The Effects of Facial Expressions

• 42-4 How do our facial expressions influence our feelings?

As William James (1890) struggled with feelings of depression and grief, he came to believe that we can control emotions by going “through the outward movements” of any emotion we want to experience. “To feel cheerful,” he advised, “sit up cheerfully, look around cheerfully, and act as if cheerfulness were already there.”

Studies of emotional effects of facial expressions support what James predicted. Expressions not only communicate emotion, they also amplify and regulate it. In The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals, Charles Darwin (1872) contended that “the free expression by outward signs of an emotion intensifies it. . . . He who gives way to violent gestures will increase his rage.”

“ Whenever I feel afraid

I hold my head erect

And whistle a happy tune.”

Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein, The King and I, 1958

Was Darwin right? You can test his hypothesis: Fake a big grin. Now scowl. Can you feel the “smile therapy” difference? Participants in dozens of experiments have felt a difference. Researchers subtly induced students to make a frowning expression by asking them to “contract these muscles” and “pull your brows together” (supposedly to help the researchers attach facial electrodes) (Laird, 1974, 1984; Laird & Lacasse, 2014). The results? The students reported feeling a little angry, as do people who are naturally frowning (by squinting) when facing the Sun (Marzoli et al., 2013). So, too, for other basic emotions. For example, people reported feeling more fear than anger, disgust, or sadness when made to construct a fearful expression: “Raise your eyebrows. And open your eyes wide. Move your whole head back, so that your chin is tucked in a little bit, and let your mouth relax and hang open a little” (Duclos et al., 1989).

This facial feedback effect has been found many times, in many places, for many basic emotions (Figure 42.8). Just activating one of the smiling muscles by holding a pen in the teeth (rather than gently between the lips, which produces a neutral expression) makes stressful situations less upsetting (Kraft & Pressman, 2012). A hearty smile—made not just with the mouth but with raised cheeks that crinkle the eyes—enhances positive feelings even more when you are reacting to something pleasant or funny (Soussignan, 2001). When happy we smile, and when smiling we become happier. When smiling, you will even more quickly understand sentences that describe pleasant events (Havas et al., 2007). Although some researchers question the reliability of the facial feedback effect (Wagenmakers et al., 2016), many others have replicated it (Strack, 2016).

facial feedback effect

the tendency of facial muscle states to trigger corresponding feelings such as fear, anger, or happiness.

Figure 42.8 How to make people smile without telling them to smile

Do as Kazuo Mori and Hideko Mori (2009) did with students in Japan: Attach rubber bands to the sides of the face with adhesive bandages, and then run them either over the head or under the chin. (1) Based on the facial feedback effect, how might students report feeling when the rubber bands raise their cheeks as though in a smile? (2) How might students report feeling when the rubber bands pull their cheeks downward?²

The image on the left shows rubber bands attached to the sides of a student’s face with adhesive tape. The rubber bands go over the head. The cheeks are raised, and the student smiles. The image on the right shows rubber bands attached to the sides of the face with adhesive tape. The rubber bands go under the chin, pulling the cheeks downward and thus forcing a frown.

So, your face is more than a billboard that displays your feelings; it also feeds your feelings. Scowl and the whole world scowls back. No wonder some depressed patients reportedly felt better after Botox injections paralyzed their frowning muscles (Parsaik et al., 2016). Botox paralysis of the frowning muscles slows people’s reading of sadness- or anger-related sentences, and it slows activity in emotion-related brain circuits (Havas et al., 2010; Hennenlotter et al., 2008).

Other researchers have observed a similar behavior feedback effect (Carney et al., 2015; Flack, 2006). You can duplicate the participants’ experience: Walk for a few minutes with short, shuffling steps, keeping your eyes downcast. Now walk around taking long strides, with your arms swinging and your eyes looking straight ahead. Can you feel your mood shift? Going through the motions awakens the emotions.

behavior feedback effect

the tendency of behavior to influence our own and others’ thoughts, feelings, and actions.

You can use your understanding of feedback effects to become more empathic: Let your own face mimic another person’s expression. Acting as another acts helps us feel what another feels (Vaughn & Lanzetta, 1981). Losing this ability to mimic others can leave us struggling to make emotional connections, as one social worker with Moebius syndrome, a rare facial paralysis disorder, discovered while working with Hurricane Katrina refugees: When people made a sad expression, “I wasn’t able to return it. I tried to do so with words and tone of voice, but it was no use. Stripped of the facial expression, the emotion just dies there, unshared” (Carey, 2010).

Our natural mimicry of others’ emotions helps explain why emotions are contagious (Dimberg et al., 2000; Neumann & Strack, 2000; Peters & Kashima, 2015). Positive, upbeat Facebook posts create a ripple effect, leading Facebook friends to also express more positive emotions (Kramer, 2012).

* * *

Having considered our emotions, we now ask how our emotions—and our personality, attitudes, and behaviors—influence our risk of disease. What can we do to prevent illness and promote health? Let’s consider some of psychology’s findings on stress and ways of coping with it.

Check Your Understanding

Ask Yourself

• Can you think of one situation in which you would like to change the way you feel, and create a simple plan for doing so? For instance, if you would like to feel more cheerful on your way to class tomorrow morning, rather than dragging yourself there, you might try walking briskly—with head held high and a pleasant expression on your face.

Test Yourself

• ______________ (Women/Men) report experiencing emotions more deeply, and they tend to be more adept at reading nonverbal behavior.
• Are people more likely to differ culturally in their interpretations of facial expressions, or of gestures?

Answers to the Test Yourself questions can be found in Appendix E at the end of the book.