Watch for eye movements: Real smiles cause the eyes to move. It is fake if the rest of the person's face stays still while they are smiling. Watch for bottom teeth: When a person has a genuine smile, they are less likely to expose the bottom row of teeth. A fake smile is more likely to include both rows of teeth.
Most of us will laugh at a good joke, but we also laugh when we are not actually amused. Fake chuckles are common in social situations—such as during an important interview or a promising first date.
People giving a fake smile may do it when they feel disinterested, tired, or preoccupied. Some people might also resort to a fake smile if they feel uncomfortable smiling or if they aren't happy. Putting on a genuine smile could be a conscious choice you make.
According to a recent study published in the journal Experimental Psychology, researchers found smiling — even a fake smile — can have a positive impact on mood. Essentially, triggering certain facial muscles by smiling can “trick” your brain into thinking you're happy.
To be considered conventionally attractive, your smile should have the same midline (vertical line that splits the face perfectly in half) as your face. If your smile's midline isn't directly between your two central front teeth, it might look unattractive.
Researchers at the University of Arizona found that faking a positive attitude and being obsessed with making a good impression at work to advance in your career not only doesn't benefit you, but it could prove to hurt you.
After following the drivers closely, the researchers found that on days when the smiles were forced, the subjects' moods deteriorated and they tended to withdraw from work. Trying to suppress negative thoughts, it turns out, may have made those thoughts even more persistent.
Facial expressions play a leading role in human interactions because they provide signaling information of emotion and create social perceptions of an individuals' physical and personality traits. Smiling increases socially perceived attractiveness and is considered a signal of trustworthiness and intelligence.
In a closed-mouth smile, the lips remain together, and teeth are not visible. In this way, a polite smile, a disappointed smile, and a forced smile are all closed-mouth smiles.
The Duchenne smile. This one is the gold standard. The Duchenne smile is also known as the smile of genuine enjoyment. It's the one that involves the mouth, the cheeks, and the eyes simultaneously.
Your lower teeth should hardly be visible and the aim is to show your top teeth. Your two central upper teeth should be the focus of your smile, but you should not push them over your bottom lip – this will make them too prominent. The lipline should not show more than 2 mm of gum.
A Duchenne smile reaches your eyes, making the corners wrinkle up. Smiling in this way is sincere and the most authentic expression of happiness. Grab a mirror, give it a try. It may feel strange but by squinting slightly to create small pillows beneath your eyes the expression on your face becomes more genuine.
Then watch your posture. "If you slouch or your head is too bent forward, you won't like how your smile looks," says Pamela McClain, DDS. Her suggestion: Turn your head slightly and drop your chin so your face is not completely square with the camera.
“When you're shooting someone you can tell when they're doing a forced smile,” he says. “The mouth will go up but the eyes don't tighten up, like when you laugh a little. With a real smile, you'll see a sparkle in the eyes that you don't get with a fake smile.
The Charismatic Complex Smile
A complex smile lives up to its name. It's the most complex smile style, and it's also the most rare, found in only about 2% of people naturally. A complex smile combines the movements in both the other smile styles and adds to it a simultaneous lowering of the lower lip.
There are three distinct types of smile, a new study has revealed. People switch between 'reward', 'affiliation' and 'dominance' smiles, using different facial muscle combinations to make them, according to researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
You may not have realized this, but teeth are not meant to touch. It sounds odd, but think about it. They don't touch while you speak, smile or rest. Even when you chew, your teeth only have to be close enough to mash food, not necessarily touch.
But the heart shape, otherwise more commonly known as a V-shaped face, has been scientifically proven to be the most visually attractive face shape to have. Heart-shaped faces like those of Hollywood star Reese Witherspoon are deemed as 'mathematically beautiful'.