Smile and (Half) the World Smiles with You,Frown and You Frown Alone

Abstract

The facial expression responses of adults to the display of facial expressions were examined in a variety of public settings to test predictions from a contagion hypothesis, that the display of smiles and frowns results in smiles and frowns, and folk wisdom that the display of a smile will result in a smile but that a frown will not lead to a frown in response. It was also predicted that female subjects would smile more frequently than male subjects and that people would smile at females more than at males. The results supported the folk adage rather than the contagion hypothesis: Over half the subjects responded to a smile with a smile, whereas few subjects responded to a frown with a frown. The predicted effects of subjects' and displayers' gender were also observed. The results were interpreted in the context of internalized norms of reciprocity for brief encounters. The potential for enhanced affect as a result of the contagion of smiles is discussed.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Aronfreed, J. (1970). The socialization of altruistic and sympathetic behavior: Some theoretical and experimental analyses. In J. Macaulay & L. Berkowitz (Eds.), Altruism and helping behavior (pp. 103-126). Orlando, FL: Academic Press.

Bishop, Y. M. , Feinberg, S. E. , & Holland, P. W. (1975). Discrete multivariate analysis. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Buck, R. , Miller, R. E. , & Caul, W. F. (1974). Sex, personality, and physiological variables in the communication of affect via facial expression. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 30, 587-596.

Bugental, D. B. (1986). Unmasking the "polite smile": Situational and personal determinants of managed affect in adult-child interaction. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 12, 7-16.

Cialdini, R. B. (1985). Influence: Science and practice. Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman.

Darley,J. M. , & Latané, B. (1970). Norms and normative behavior: Field studies of social interdependence. In J. Macaulay & L. Berkowitz (Eds.), Altruism and helping behavior (pp. 83-101). Orlando, FL: Academic Press.

Eagly, A. H. , & Carli, L. L. (1981). Sex of researchers and sex-typed communications as determinants of sex differences in influence-ability: A meta-analysis of social influence studies. Psychological Bulletin, 90, 1-20.

Ekman, P. , Friesen, W. V. , & Ellsworth, P. (1972). Emotion in the human face. Elmsford, NY: Pergamon.

Feinberg, S. E. (1980). The analysis of cross-classified data (2nd ed.). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

10.

Hall, J. A. (1984). Nonverbal sex differences. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.

11.

Hall, J. A. , & Halberstadt, A. G. (1986). Smiling and gazing. In J. S. Hyde & M. C. Linn (Eds.), The psychology of gender: Advances through meta-analysis (pp. 136-158). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.

12.

Hinsz, V. B. (1989). Facial resemblance in engaged and married couples. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 6, 223-229.

13.

Hustle and grin . (1927). In J. G. Lawson (Ed.), The world's best loved poems (p. 340). New York: Harper.

14.

Izard, C. E. (1971). The face of emotion. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.

15.

Jorgensen, D. O. (1978). Nonverbal assessment of attitudinal affect with the smile-return technique. Journal of Social Psychology, 106, 173-179.

16.

Kohn, A. (1988, April). You know what they say.... Psychology Today, pp. 36-41.

17.

Kraut, R. E. , & Johnston, R. E. (1979). Social and emotional messages of smiling: An ethological approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37, 1539-1553.

18.

Laird, J. D. (1984). The real role of facial response in the experience of emotion: A reply to Tourageau and Ellsworth, and others. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 47, 909-917.

19.

Langer, E. J. (1983). The psychology of control. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.

20.

Mueser, K. T. , Grau, B. W. , Sussman, S. , & Rosen, A. J. (1984). You're only as pretty as you feel: Facial expression as a determinant of physical attractiveness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 46, 469-478.

21.

Reis, H. T. , Senchak, M. , & Solomon, B. (1985). Sex differences in the intimacy of social interaction: Further examination of potential explanations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 48, 1204-1217.

22.

Rosenfeld, H. M. (1967). Nonverbal reciprocation of approval: An experimental analysis. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 3, 102-111.

23.

Siegal, S. , & Castellan, N. J., Jr. (1988). Nonparametric statistics for the behavioral sciences. New York: McGraw-Hill.

24.

Sutton, R. I. , & Rafaeli, A. (1988). Untangling the relationship between displayed emotions and organizational sales. Academy of Management Journal, 31, 461-487.

25.

Tidd, K. L. , & Lockard, J. S. (1978). Monetary significance of the affiliative smile. Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society, 11, 344-346.

26.

Tomkins, S. S. (1962). Affect, imagery, and consciousness: Vol. 1. The positive affects. New York: Springer.

27.

Tomkins, S. S. (1963). Affect, imagery, and consciousness: Vol 2. The negative affects. New York: Springer.