For Whom the Fake Smile Tolls

Smiling, it’s something everyone does. A smile is a facial expression that conveys happiness, confidence and heart. It’s projected for the whole world to see. We are judged by it. The pressure to exude this positive expression is great, so faking a smile has become very common.

A smile is a curve that sets everything straight. ~ Phyllis Diller

The question we have to ask ourselves is, “how do we feel after we fake a smile?” In a recent study published in the Academy of Management Journal, scientists tracked bus drivers about their delay routine. They discovered that drivers who faked smiles had a negative impact on the driver’s mood.

Thai Patton is standing behind a register and taking coffee orders. He’s busy, but smiling. Thai reads the article about smiling and how it affects your mood. The smile remains and he starts to talk about the article. “When I have to fake a smile, it compounds how I feel,” he shouts over the din of the coffee crowd. He was having a bad day, and he felt crappy after faking a smile.

As the interviewees answered the questions a common response came about. They didn’t feel bad when they faked a smile, but they viewed people who faked a smile as frauds.




Saying It With A Smile
Some people don’t have it in them to fake a smile. Kelly Miller, a sales associate in Boulder, is one of those people. Miller says, “I smile a lot, I don’t think it’s fake.” Her co-worker Michelle Harrison interjects, “Kelly you’re always smiling” and nods her head in agreement.

“The last time flashed a fake smile was when I was out to dinner with my girlfriend, I don’t like her friends and they were there. I didn’t want to bum her out,” states Nicholas Todd. He further elaborates, “It made me feel good.”

Then there is Sander Pick, a web engineer from Boulder, states “I find it really difficult to fake smiling…my smile is more of a smirk. It’s like the muscles don’t want to morph.”

As people fake smile throughout the day, most people realize the false façade. The interviewees were keenly aware of this. “Obnoxious, I feel like they are hiding something,” says Aaron Ajax, a Greenpeace representative.

Start every day with a smile and get it over with. ~W.C. Fields




Taking Control With A Smile
So the next question is why people fake smiles? As AJ Chamberlin states, “it made me feel powerful.” She was explaining a near car accident caused by another driver. She tells why she reacted that way. “I didn’t want to stoop to his level.” A majority of interviewees used a fake smile to control a situation. Whether it was a customer or client, people used the smile to show their control of themselves in light of a bad or difficult situation.

Michelle Harrison flashed a fake smile to express her displeasure with an obnoxious customer. She was helping her, and the customer acted as-if she was not there. “I just wanted her to leave…I couldn’t be rude, ” she states. Based on these quotes, one would think the smile is a shield and not the warm invitation for social interaction.

Aaron Ajax had a similar encounter; he was in an argument with a client. So he smiled and said, “Have a Great Day.”

What can we get from this information and how does it relate to the Academy of Management Journal study? Is there an expectation that one will fake a smile when out in public, or is it hard-wired into our personalities? Is it situational? Was the study group too small or focused for an accurate conclusion? It seems that this study has created more questions than it answered.


Whouse1@mscd.edu