Smiling is an intrinsic human behavior.
Nevertheless, not all smiles are authentic.
You can probably remember a time when you plastered on a less than genuine grin.
Still, it's no secret that we as humans find a nice, authentic smile attractive, but why?
Studying smiles
Across the board, smiling has been consistently linked to a person's attractiveness.
According to Taylor and Francis Online, researchers in a 2013 study presented participants with,
quote, "morphed faces varying in attractiveness and happiness" and asked them to choose the
most attractive one.
In the end, researchers found that a person's attractiveness was directly, and strongly,
influenced by the smiles.
Additionally, a happy face could, quote, "even compensate for relative unattractiveness."
Helping us connect
An experimental psychologist at Yale University named Marianne LaFrance discovered something
interesting while conducting research for her book, Lip Service: Smiles in Life, Death,
Trust, Lies, Work, Memory, Sex, and Politics.
She told Wired,
"I found that in obituaries people often, more than any other attribute, mentioned their
loved one's smile."
Although it may seem strange to refer to someone's smile once they've passed, the psychologist
said this just goes to prove that, quote, "smiling is a way we connect with other people."
"You smiling?"
"Yes."
"Yes, sir."
"Why are you smiling?"
That's right, genuine grins are a big deal.
Plus, with connection and attraction basically being the peanut butter and jelly of the dating
world, is it any wonder that we all find smiles so appealing?
Happiness is alluring
While there are a variety of reasons for smiling, happiness is generally thought of as the most
common cause.
According to CBC News, participants in a Canadian study were first shown the same member of
the opposite sex in four distinct poses; happy, proud, ashamed, and neutral; and asked to
rate their attractiveness.
In the end, the male participants rated smiling women as the most attractive.
Although the women who participated in the study actually found "proud" men to be the
most attractive, "happy" men were only "about one point lower" in attractiveness.
Clearly, happiness, and its hallmark sign, the smile, are undeniably attractive.
Smiles are rewarding
A 2003 study cited by the Association for Psychological Science discovered just how
smiling affects the brain.
With the use of MRIs, researchers found that just looking at an attractive face activated
the part of the brain that helps process sensory rewards, like taste and touch.
Interestingly, when participants saw the same face with a smile, brain activity increased.
According to Psychology Today,
"[When you smile at someone], you are creating a symbiotic relationship that allows both
of you to release feel-good chemicals in your brain, activate reward centers, make you both
more attractive, and increase the chances of you both living longer, healthier lives."
Most appealing smile
Smiles come in all shapes and sizes, but there's one kind of smile that tops them all when
it comes to sex appeal.
According to StyleCaster, of the single women who received "likes" more than half of the
time on the dating app Coffee Meets Bagel, a whopping 71 percent were pictured smiling
with their head tilted.
Although the study did not state why the head-tilted smiles are so attractive, researchers have
found that direct eye contact can come across as threatening, whereas a tilted head can
actually improve your social interactions and engagements.
Of course, when, or how, you smile is up to you.
Smile problems
Smiling has its benefits, sure, but those benefits are diminished, if not totally eliminated,
when you're told to smile.
"Who the f--- are you to tell someone to smile?"
Women often tend to be on the receiving end of this conversation, and as you can imagine,
exactly zero percent of women enjoy it.
So, why do some people, particularly men, continue to demand smiles?
Biological anthropologist Helen Fisher explained it this way to USA Today:
"Telling anybody to do anything can rub you the wrong way, particularly if it's not natural
to you."
She explained that some men may just be forcing the issue of smiling in an attempt to push
a woman back into a subservient, stereotypical role.
"Don't forget to smile."
"Yeah.
Is that a poppy seed there in your teeth?"
"Probably."
"Yeah, oof."
Requesting a smile from a woman is not the only way men encourage subservient behavior.
According to Prevention, a study in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin shows that
that women were more likely to like a man in a dominant role if he smiled.
This was true even if the man smiled after saying something sexist!
The researchers revealed,
"It seems that overt sexism can affect behavior that actually promotes women's submissiveness
when the bitter pill of sexism is given the sugar coating of a smile."