universal.
asserted
perceived → vary → smile
Tsai, the Stanford professor, has conducted research on how emotion in American culture puts value on trying to always feel positive and minimizing negativity and sadness.
asserted
emotion → conduct → negativity
“It’s like the positive and the negative emotions are braided together, and so you don’t want to feel too positive or too negative,” Tsai said.
asserted
Tsai → ’ → ?
“You want more of a balance between the two.”
asserted
You → want → two
Her past studies also examined how European Americans and East Asians — including Taiwanese, South Koreans, Japanese and Hong Kong Chinese — look at a “neutral or a calm” smile versus a full-on grin.
asserted
Americans → examine → grin
Subjects rated the differing facial expressions on warmth and trustworthiness.
asserted
Subjects → rat → warmth
While some Americans saw the excited smiles as friendlier, some East Asians characterized those facial expressions as “emotionally unstable” or “unreliable.”
asserted
Asians → see → expressions
“What kind of smile matters — whether it’s a calm, closed mouth smile more like the Dalai Lama or a big toothy excited smile like Julia Roberts,” Tsai said.
asserted
Tsai → matter → Roberts
“We’ve done some series of studies in Taiwan and other East Asian contexts.
asserted
We → do → Taiwan
They don’t like the big, toothy, excited smile unless it’s really situationally appropriate.”
asserted
it → like → smile
In Thailand — known as “The Land of Smiles” — smiling is embedded in the culture.
asserted
smiling → know → culture
Many teach-abroad programs where people can teach English as a foreign language in Thailand cite that smiling often with children and colleagues is key to showing respect, good manners and calmness.
asserted
smiling → teach → respect
At the OCASA charter schools, smiling is part of an effort to make children feel seen.
asserted
children → smile → effort
“I’ve always believed in wanting school to be a happy place for kids,” said RaNae Posey, principal of OCASA Capistrano Elementary School.
asserted
Posey → believe → School
“To actually help them form habits of looking at the bright side of things.”
asserted
them → help → things
Mandating smiles may lead to more frowns
Women in recent years have smacked down the idea that they have to smile in the workplace while men do not.
uncertain
men → mandate → workplace
Smiling can feel like a Catch-22 for some women and sometimes for people of color who may be stereotyped as unapproachable or cold if they don’t smile enough.
uncertain
they → feel → color
Last year, retailer Target was ridiculed across social media for instituting a smiling policy.
asserted
Target → ridicule → policy
Workers had to smile and make eye contact if a customer was within 10 feet (3 meters) and personally greet them if they were within 4 feet (1.2 meters).
asserted
they → have → feet
…and 6 more, not listed.
The Aporia
