Tuesday, March 15, 2016

Let's Face It: How To Read Facial Expressions


3 Different Smiles
1) Dominant Smiles
Donald Trump masters the dominant smile like no other. These smiles are used commonly in situations where a person wants to take control and seize up their opponent. Trump's facial expression says "Don't push me,  I can make your life unpleasant".  You can tell its a dominant smile because the upper righthand corner of his mouth is upturned, but Trump isn't the only one guilty of this. In fact,  this expression is commonly used by politicians. Can you see why? It's intimidating! 


2) Affiliative Smiles

The Affiliative Smile, aka the smile you give to strangers, when you don't want to appear rude or come off unapproachable . Everyone has done this smile at some point in their life, whether it be on your way to class, work, or running errands. This is when both corners of your mouth form a closed, tight lipped smile, as shown in the picture below.


3) Enjoyment Smiles

This is my favorite type of smile and the most well known by far: the Duchenne Smile. The Duchenne Smile is a genuine smile. Here are the signs of a genuine smile: 1) Raised Cheeks 2) Teeth showing 3) Corners of mouth pulled back which are controlled by the zygomatic muscles 4) Crows Feet, which is the slight crinkle that happens when the orbicularis oculi muscles are activated. 5) The Nasolabial folds also known as "smile lines" which separate the cheeks from the upper lip.



There you have it, you are that much closer to being a body language expert! 

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