Chapter 53
Momentary Smiling
People Affected: everyone
Type of Emotion: muscular involuntary expression
Trigger Emotions: affection or cute
Facial Expression: corners of mouth are pulled up
Facial Expression: upper eyelids raise slightly to enlarge eyes
Key Feature: can be triggered at 3 months
Key Feature: more frequently triggered in women
Type of Emotion: muscular involuntary expression
Trigger Emotions: affection or cute
Facial Expression: corners of mouth are pulled up
Facial Expression: upper eyelids raise slightly to enlarge eyes
Key Feature: can be triggered at 3 months
Key Feature: more frequently triggered in women
Purpose
Momentary smiling encourages kin to interact with you. Momentary smiling triggers affection in kin, rewarding them for interacting with you.
Momentary smiling also helps groups. If your co-workers or friends see you smile, your smiling rewards non-kin interaction.
Trigger Emotions
Momentary smiling can be triggered at 3 months. Affection is not triggered until others become familiar. Mothers are the first to become familiar. Children begin involuntary smiling at 3 months when they see or hear their mothers. Blind children also begin involuntary smiling at 3 months when they hear their mother’s voice, as reported by Selma Fraiberg in Insights from the Blind: Comparative Studies of Blind and Sighted Infants.
Momentary smiling is more frequently triggered in women. Affection and cute are generally stronger in women.
Facial Expression
Momentary smiling encourages kin to interact with you. Momentary smiling triggers affection in kin, rewarding them for interacting with you.
Momentary smiling also helps groups. If your co-workers or friends see you smile, your smiling rewards non-kin interaction.
Trigger Emotions
Momentary smiling can be triggered at 3 months. Affection is not triggered until others become familiar. Mothers are the first to become familiar. Children begin involuntary smiling at 3 months when they see or hear their mothers. Blind children also begin involuntary smiling at 3 months when they hear their mother’s voice, as reported by Selma Fraiberg in Insights from the Blind: Comparative Studies of Blind and Sighted Infants.
Momentary smiling is more frequently triggered in women. Affection and cute are generally stronger in women.
Facial Expression
Smiling is pulling the corners of the mouth up. Smiling is also the slight raising of the upper eyelids to enlarge the eyes.
Smiling triggers affection in others. You feel affection when you look at smiley above.
Voluntary Smiling
Most smiling is voluntary. We voluntarily smile because it is quicker than saying “my reaction is positive”. We also voluntarily smile when attempting to trigger affection in others.
Voluntary smiling does not raise the upper eyelid. You can detect this subtle difference. You know that a salesman’s voluntary smile is not authentic. His eyes are not “bright and sparkling”. This subtle difference was first noticed by Duchene and reported by Charles Darwin in The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals.
Other Species
Only humans smile.
Cooperative carnivores use vocal or body expressions to reinforce kinship. Cats purr. Wolves howl. Dogs wag their tails. Unlike facial expressions, these expressions do not require line-of-sight and close proximity.
Smiling triggers affection in others. You feel affection when you look at smiley above.
Voluntary Smiling
Most smiling is voluntary. We voluntarily smile because it is quicker than saying “my reaction is positive”. We also voluntarily smile when attempting to trigger affection in others.
Voluntary smiling does not raise the upper eyelid. You can detect this subtle difference. You know that a salesman’s voluntary smile is not authentic. His eyes are not “bright and sparkling”. This subtle difference was first noticed by Duchene and reported by Charles Darwin in The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals.
Other Species
Only humans smile.
Cooperative carnivores use vocal or body expressions to reinforce kinship. Cats purr. Wolves howl. Dogs wag their tails. Unlike facial expressions, these expressions do not require line-of-sight and close proximity.
