Abstract
ABSTRACT We investigated the effects of different types of smiles on the perception of uncooperative or untrustworthy behaviour. In five studies, participants assigned to one group played an economic game with a representative of another group. In an initial round, the representative acted uncooperatively by favouring their group and then displayed a dominance, reward, or affiliation smile. Participants rated the motives of the representative and played a second round of the game with a different member of the same outgroup. Following uncooperative or untrustworthy behaviour, affiliation smiles communicated less positivity and superiority, and a greater desire to both repair the relationship between groups and change the uncooperative decision than reward or dominance smiles. Perceptions of a desire to repair the relationship and to change the decision were associated with trust and cooperation in a subsequent round of the game. Together, these findings show that smiles that are subtly different in their morphology can convey different messages and highlight the importance of these expressions in influencing the perceptions of others’ intentions.
Highlights
Facial expressions are social signals that efficiently communicate behavioural intentions, feelings, and requests for specific responses from perceivers (e.g. Martin et al, 2017; Parkinson et al, 2012; Scarantino, 2019)
The present research examined the influence of dominance, reward, and affiliation smiles on the perception of uncooperative behaviour
How do different smiles mark the meaning of a social interaction? The information conveyed by these signals is especially useful in determining whether another individual can be trusted in situations that involve vulnerability to exploitation, such as social dilemmas (Dawes, 1980; Hardin, 2002)
Summary
Facial expressions are social signals that efficiently communicate behavioural intentions, feelings, and requests for specific responses from perceivers (e.g. Martin et al, 2017; Parkinson et al, 2012; Scarantino, 2019). Facial expressions are social signals that efficiently communicate behavioural intentions, feelings, and requests for specific responses from perceivers In addition to communicating positive feelings and serving to reward behaviour, morphologically different smile displays can be honest signals of non-threat and of superiority (Martin et al, 2021; Niedenthal et al, 2010; Rychlowska et al, 2017). People are more cooperative when their interaction partner smiles, compared to showing a non-expressive face (Scharlemann et al, 2001). In a recent study (Martin et al, 2021), participants played a trust game with individuals who made of dominance, reward, and affiliation smiles, as well as expressions of anger, disgust, and sadness. There were differences in participants’ trust in line with the theorised function of the three smile types: reward smiles induced the highest levels of trust, whereas dominance smiles elicited the lowest levels of trust, with affiliation smiles falling in between
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