What Does Your Smile Say?

With the holidays fast approaching, everyone will be quick to paste a smile onto their faces. But what do smiles say about what a person is really thinking? Here are a few common smiles and their meanings (Pease and Pease, 2004) to give you insight on what’s beneath the surface:

The tight-lipped smile: This smile occurs when a person stretches their lips across their face, concealing their teeth, and forming a straight a line with their lips. It’s a reaction that’s involuntary and it sends one of two messages. One: they have a secret they’re keeping, such as the smiles seen on celebrity faces when they’re asked about their alleged baby bumps. Two: they’re withholding an opinion that they don’t intend to tell you about. This smile has been called “a favorite of women.” Women who don’t want to reveal that they dislike another person use it. But this smile signals rejection nonetheless.

The twisted smile: The twisted smile shows up when a smile shows contradictory emotions one each side of the face. The left corner of the mouth is turned up to signal a smile while the right corner is turned down into a frown. It’s awkward, deliberate, and made by those who are being sarcastic.

The drop-jaw smile: It’s the classic Joker’s smile from Batman. The lower jaw is dropped open to signal playfulness and the impression of having fun. It’s a favorite of Hugh Grant and anyone else who wants to signal that they’re having fun.

The unfortunate anti-smile: When a person uses their facial muscles to pull down the corners of their mouth into a frown, they’re scowling. They do so to communicate a wide range of unhappy feelings such as anger, depression, or sadness. Sadly, if a person repeatedly frowns over a lifetime, they can permanently set the corners into a fixed frown later in life. It’s something to keep in mind the next time you catch yourself frowning.

The stiff-upper lip: Who hasn’t seen Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen purse their lips? Why do they do it? The pursing of the lips is used in an attempt to control the facial expressions in the face, thereby masking true emotion. This expression has English roots and is used often by royalty. It can also be used by a person who feels as if they’re being intimidated by inferior people.

Body language can tell us a lot about what a person is really thinking, even something as simple as a smile.

Sources:
Pease, A. & Pease, B. (2004). The definitive book of body language: The hidden meaning behind people’s gestures and expressions. New York: Bantam Books.

By Brittany Roshelle Davis