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Abstract
The mechanisms through which people perceive different types of smiles and judge their authenticity remain unclear. Here, 19 different types of smiles were created based on the Facial Action Coding System (FACS), using highly controlled, dynamic avatar faces. Participants observed short videos of smiles while their facial mimicry was measured with electromyography (EMG) over four facial muscles. Smile authenticity was judged after each trial. Avatar attractiveness was judged once in response to each avatar’s neutral face. Results suggest that, in contrast to most earlier work using static pictures as stimuli, participants relied less on the Duchenne marker (the presence of crow’s feet wrinkles around the eyes) in their judgments of authenticity. Furthermore, mimicry of smiles occurred in the Zygomaticus Major, Orbicularis Oculi, and Corrugator muscles. Consistent with theories of embodied cognition, activity in these muscles predicted authenticity judgments, suggesting that facial mimicry influences the perception of smiles. However, no significant mediation effect of facial mimicry was found. Avatar attractiveness did not predict authenticity judgments or mimicry patterns.
Highlights
The present study had two major aims
Attractiveness ratings did not predict authenticity judgments (F(1, 5.9) = 1.96, p = .21). The contribution to this effect of each single action units (AUs) was further analyzed in an ANOVA carried out on the ratings of authenticity with the factors AU12, AU25&26, and AU6
Ratings did not differ between 0% (M = .30, SD = .49) and 50% (M = 2.25, SD = .26) of AU25&26 in the case of 100% AU12 (p = ns), which were smaller than ratings for 100% (M = .60, SD = .44) of AU25&26
Summary
The present study had two major aims. First, we were interested in investigating the facial features used by observers to judge that a smile is ‘‘authentic,’’ that is, that it is caused by a positive internal state. ‘‘read’’ facial expressions helps us to infer others’ emotions and intentions in social interactions, and to modify our behavior . This can happen both at a conscious or unconscious level of processing. There is not a simple one-to-one relationship between an internal emotional state and a facial expression This is the case because, to different degrees, adults are able to modify or suppress their facial expressions [1,2], and to mask – consciously or unconsciously – their emotions behind a different expression altogether [3]
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