A common comment related to my blog on mask-wearing was that people missed seeing other people’s smiles. It’s understandable that we feel this way. For example, when someone smiles at us, we smile back (which we have been conditioned to do from childhood). Plus, a smile has a lot of signal value to us, particularly if we don’t know the other person. We use facial expressions to gauge how we should interact with them. Are they friendly?... Are they happy?... Are they distracted?... and so on. So now, with the need to wear a mask, others can’t see our smile and we can’t see theirs. Perhaps without the prompt of seeing others’ smiles we may be smiling less, which may have the effect of compounding a negative mood.
I’ve been thinking a lot about how mask-wearing is impacting the way we interact with each other. So, when I saw a new study related to smiling, I couldn’t wait to read it. The researchers found that just moving the muscles to form a smile was enough to stimulate the amygdala which is the emotional center of the brain (Marmolejo-Ramos, 2020). This process causes the release of neurotransmitters that elicit a positive emotional state within the person forming the smile. What’s groundbreaking about this study is that the researchers found that the release of these neurotransmitters that facilitate a positive mood, occurs even when the smile was contrived or faked.
So, the implication of this finding in our current environment is especially powerful when so many of us are struggling to maintain a positive outlook. Perhaps, one simple thing we can do in these difficult times is to smile more – even if we don’t feel like it or if no one can see it because our smile is hidden by a mask. Maybe those songs about smiling were right after all. :) Do I hear Frank Sinatra in the background… or perhaps Katy Perry?
References
Chung, J. J., Wakefield, M. A., Austin, S. B., & Chapman, A. L. (2020). Smiling to tolerate distress: The moderating role of attention to emotion. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science/Revue canadienne des sciences du comportement.
Ma, K., Sellaro, R., Lippelt, D. P., & Hommel, B. (2016). Mood migration: How enfacing a smile makes you happier. Cognition, 151, 52-62.
Marmolejo-Ramos, F., Murata, A., Sasaki, K., Yamada, Y., Ikeda, A., Hinojosa, J. A., … Ospina, R. (2020, February 4). Your face and moves seem happier when I smile. Facial action influences the perception of emotional faces and biological motion stimuli. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/4uvdq
Vanlessen, N., De Raedt, R., Koster, E. H., & Pourtois, G. (2016). Happy heart, smiling eyes: a systematic review of positive mood effects on broadening of visuospatial attention. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 68, 816-837.