La Sonrisa atrae Felicidad

Does putting a smile on your face really make you happy? When people are sad, they cry. When they are happy, they smile. When they agree, they nod their heads. Exactly the same process works in reverse, even when people are not aware of their facial expressions. In the 1980s, psychologist Fritz Strack asked one group of participants to hold a pencil between their teeth, but to ensure that it did not touch their lips. Another group supported the end of the pencil with just their lips, but not their teeth. Without realising it, those in the ‘teeth only’ condition had forced the lower part of their faces into a smile, whilst those in the ‘lips only’ condition had made themselves frown. Everyone then judged how funny they found Gary Larson’s Far Side cartoons, and rate how happy they felt. Participants tended to experience the emotion associated with their expressions. Those who had their faces forced into a smile felt happier, and found the Far Side cartoons much funnier, than those who were forced to frown. Other work has demonstrated that this increase in happiness does not drain away the moment people cease smiling. It lingers, affecting many aspects of their behavior, including interacting with others in a more positive way, and being more likely to remember happy life events.

59 Seconds tip: To provide a significant boost to your happiness, force your face into a smile and hold the expression for around 20 seconds.

Strack, F., Martin, L.L., and Stepper, S. (1988). Inhibiting and facilitating conditions of the human smile: A nonobstrusive test of the facial feedback hypothesis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54, 768-777.

Schnall, S., & Laird, J. D. (2003). Keep smiling: Enduring effects of facial expressions and postures on emotional experience. Cognition and Emotion, 17, 787-797.