Smiling When Distressed: When a Smile Is a Frown Turned Upside Down

This research tested self-regulation and self-presentation as psychological mechanisms that motivate smiling when distressed. In Study 1, participants viewed moderately and intensely distressing, amusing, and neutral videos in social or nonsocial conditions. Smiling when distressed was most prevalen...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inPersonality & social psychology bulletin Vol. 33; no. 6; pp. 763 - 775
Main Author Ansfield, Matthew E.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.06.2007
SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
Subjects
Adult
Cognitive Dissonance
Deception
Emotional distress
Emotions
Facial Expression
Facial expressions
Female
Gender Identity
Humans
Inhibition (Psychology)
Internal-External Control
Male
Motivation
Negative emotions
Nonverbal Communication
Others' perceptions
Positive emotions
Psychological distress
Psychological mechanisms
Self control
Self regulation
Selfpresentation
Selfregulation
Smiles
Smiling
Social conditions & trends
Social Environment
Social Perception
Social situations
Stimuli
self-regulation
smiling
nonverbal behavior
emotion
self-presentation
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Summary:This research tested self-regulation and self-presentation as psychological mechanisms that motivate smiling when distressed. In Study 1, participants viewed moderately and intensely distressing, amusing, and neutral videos in social or nonsocial conditions. Smiling when distressed was most prevalent in conditions in which participants reported the greatest emotional distress. Specifically, while viewing distressing videos, men reported experiencing greater overall distress and also smiled more than women, especially in social conditions and while viewing intensely (as opposed to moderately) distressing stimuli. In general, smiling was related to more negative affect while viewing distressing videos but to more positive affect after viewing such stimuli. Study 2 explored raters' social perceptions of participants from Study 1, confirming that people judge distressed smilers as less socially appropriate and less likable than nonsmilers. Findings suggest that although distressed smiling serves a probable self-regulatory function, it may also bear some negative social consequences.
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ISSN:0146-1672
1552-7433
DOI:10.1177/0146167206297398