How Facial Muscles In The State Of Smiling Influence Your Emotion

Smiles to everybody!

Are you curious about the study I told you?

Here it is:

“In 1988 a team led by Fritz Strack came up with a brilliant cover story that allowed them to manipulate facial expressions without the research participants’ awareness. The researchers told participants that they were studying adaptations for people who had lost the use of their hands. Such individuals would need to use their mouths to hold pencils for writing, or to use a television remote. The study was to assess whether the unpleasantness or difficult of these tasks affected their “attentional abilities and responsiveness.” The current study on people with full use of their hands was simply designed to test the procedure.

The participants then held a pencil in their teeth (which naturally activates the muscles typically used for smiling) or lips (which does not activate those muscles), and then rated several cartoons for funniness. Those who were (unknowingly) “smiling” rated the cartoons as funnier than people who weren’t smiling.” (source and further information: http://scienceblogs.com/cognitivedaily/2007/11/just_smile_youll_feel_better_w.php)

So how about you? Do you want to try it?

Surely, you have a pencil next to you which just waits to make you smile!

And if you want to do it even better, here an instruction how to fake a smile that let you feel better:

– put a pencil between your teeth

– stretch the corners of your mouth

– raise your checks

Voilà, how do you feel? I bet you feel better.

And for the cherry of the cake:

– look into a mirror

– enjoy your smile

Probably you can put the pencil out of your mouth while you keep your wonderful smile.

You can do this little “exercise” in a few seconds and to be remembered, draw a little smiley on your favorite pencil. If you connect the smiley with your experience the smiley can be a big enough activator for a smile and you will feel better!

Have fun with smiling,

Mira =)

P. S.: Did you like the experience and want to tell about? Leave a comment.