What exactly is a 'smile'?

[Ajbobtom]

For the past few days, I started to wonder what a 'smile' really is. It's not that I do not know the effects of a smile. I even know what a smile looks like! (Don't we all??)

But what I really am curious about is, how the smile originated. I remember reading something about how animals when they 'smile', bearing their teeth, they show aggression. This is all well and good, but how did the smile come to its current meaning?

While on a bus ride back from my college class, at a community learning center, I began to think. This happened to be a day, that my A.P. Psychology teacher brought up conditioning. This lead from, "How are we all already trained" to, "If we are already trained, is the smile trained into us?" To begin to understand this question more my self, I began to think more about the effects of smiling. When some one smiles, others are likely to smile. Others may be more inclined to like a smiling person. Now I'm not sure of how true these 'effects' are, but I'm not asking for verification.

So the real reason behind this post, is not just to vent some thoughts I am having. The reason is I want anyone, who may posses information on the 'evolution' of the smile, to help me out. So if you have ideas, comments, or ideas relating to how the smile came to be, please post it here.

After all, knowledge is power right?

 

[Aboleo]

chimps, our closest relatives in the animal kingdom "smile" not out of aggression, but fear. So the smile, as well as laughter is born from primitive fear responses. Think about watching the three stooges as they bash each other over the head, or when watching socially awakward Mr. Bean interact with other humans... We smile or laugh, i believe, because on some level we identify with that fear of pain or social rejection. The key to a good sense of humor lies in understanding fear.

I've always suspected that smiling is a kind of social norming ritual, one person shows humility to another with a smile saying "i'm not a threat, just another monkey scared of the world like you" and if you do not return the expression, you are treated like a threat or an inhuman outsider with no common feelings or language to express them. Long story short, if you want love and acceptance you'd better smile your head off!

 

[zekko]

I've always suspected that smiling is a kind of social norming ritual, one person shows humility to another with a smile saying "i'm not a threat, just another monkey scared of the world like you"

If this is true (that smiling is a fear response), that would explain those studies that showed that women found men more attractive when they weren't smiling. They don't want "just another monkey scared of the world", they want a protector, they want the alpha dog.

 

[Aboleo]

and what of tom cruise? Jon bon jovi?

Women want a protector, sure. But not someone who will eat their babies... The creepy guy from the film 'No Country For Old Men" comes to mind.

You want to disarm a woman's defences... Not raise them. At the same time, im not saying be a *****... Rather, be "safe". See quote in signature below.

 

[Aboleo]

i should add... Dont smile more than the female. If she doesnt respond, recoil with your kindess. Shun her.

 

[Ajbobtom]

i should add... Dont smile more than the female. If she doesnt respond, recoil with your kindess. Shun her.

That is the first time I have heard that. Thanks for the tip Aboleo. So if we smile because we are showing that we are one of the group, then we do it to be accepted. If we do it to be accepted, then is this a nurture reflex right? Hypothetically, if we were to take a baby (any baby) and raise it in an anti-smile culture, would it not smile?

 

[zekko]

and what of tom cruise? Jon bon jovi?
Women want a protector, sure. But not someone who will eat their babies..

Tom Cruise looks like he might eat a baby.

You want to disarm a woman's defences... Not raise them.

There's the other side of the coin. Women want a tough guy, but they want to feel comfortable with him too. There's attraction and then there's comfort.

I've never put much stock in those studies about smiling. I could see that if a guy went around smiling all day long it might look like he's supplicating or seeking approval from others. But being smiled at is a pleasant experience also. I say if you want to smile, smile.

Besides, I'm not aware of any studies that have said that a man should NEVER smile.

 

[metoo]

John Wayne rarely smiled, Nor Eastwood or Lee Van Cleef, and they did ok.

 

[Deep Dish]

Scientific American magazine has an ‘Ask the Experts’ series and one question was “It seems that in almost all other species, especially primates, baring one’s teeth is a threat or a show of potential force. How did the ‘smile’ become a friendly gesture in humans? Are there any cultures in which smiling is not considered friendly?”

Frank McAndrew, professor of psychology at Knox College in Galesburg, Ill., has done extensive research on facial expressions. He answers as follows:

“Baring one’s teeth is not always a threat. In primates, showing the teeth, especially teeth held together, is almost always a sign of submission. The human smile probably has evolved from that.

“In the primate threat, the lips are curled back and the teeth are apart—you are ready to bite. But if the teeth are pressed together and the lips are relaxed, then clearly you are not prepared to do any damage. These displays are combined with other facial features, such as what you do with your eyes, to express a whole range of feelings. In a lot of human smiling, it is something you do in public, but it does not reflect true ‘friendly’ feelings—think of politicians smiling for photographers.

“What is especially interesting is that you do not have to learn to do any of this--it is preprogrammed behavior. Kids who are born blind never see anybody smile, but they show the same kinds of smiles under the same situations as sighted people” (source).

 

[Laura98]

A smile makeover is cosmetic. This means that your oral health will not be detrimentally affected if you don’t get a smile makeover. So why do it? The truth of the matter is the vast majority of people notice a person’s smile before they notice anything else. If your smile is sending the wrong message, it could hurt your self-confidence, your career, and even your personal relationships.
A San Diego cosmetic dentist can help you achieve a smile that reflects the beauty you hold inside. Available procedures performed regularly by Dr. Timothy Garofolo and his staff include dental veneers, teeth whitening, crown lengthening, and dental implants. Depending upon the extent of changes that you would like made, your smile makeover may take one appointment or it could require a series of appointments. But bear in mind, the oral sedation we offer at our practice can allow several appointment’s worth of work to be done in one sitting with little to no discomfort.
Choosing to get a smile makeover is a big decision that could have a significant impact upon your life. If you are considering having your smile made over, schedule a consultation with a San Diego cosmetic dentist near you. Your dentist will be able to suggest the cosmetic procedure or procedures that are right for you and walk you through the entire process, step by step.