What's in a Smile?

  It is probably not too bold of a statement to say that the majority of people in this world have experienced the dreaded fake smile. Whether you work in a job that requires frequent friendly exchanges, or you are the kind of person that can tell when others are not being real with you, the fake smile is a staple in our everyday lives. When ten people at local Denver hangout spots were interviewed, most of them had the same general thoughts on the subject; fake smiling can take it's toll on a bad mood.

A recent study done by the Academy of Management Journal concluded that faking a smile to suppress negative emotions may actually put you in a worse mood. Out of ten people interviewed about the findings of this article, eight of them agreed with it.

 Where?

At Bar Standard, a chic, small yet friendly bar, Denver local, Ashley Spooner was celebrating her 30^th birthday. Ashley Spooner, of Denver Colo., was dancing with a few of her friends when I noticed her giant comical glasses in the shape of a 3, and a 0. Ashley had no reason to fake a smile on her birthday, but she shared her thoughts on the research study. “It totally makes sense to me, the last thing you want to do when you are in a bad mood is pretend to be happy, nobody likes to be a phony.” Ashley works full time as a hairstylist in Greenwood Village, CO. “On days where I am in a bad mood, it definitely gets harder and harder for me to put on a fake smile for my clients”. Ashley was not the only one that shared this thought.

Ashley’s friend Jessica Olsen, another stylist at the same salon, had the same general response. “I hate putting on a fake smile when I am not feeling it. Faking happiness is hard work”. Jessica said that she had worked with people her whole life. She said the key to success was “being genuinely happy with what you are doing on a day to day basis-it leads to less fake smiles”. 

The Research

Scientists involved in the study closely observed bus drivers whose job entails frequent smiling encounters with others. The scientists focused on the differences between “surface acting”, which is a fake smile, and “deep acting” where the smiles are formed for positive thoughts. When the smiles were forced, the moods of the bus drivers worsened rapidly, and when the drivers were able to achieve genuine smiles, their moods and productivity increased. Women are even more sensitive to this because as a cultural norm, women tend to be more expressive of their emotions, so hiding these negative feelings with a fake smile will have a greater impact on them.

People in jobs that require interaction with people on a regular basis are typically the ones that have to put on frequent fake smiles. “I don’t like giving fake smiles, it feels lousy, like I am not being true to myself”, said Cher Bowles of Denver, Colo. Cher works as a sales representative for Qwest. In general, the people that feel they are representing a company are the ones that feel pressure to fake smile at their jobs.

On the other hand, Franky Guiterrez, a bartender for the past 10 years, gave a surprising response. “I don’t think that this study holds true for everyone. On days when I am upset, or angry, I think it helps me to be around other people, like putting on a fake smile actually helps put me in a better mood.” Franky’s friend Kerrie Putney, a school teacher’s assistant, chimed in upon hearing Franky’s thoughts. “Yeah, when I pretend to be happy, and put on enough fake smiles, at some point, those smiles turn real” These women held the belief that acting happy, and uplifting, would eventually lead to real happiness.

           
The Bottom Line

In general, most people had the same response to the study, and the majority of them were in agreement with the results. Aside from Franky Guiterrez and her friend Kerrie, the general consensus was that faking a smile takes its’ toll on a bad mood, and will only lead to further negative thoughts.