Recall the look on your partner’s face when you surprised them with the exact pair of shoes in their shopping cart. Chances are, they graced you with a genuine Duchenne smile – that expression of radiant joy that lights up the entire face. Curious to know more about this type of smile? Keep reading for the full scoop and learn how this differs from other smile types, like the infamous smize.
The History of the Duchenne Smile
Named after 19th-century French neurologist Duchenne de Boulogne, the Duchenne smile is also known as the “genuine” or “true” smile. An article from Medium magazine described how the doctor conducted studies on facial expressions, using electrodes and taking photographs to document muscular mechanisms.
Duchenne found that some facial muscles were less subject to the control of personal will. For instance, study participants could smile with their cheeks but struggled to create wrinkles at the outer section of the eyes. In the end, his findings led to the conclusion that muscle activity can indicate the authenticity of a smile.
What Does It Take to Smile Genuinely?
A lot, at least as far as your face is concerned. All smiling involves the use of the muscles around your mouth. However, only the Duchenne smile causes the muscles around your eyes to contract, creating wrinkles at the outer corners – a.k.a. crow’s feet.
Research from Perspectives on Psychological Science associated positive moods and emotions with the Duchenne smile. Another study from the same journal referred to this type of grin as an honest signal of happiness. The bottom line: If you want to smile genuinely, bank on the Duchenne smile.
How a Duchenne Smile Compares to a Smize
Supermodel Tyra Banks first used the term “smize” on the 13th season of her competition series. Contrary to the Duchenne smile, a smize brings life and expression to the eyes while keeping the rest of the face neutral.
During a guest appearance for Live with Kelly and Mark, Tyra taught aspiring models and fans how to achieve next-level smizing: “Smizing is just squinting and enhancing (your eyes) and pulling them in. Next-level fierce smizing involves the body. Stand up, turn away, keep the eyes smizing and lips novocaine, and whip (towards the camera).”
While Tyra may have popularised the idea of smizing, the fierce gaze has long been around. Renaissance paintings like Paolo Veronese’s Portrait of a Woman and Albrecht Durer’s The Furlegerin With Braided Hair have subjects who are smizing hard. Old Hollywood icons Charlie Chaplin and Greta Garbo were also prolific smizers during the silent film era.
The Importance of Having a Duchenne Smile
If you want express genuine positive emotions, go for a Duchenne instead of a smize. You might even reap the following benefits:
It can lead to meaningful connections.
You’ve probably heard the saying before – a smile is contagious. A gleaming flash of pearly whites and smiling eyes can light up the darkest room and disarm the coldest heart.
And in today’s digital age, there’s little opportunity to meet new people in real life, making some feel lonely. So, during your next Teams meeting, consider switching your camera on. If you’re lucky, your teammates might follow suit. And when they do, give them a smile that says, “I’m here for you!”
A Duchenne smile can improve your mood.
A genuine smile can do wonders for your mood. Having a bad day? Try grinning out of your funk. According to Ron Gutman, author of Smile: The Astonishing Powers of a Simple Act, “British researchers found that one smile can generate the same level of brain stimulation as up to 2,000 bars of chocolate.” Additionally, a study from the American Psychological Association confirmed that the muscles in your face can indeed influence your emotional state. So, smile more for a happier you!
This smile type can help relieve stress.
Besides boosting your mood, an authentic Duchenne smile can help manage stress. According to research from Scientific Reports, smiling can help you regulate stressful situations and even manage social anxiety. If you’re nervous about attending your first office event, consider showing up with a confident smile to ease into your inner social butterfly.
Smiling the Duchenne way can increase productivity.
When it comes to job satisfaction, a positive outlook is a catalyst for peak performance. Yes, smiling at work can hardwire you to love what you do so you can go above and beyond. Consequently, research from the Journal of Service Management even suggested that managers hire employees based on their ability to express themselves genuinely in a positive manner.
Patti Williams, a marketing professor at the Wharton School, also emphasised the significance of employees with Duchenne smiles: “You want to have people who really care about being there — who really are there not just for their paycheck but because they really love their work.”
How to Achieve a Duchenne Smile
Set yourself up with a more authentic and natural look by smiling the Duchenne way. Turn to these tips when practising in front of the mirror:
- Stand tall and look straight into the mirror.
- Move your facial muscles and observe how they work.
- Consider doing facial exercises to relax the muscles.
- Think happy thoughts to create the right mood.
- Flash a wide grin.
- Check if your smile formed crow’s feet.
- Take notes and adjust your smile accordingly.
- Keep practising.
For most, smiling comes effortlessly. But some may find expressing true emotions challenging. Maybe you’re not used to interacting with people often. Or perhaps it’s your crooked teeth taking a bite out of your self-esteem. If it’s the latter, consider getting a smile makeover to gain the confidence to flash your pearly whites. Inquire about ClearCorrect dental aligners, which provide the treatment you need without getting in the way of daily life. They’re completely removable, so you can still eat and brush your teeth with ease – something worth smiling about.
The Duchenne smile is infectious because of its joy-catching realness. When it comes down to it, a genuine display of happiness is the best look to have. So, smile like you mean it and get ready for the world to smile with you.
References:
Coles, N., T. Larsen, J., & C. Lench, H. (2019). A Meta-Analysis of the Facial Feedback Literature: Effects of Facial Feedback on Emotional Experience Are Small and Variable. American Psychological Association, 145(6, 610 – 651).
Cheong, J., PhD. (2022, May 27). History of facial expressions in 5 minutes – Jin Cheong, PhD – Medium.
Duchenne smile. (n.d.). New Scientist.
Gutman, R. (n.d.). The hidden power of smiling [Video].
Krumhuber, E. G., & Kappas, A. (2022). More what Duchenne smiles do, less what they express. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 17(6), 1566–1575.
LiveKellyandMark. (2018, February 9). Next Level Fierce “Smizing” with Tyra Banks [Video]. YouTube.
Martin, J., Abercrombie, H. C., Gilboa–Schechtman, E., & Niedenthal, P. M. (2018). Functionally distinct smiles elicit different physiological responses in an evaluative context. Scientific Reports, 8(1).
Otterbring, T. (2017). Smile for a while: the effect of employee-displayed smiling on customer affect and satisfaction. Journal of Service Management, 28(2), 284–304.
Sheldon, K. M., Corcoran, M., & Sheldon, M. S. (2021). Duchenne smiles as honest signals of chronic positive mood. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 16(3), 654–666.
The Implications of Smiling at Work – The Wharton School. (2020, March 16). The Wharton School.
