Smile grin. Snow-white grin: what is fraught with the American smile

Our emotional expressions seem to be innate, they are part of our evolutionary heritage. However, their etymology remains a mystery. Can we trace these social cues from the very beginning, from their evolutionary roots, to the behavior of our ancestors?

About a decade ago, at the Princeton University lab, we studied how the brain monitors the safety zone around the body and controls bending, squirming, squinting, and other actions that keep us safe from the effects of others.

Our experiments have focused on a specific set of regions in the brains of humans and monkeys. These areas of the brain immediately "processed" the space around the body, took sensory information and converted it into movement. We tracked the activity of individual neurons in those areas, trying to understand their function. As we watched our videos, I noticed a disturbing similarity everywhere: the defensive actions of the monkeys were terribly similar to standard human social cues. Why is it that when you blow on a monkey's face, its expression looks so strangely like a human smile? Why, while laughing, do we seem to use some elements of a protective stance?

As it turned out, we were not the first to look for a relationship between defensive movements and social behavior. Heini Hediger, Zurich Zookeeper in the 60s, shared his insight with us. He was trying to figure out how to divide the space of the zoo among the animals in such a way as to take into account their natural needs, and therefore he sometimes asked the zoo's chief biologist for advice. And often he was surprised when he learned how animals interact with the surrounding space.

While on an expedition to Africa, where he was catching new specimens for the zoo, Hediger noticed a constantly recurring pattern of behavior among animals that were preyed upon by predators. A zebra, for example, doesn't just run away from a lion. Instead, she seems to be building an invisible perimeter around herself. As long as the lion is outside this perimeter, the zebra is safe. When the lion crosses the border, the zebra changes location and re-establishes a safe zone. If a lion enters a smaller area, the zebra runs away. Zebras themselves have similar “protection zones” between themselves, and although they are much smaller, they are treated with due respect. In a crowd, zebras never come close. They step and move in such a way as to maintain a minimum organized space between them.

In the 1960s, the American psychologist Edward Hall adapted the same idea to human behavior. Hall found that each person has a protective zone 60–90 cm wide, widening towards the head and narrowing towards the feet. The zone does not have a fixed size: if you are nervous, it grows, if you are relaxed, it shrinks. It also depends on your cultural upbringing. Personal space is less in Japan and more in Australia. Put a Japanese and an Australian in the same room - a strange dance will follow: the Japanese will step forward, the Australian will step back, and so they will follow one after the other. Maybe even without paying attention to what is happening.

Hediger and Hall led us to an important discovery. The mechanism we use to protect also forms the basis of our social engagement. In the end, he organizes a kind of network within the social space.

Smiling, one of the main tools of social interaction, is a very specific thing. Upper lip lifted to show teeth. Cheeks spread out to the sides. The skin around the eyes is wrinkled. Duchenne de Boulogne, a 19th-century neurologist, observed that a cold, fake smile is often confined to the mouth, while a genuine, friendly smile always involves the eyes. A sincere smile is now named Duchenovskaya in his honor.

A smile can also indicate submission. Employees who are subject to someone smile much more when they are among influential people. (“It used to be, / They greeted with smiles, bows, / They almost kneeled, / As in a temple!” Patroclus remarks about Achilles in Troilus and Cressida).

It only adds to the mystery. Why showing teeth is a sign of friendliness? Why do it as a sign of humility? Aren't teeth needed to testify to aggression?

Most ethologists agree that the smile is evolutionarily ancient and that variants of it are found in many primates. If you are watching a group of monkeys, you will notice that they sometimes give each other what looks like a grimace. They communicate without aggression; ethologists call this "silent display of teeth". Some theorists argue that this gesture originated from more or less the opposite - preparation for an attack.

But I think that by focusing only on the teeth, they miss a lot. In fact, this "demonstration of teeth" includes the entire body. Imagine two monkeys, A and B. Monkey B traverses monkey A's personal space. Result? The two neurons responsible for monitoring personal space begin to crackle in a classic defensive response. Monkey A squints, protecting his eyes. Her upper lip pulls up. She bares her teeth but it's just side effect: the meaning of a tightened lip is not so much to prepare for an attack, but to tighten the skin on the face, slightly covering the eyes with skin folds. The ears "pull back" to protect themselves from damage. The head retracts and the shoulders rise to cover the vulnerable throat and neck. The head turns away from the approaching object. The torso leans forward to protect the abdomen. Depending on the location of the threat, the arms may be crossed in front of the torso or in front of the face. Monkeys most often adopt a conventional defensive stance that protects fragile and vulnerable parts of the body.

Monkey B can learn a lot by watching monkey A's reaction. If monkey A defends himself, as if in full response to monkey B's actions, then this is a good sign that monkey A is scared. She is uncomfortable. Her personal space is invaded. She perceives monkey B as an enemy, as someone socially superior to her. On the other hand, monkey A may respond "indistinctly" by narrowing his eyes slightly and turning his head back. This means that monkey A is not particularly frightened - he does not perceive monkey B as socially superior or as an enemy.

Such information is very useful to the members of the social group. Monkey B can learn where to be in order to show respect to monkey A. In this way, a social signal develops; natural selection will favor monkeys that can read the submission responses in their group and adjust their behavior accordingly. By the way, this is perhaps the most important part of this story: the most evolutionary pressure is on those who receive the signal, not on those who send it. This story is about how we started responding to smiling.

Nature is often an arms race. If Monkey B can gather useful information by watching Monkey A, then it is useful for Monkey A to manipulate that information to influence Monkey B. That is, evolution favors monkeys that can, under the right circumstances, kind of play a defensive reaction. It is useful to convince others that you are not threatening them.

Let's look at the origin of the smile: it's a brief imitation of a defensive stance. In humans, there is only a stripped-down version of it, in which the facial muscles are involved: the upper lip is pulled up, the cheeks diverge to the sides and up, the eyes squint. Today we use it to communicate from a position of friendly aggression rather than from a position of complete submission and assistance.

And yet we can still observe the "monkey" gestures in ourselves. Sometimes we smile to show complete submission, and this subservient smile can come along with the echoes of the defensive stance throughout the body: head down, shoulders up, torso up, hands in front of the chest. Like monkeys, we respond to these signals automatically. We can't help but feel warm towards those who radiate a Duchenne smile. We cannot help but feel contempt for a person who outwardly shows obedience, just as we cannot help but be suspicious of those who imitate warmth with a soulless smile with cold eyes.

It is incredible that so much could come from such a simple root. An ancient defense mechanism, a mechanism that analyzes the space around the body and organizes defensive movements, suddenly finds itself in the hypersocial world of primates, surrounded by smiles, laughter, crying and fawning. Each of these behaviors is then subdivided into several others, growing into a whole codebook of cues for use in different social settings. Not all human expressions can be explained through this, but very many. Duchenne smile, cold smile, laughter at a joke, laughter of appreciation for a clever wit, cruel laughter, a crouch meant to show reverence for someone or a straight back to show confidence, crossed arms to show suspicion, open arms ("Welcome!" ), the sad grimace with which we show sympathy for someone's sad story - this whole set of expressions could come from one sensory-motor defense mechanism that has nothing to do with communication.

» What does a smile say

What does smile mean? Different kinds smiles

The smile is a universal code built into the core of the human heredity program. A smile is based on a complex biochemical process, which ends with the contraction of numerous facial muscles. How many muscles must contract for a normal smile? At least a dozen, while a single Botox paralyzed one is enough to give you a frown.

Experts believe that the smile existed among our closest ancestors - hominids, that is, in an evolutionary sense, it appeared quite a long time ago. The conclusion suggests itself: if there were no smile, our civilization would certainly not be as developed as we know it today. Of course, no one encroaches on the fundamental role of speech in the development of human society, but the contribution of a smile, I willingly believe in this, was decisive in the emergence of the most important feeling, the most powerful antidote to anger - compassion.

A smile is a signal of peacefulness and goodwill. Remember how newborns smile; this smile - in fact, the first attempt at interaction - becomes a pass to a civilized society. Few of us know that a smile is also the last interaction: very often the dying, especially those who have suffered for a long time, leave with relief. Noticing such a smile, believers say that the dying person enters paradise.

A weapon of seduction in the broadest sense of the word, the smile is second only to the look, which remains the champion in all mixed categories. Smiling creates a sense of complicity or even collusion (depending on the circumstances) even between people who have met for only a moment and will probably never see each other again. This empathic exchange allows you to share a moment of sincerity. In the blink of an eye, they moved from the level of introspective awareness, that is, they ceased to be captives of their own ego, to the extra-intense level, freed from the ego.

Even a fleeting smile extinguishes the dominant ego in favor of a short energy exchange between people. We can say that we enter into resonance with another person. The momentary sincerity we feel is the opposite of the natural aggressiveness of man. Smiling can be seen as a biological hypnosis designed to paralyze the aggressive impulses that many feel around a stranger who enters personal territory uninvited.

The speed of a smile equals the speed of social light bringing us closer to each other. This simple habitual movement is sometimes the only way that can reduce the distance between us. This is an indicator of sincerity and a normal climate in society. It can even be said that a smile contributes to the establishment of more equal relations between people from different ethnic groups, in fact, uniting entire peoples. A smile brings us closer even when differences move us apart. A society that has forgotten about a smile is going through a deep crisis.

There are various ways and types of smiles, but most often we use only one, maybe two. So a smile is one of the most effective ways please the interlocutor. To please in the broad sense of the word, and not just to attract a possible sexual partner.

Open or closed smile

The most obvious classification of smiles is by the lips; lips may be pursed or open. This is a variable reflex gesture.

In general, the type of smile depends on the temperament of the individual, the general atmosphere and the specific circumstances of communication. Some people never open their lips, while others do it all the time.

pursed lips

Subjects who almost never part their lips when smiling are part of a large family of self-controlled subjects. They express their emotions very little and very sparingly, holding back or suppressing them to such an extent that emotions sometimes simply disappear. Such smiles are more like contemptuous grimaces than signs of sympathy.

These are unreliable individuals, because they are devoid of emotional intelligence. Never trust them a priori, and a posteriori too. Many YIRs smile with tight lips and generously give out promises of a great future, thanks to which they rise through the ranks or social ladder.

These projectors always find a sufficient number of grateful listeners who voluntarily allow themselves to be fooled.

open smile

Emotional people open their mouths to relax their cheekbones. Mostly they are open, sensitive and endearing personalities. You can trust them a priori, even if there is a risk of reconsidering your view a posteriori. Of course, there are fake smiles that show teeth. You just need to learn to distinguish a sincere and friendly smile from a smile on duty, completely fake and commercial.

In fact, the appearance of "crow's feet" in the corners of the eyes is the main criterion in determining the sincerity of a smile. In practice, everything is more difficult and easier at the same time. The fact is that the radiance of the eye and the size of the pupils are also important indicators. A natural smile increases the size of the pupils and illuminates the eyes with a sense of joy.

Mechanical smile

Without relaxing the lower part of the face at all, the mechanical smile convulsively tightens the lips, emphasizing the wrinkles and folds of bitterness at the corners of the mouth. The more often they resort to it, the more it becomes like a grimace. Sooner or later, a mechanical smile turns into a frozen mask, devoid of any charm.

A smile is the soul of your face, therefore a mechanical smile provokes an unconscious reaction of rejection in the one to whom it is addressed. Take a closer look at how the seller smiles. He never does it for no reason, his smile is an offensive weapon that is practically not suitable for defense. A characteristic smile that can easily turn into a real grin.

false smile

Whenever you instinctively smile, you relax your face. Whenever you smile mechanically or because circumstances require it, you lose your attractiveness and deepen wrinkles. There are different types of smiles, but only one of them is seductive - a real smile. The sincerity of a smile is often lost when childhood ends, and sometimes much earlier. Trust me, most of the smiles you see around you are false, false smiles designed to alleviate the other's fear, dry smiles that disappear as quickly as they appear.

To distinguish a real smile from a fake one, it is enough to observe the eyes of the interlocutor. One of the criteria for the sincerity of a smile is the degree of their radiance. If the right eye shines, and the left eye is inexpressive, then this is a contemptuous smile. If the left eye lights up, and the right eye remains expressionless, then this is a spontaneous smile based on the inconstancy of feelings. If both eyes are of the same temperature, then this is a real smile, in harmony with the psychological state.

Smile with eyes

Smile in dynamics

Perfect smile

A smile that shows off the upper teeth is a smile without a hint of nobility. A person smiling in this way goes ahead; this is an egoist, confident in his rights and completely devoid of moral principles. All those who flash on the TV screen smile that way. A sort of trademark, confirming the authenticity of the public image.

predatory smile

A smile that reveals only the lower teeth is the smile of a predator, greedily biting its teeth into the endless pleasures of life. He is as generous as he is short-tempered. A predatory smile sparkles a little less than that of an excellent student, and belongs to a person who lives not for his image, but for his knowledge or skills.

Smile on the lightning

The observed subject does not show teeth, as if the lips were zipped or padlocked.

Such a smile betrays a slightly insecure, perhaps slightly depressed person. He does not need to boast of his knowledge at all, even if he knows about the subject of conversation more than all those present. This is the smile of a restrained and modest person.

All-encompassing smile

This is when your interlocutor smiles "in all thirty-two teeth."

Such a smile at all thirty-two usually belongs to the star of the quarter or the prima donna of the office. The all-encompassing smile lives to appear, and most of all is afraid not to linger in your memory.

Half smile: the same recurring gesture

A half smile is more often a sign of arrogance than contempt. It is characteristic of manipulators, who are also seducers.

Try smiling with the left corner of your mouth. And now the right one. Which side is more natural for you?

If you are more comfortable smiling with your left corner, you are more of a mocker than a cynic. A half smile on this side also indicates that socially you will be more receptive to spontaneously arising feelings of liking or disliking. And this is generally logical, since the left half of the face depends on the right hemisphere of the brain, the emotional one. Irony is kinder than cynicism. However, the mocker does not boast good resistance to frustration; this is his Achilles heel.

If you are more comfortable smiling with your right corner, you are more of a cynic than a mocker. Observing flaws, the cynic draws his feelings from deep bitterness. He knows how to retreat to a sufficient distance, while a mocker is able to miss something under his very nose. The cynic is much tougher. He builds barricades against enthusiasm, not allowing pleasures or pleasures, which in the future will be regretted, to be drawn into him. The cynic has excellent resistance against frustration. This is both his strength and his weakness.

Those who do not give in to frustration do not forget that pleasure can weaken the protective barrier and this weakening can be fatal. And the cynic hates to feel weak - it does not fit in with the image that he forged for himself.

Forced smile

The motionless, if not frozen, smile of your interlocutor is more like a grimace than a friendly smile.

The forced smile belongs to the family of stereotypical smiles. It conveys the degree of skepticism of those who use it, and especially those who abuse it.

naive smile

Your interlocutor, sitting opposite, sends a smile, at least exciting.

This smile has preserved the imprint of the child's soul. Take a closer look at the delighted smile of the baby. It is no coincidence that children learn to smile before they speak. Such a smile with the aroma of childhood is quite capable of neutralizing stress and reducing the intensity of passions. An excellent remedy for a variety of anxiety.

distracted smile

The interlocutor addresses you with a slightly distant smile.

This type of smile indicates a certain distance; you are clearly considered lower in rank, which is condescendingly reported.

triumphant smile

Clearly satisfied with the conversation with management, your colleague smiles with undisguised pride.

In addition to expressing satisfaction, which is written on the face in huge letters, a triumphant smile is often accompanied by a turn of the shoulders. Even if the feeling of satisfaction is fully justified, it is better not to abuse such a smile, because it irritates those who find it difficult to succeed or even just have no luck lately. Sometimes a sense of quite just pride in oneself is confused with arrogance.

cold smile

Your interlocutor smiles coldly, pursing his lips.

Such a gesture indicates that your interlocutor is afraid of wasting time in your company in vain.

bitter smile

The smile of your interlocutor is more like an upside down soup plate.

The transformation of our smiles reveals how much our thoughts own and control our consciousness in the truest sense of the word. We are talking about a sad and at the same time damn romantic smile with a certain admixture of doom and resignation to fate.

fleeting smile

Your interlocutor's smile disappears as quickly as it appears.

The effect of such a smile on an unsophisticated person can be amazing. It causes instant stress that can unsettle anyone. A smile that barely appeared and instantly disappeared indicates that you missed.

You must be extremely attentive to smiles of this kind. It is for this reason that it is better not to take your eyes off the interlocutor to whom you are going to show your cards. Each of his facial movements will be recorded in your memory and pop up when you analyze the results of the meeting. Unless, of course, you spare a little time and effort.

Stereotypical fashion model smile

The interlocutor smiles at you, as if posing for a photographer.

Not all smiles are an expression of relaxation or relief. Traditions oblige to meet a stranger with a smile, which turned the smile of a hospitable host into a stereotypical grimace. Representatives of some professions have become real masters in depicting a stereotypical smile: actors, fashion models, politicians ..

To distinguish a real smile from a stereotypical grimace, you must observe the eyes of your interlocutor. The radiance must match the smile; eyes smile at the same time as the mouth, otherwise such a smile is worthless.

welcome smile

The smile that the owner sends you under the guise of welcoming is more like an overly cheerful smile from a commercial.

Another look at the welcoming smile, aptly referred to as the toothpaste-advertising smile, confirms that a welcoming or even just polite smile, both close and distant, instinctively draws you towards another person, even if you are not formally bonded. It does not violate the boundaries of personal space, but simply refers to what you have in common. “Smiling touches something important in us: our innate sensitivity to kindness,” emphasizes the 14th Dalai Lama in Ethics for the New Millennium.

understanding smile

“I love seeing knowing looks and smiles when I photograph strangers on the street,” says Steven, 25, a Taiwanese travel photographer. The smiles he catches are often the best memories of those travels.

This peculiar smile expresses complicity. It betrays a subtle understanding, without which real complicity is not possible. A knowing smile disarms, inspires confidence, conquers or excites, it allows you to approach or push off without unnecessary resentment.

Bold smile

Your exit. Quite unexpectedly, one has to come out in defense of the project. In the absence of a clear plan, you decide to start with a smile.

The effort we put in to force ourselves to smile provides an opportunity to maintain confidence and highlight successes rather than failures. Smiling helps us deal with stress better, face change with more calmness. Smile precedes laughter.

Protective smile

When you walk into a room where you don't know anyone, you instinctively smile as if defensively.

A smile can protect us from others or bring us closer to them, blame or forgive. A smile is a kind of concession, designed to nip the impulses of our own and others' aggression, if I may say so, in the bud. Probably the only sign of calm known to all cultures without exception.

Embarrassed smile

An intern in your department smiles shyly, having just found out he got the wrong address when sending a rush order.

Far from always expressing pleasure, a smile can also indicate a desire to smooth out awkwardness: an embarrassed smile can appear on the face if we have made a mistake and are overwhelmed with shame.

provocative smile

In this case, the head is slightly lowered, and the look ... It can most accurately be called flirtatious. Women have a sensual smile. But she is certainly not as lustful as some men. A visiting smile is not a real smile, it lacks expressive wrinkles around the eyes, but a flirtatious smile addressed to you personally can very well betray real interest.

How to learn to smile

Your smile is not only a social grimace, but also a powerful weapon necessary to achieve certain life goals.

If you want to attract or seduce someone, you will have to learn to smile again by working with your cheek muscles through special exercises. Believe me, this is not too high a price for a real smile. The fear of losing is noted just at the level of the movable jaw. The deeper the doubt takes root, the more the smile hardens.

So, a smile conquers failure and reinforces success. A real smile illuminates the face, is read on the face, is seen on the cheeks and is even visible under the waves of the eyebrows. A beautiful face is not a frozen mask, but the ability to express feelings and impressions. A smile is like a cherry on a cake: if it turned out to be tasteless, then the cake is no better.

There are enough obvious examples and analogies. You are able to notice when it is necessary to start regular classes in a fitness club in order to restore muscles that have practically atrophied in the stone jungle; that you need to train the abdominal muscles in order to tighten the belly that rolls over the trouser belt ... With a smile, the same thing. There are special isometric gymnastics exercises for programming a smile.

We are talking about psychotonic gymnastics, which is a set of exercises to reduce the muscles around the eyes and mouth, muscles of the cheeks and nose. In general, this technique resembles a trance of the facial muscles. Most people master gymnastics without much difficulty, since it does not require the achievement of special states of consciousness, unlike, for example, hypnosis.

Adapted from: Messinger J. C. Ces gestes qui vous trahissent - Paris: France, 2013

But what if the grin of a chimpanzee, dogs, or a human smile are only superficially similar, but not at all homologous, and developed independently (such features are called analogous in biology)? If so, then there is no way to put a "human" meaning into a monkey's smile.

Who laughs, for what and why? ....:

There are, however, criteria by which biologists determine the homology of organs. The same criteria can be used to determine the homology of behavioral forms. In addition, if similar chains of neurons in the brain are responsible for certain forms of behavior, they can also be considered homologous. So, in all terrestrial vertebrates, the scratching reflex is homologous - frogs, bears, and people scratch. In recent years, others have appeared - additional opportunities to establish whether certain forms of behavior are homologous or not. To do this, using positron emission tomography, for example, it is possible to determine which parts of the brain are activated in the case of a particular form of behavior, and to identify “similarity” in different species.

Smiling Dog / Takashi Hososhima

Laughing monkeys, dogs and rats

With the help of these and other methods of studying the homology of behavior, it is now reliably established that orangutans, gorillas and chimpanzees definitely smile and laugh. The same is probably true for dogs. Unexpectedly, but almost certainly, the rats are laughing! However, their laughter is so thin and low-frequency - ultrasounds with a frequency of 50 kHz - that it is impossible for the human ear to hear it without special devices. Usually; rat pups “laugh” - when they play or when they “call” each other into the game.

Everyone who has children knows that babies smile by the end of the first month of life (the so-called "social smile"). This happens when the child sees a living human face (or even its outline). Moreover, in due time even those babies who were born deaf and deaf begin to smile. That is why smiling and laughter are considered innate forms of behavior.

Friendly grin

Both people and animals break into a smile at the moment when they want to show their friendliness. It is interesting, but science believes that a smile - in fact, a grin - is a kind of derivative of aggression - it is a kind of "friendly" grin (and remember how many "sublimated", derivative and complicated from the "friendly grin" forms that express exactly aggression, but in a peculiar veiled form exists in human society - this is irony, and mocking or triumphant laughter, and sarcasm, etc.!). Baring his teeth, smiling as if he says: “This is how I could do with you, but I won’t do it!”. The idea of ​​just such a deeply archaic goal came to the mind of the great ethologist Konrad Lorenz. It is a smile that is a kind of ritualized threat, which, like a shifter, is turned into a greeting. A smile can also be considered a "bite without a bite." By the way, between a smile and a bite, there are intermediate forms of behavior. So, tickling puppies or two or three year old children, you can see that both of them, laughing or smiling, will also bite you - these are the so-called "play" bites. Animals laugh even when they jokingly attack each other. Great apes, when tickled, make sounds that are quite similar to our laughter.

It is also interesting that both laughter and a smile are an attribute of social animals that, during fights, are capable of inflicting serious injuries on each other. In order to prevent this from happening when it is not necessary, so that the game can be easily distinguished from an attack, laughter and a smile are needed. That is why people from completely different parts of the planet usually very easily recognize a sincere smile, immediately distinguishing it from an ironic and threatening grin (it has been proven, by the way, that the “outcasts” who especially need to establish contacts with their fellow tribesmen are the most in time in this matter).

Smile, gentlemen, smile!

And laughter and a smile, both in humans and animals, can perform many other functions, in addition to the above. Here are just a few of them.

Jaak Panksepp, the one who discovered laughter in rats, writes: “Laughter is a sign of good character and the ability to get along with others; therefore, often laughing rats are perceived as good partners for games, and such games can sometimes end in reproduction. Laughter is a sign of mental health, just as a bushy tail of a peacock is a sign of his physical health. Therefore, scientists suggest that laughter is important in sexual selection (remember the fact that guys like cheerful and laughing girls much more than sad and serious ones. This is probably why many girls “instinctively” laugh very loudly and deliberately fervently on the streets, in transport or in nightclubs, which is rarely done being in a purely female company - NS). It also seems plausible that humor as such appeared and developed in humans as a result of the same sexual selection.

It has been established that the more often a rat laughs, the stronger it is not only psychologically, but also physically healthier. And here, apparently, a certain “ vicious circle"- the healthier the rat, the more often it laughs, but the more often it laughs, the healthier it is. It has been proven that laughter is good for health. This applies to both rats and humans. The fact is that both in us and in animals, basic emotions are "sewn" into some rather ancient brain structures. This includes pleasure. It has been shown that when an animal receives positive stimuli (say, eats something tasty), the "reward system" is activated in its brain - the neurotransmitter dopamine is released. Like people, so, apparently, animals also experience pleasure in this. Surprisingly, both we and animals release dopamine when we laugh (even when we or they are being tickled). Rats are ready to perform the same tasks that they perform "for food" and just to be tickled.

Nervous laughter

The well-known saying “Laughter for no reason is a sign of a fool” has no basis at all. Laughing for no reason can be a sign that the person is nervous. Not so long ago, scientists found that another part of neurons, which also release dopamine, is activated in response not to positive stimuli, but to some unexpected events, novelty of the situation, etc. Once in a cage with unfamiliar rats or just in a new cage, rats often begin to laugh. But why do we need nervous laughter? Often it helps to defuse emotions, and at the same time, perhaps, to win over interlocutors.

Many people know a short-term "recipe" for self-confidence: if you feel depressed and insecure - straighten your shoulders and hold your head up. After a while, you can feel that depression recedes. The same applies to a bad mood - you can smile no matter what, and your mood will improve. This is because even with a deliberate smile, dopamine begins to be produced in our brain, and with it positive emotions.

Olga Fadeeva

The Russian smile has a great national identity - in practice, it performs completely different, if not opposite, functions than the smile of Americans or residents of some European countries.

Russians, from the point of view of Americans and Western Europeans, are gloomy, gloomy, unsmiling people. The phenomenon of everyday non-smiling of a Russian person acts as the most striking difference between Russians and a nationally specific feature of Russian non-verbal communication and behavior of Russians in society as a whole.

The following specific national features of the Russian smile can be distinguished.

1. The Russian smile, as a rule, is performed only with lips, without grinning teeth; during a smile, the upper row of teeth is rarely visible.

The demonstration of the smile of the upper and lower teeth, as the Americans do, has always been considered in Russian culture as unpleasant, not kind, and was associated with a vulgar grin and was called a "horse" smile, akin to a horse neighing.

2. A smile in Russian non-verbal (not verbal) communication with strangers is not a signal of politeness.

Russian writers have repeatedly drawn attention to the difference between Russian and American smiles, describing the American smile as strange and artificial for a Russian person.

Maxim Gorky wrote that in Americans, on the face, first of all, you see teeth, and in Russian - eyes. Satirist Mikhail Zadornov called the American smile chronic, sick, and Mikhail Zhvanetsky wrote that Americans smile as if a light bulb had turned on in the mains. A wide smile on duty shines on the face of an American, but at the same time, the eyes can remain cold and indifferent to the interlocutor.

In the course of a polite conversation, a natural friendly smile, of course, is obligatory when greeting, since it acts as a signal of politeness and goodwill towards the interlocutor among Russians, Americans, and the British, Germans and French.

A greeting addressed to a familiar person, a Russian smile is accompanied by good wishes for health - “Hello!”. In Russian society, this norm of politeness to the interlocutor at a meeting is necessarily observed, and if this is not observed, then the conflict or resentment is not verbally demonstrated: “I passed and did not say hello!”

The American demonstrates a grin on duty, to every person with whom he met his eyes, acting on the principle - smile to everyone, maybe someone will like your smile, help someone, cheer someone up. The wider the American smiles when greeting, the more polite he shows at this moment, accompanying the smile with the phrase “How are you!”, which is not a question and, in fact, does not require a detailed answer about your life, it is enough to say: “OK”. The scheme of the American greeting to acquaintances and strangers is a broad smile, "Hi! How are you doing!" - OK. This rule is actively applied in the field of American trade and services.

A smile in the service sector in Western Europe and Eastern Asia is, above all, a display of courtesy. Chinese the proverb says - Who cannot smile, he will not be able to open a shop and trade". In Japan, in large department stores, girls stand at the entrance to the store and on the escalator, who greet visitors all day long, smile and bow to them, performing more than 2,500 smiles and bows in a day.
A smile of politeness in some Eastern cultures of Asia has the meaning of protecting the interlocutor from grief, from the unpleasant news that the narrator tells. Writer Vsevolod Ovchinnikov in the book " Sakura Branch» told about the Japanese who with a smile informed him of the death of his wife. A polite Japanese smile meant: This is my grief, and you should not be upset!

In Russian communicative behavior, a smile of politeness or “out of politeness” is considered unnatural, false, unpleasant, and therefore it is not accepted in Russian society, and even vice versa - a strained polite smile addressed to a Russian person usually causes alertness and even hostility. The phrase - "he smiled out of politeness" contains a disapproving attitude.

The constant polite smile among Russians is called "duty smile" and means insincerity, falsity, secrecy, hostility of the interlocutor, that is, it is considered a negative quality of a person. In a phrase "Remove your duty smile!", Annoyance is heard, and not approval.

3. In Russian communication, it is not customary to smile at strangers.
A smile in Russian society is addressed mainly to acquaintances. That is why Russian saleswomen do not smile at buyers, and buyers do not smile at sellers - they do not know each other. And saleswomen, as a rule, smile at familiar buyers.

4. It is not customary for Russians to automatically respond with a smile to the smile of strangers. Americans cannot understand why the customs officer who checks passports does not smile in response to the wide smiles of Americans. Americans don't understand why, when they make eye contact with strangers in the street, they never get a big smile in return. This observation is correct. If a stranger smiled at a Russian person, this would rather puzzle the Russian person and make him look for the reason for the wide smile addressed to him by the stranger. There can be many options for a Russian to think about this - “maybe I didn’t recognize a friend?”, “maybe I’m wearing something wrong?”, “maybe he knows something or wants to ask something?” etc.

The smile of a stranger is considered by a Russian person as a “impudent” invitation to make contact; by not responding to this smile, the Russian, as it were, protects himself from unwanted contact. A Russian will not always answer the smile of a familiar person with an automatic smile, since this is also an invitation to enter into a conversation, perhaps not desirable.

5. In Russian communication, it is not customary to smile at a person if you accidentally meet his gaze.
An American, meeting a stranger by chance, will smile broadly at him, and it is customary for Russians to look away, as if you accidentally invaded someone else's property, someone else's space. If eye contact is pleasant, a Russian may express it with a look, "smile with eyes."

6. The smile of a Russian person is a sign of personal disposition towards the interlocutor.
A Russian smile should always be accompanied by a smile of the eyes, which reflects sympathy for the acquaintance or stranger you meet. If the eyes do not participate in the smile, but remain cold, aloof, then this is reflected in the coldness of the smile. A smile demonstrates a personal disposition towards the interlocutor, which is why Russians smile only at acquaintances, since there is no personal disposition towards a stranger yet, it has not developed. That is why a Russian person can answer a stranger’s smile: “Do we know each other?”, That is, it means here: “Do you really have the right to invade my personal life ?!”

7. It is not customary for Russians to smile when performing any serious, responsible business at work, in the line of duty - a seller in a store, a waiter in a restaurant, a customs officer at a post, etc.

In Russia, the smile of the attendants was almost always absent - clerks, salesmen, waiters, servants in the line of duty were polite, helpful, but did not smile. The smile of a servant is an invasion of the emotional sphere of the owner.

The customs officer, sellers, waiters do not smile, because they are busy with a serious matter, they are doing their duty, they are in the service - there is no time for smiles. Russian personnel in the service sector, of course, need to be trained in professional “duty smiles”, since, by itself, this smile may not appear in them.

It is not accepted that children smile, smirk in the classroom, during a lesson at school. The smirks and smiles of students during the lesson are not appropriate, as they are not the correct reaction of the student to the teacher's question or to the story of the teacher of mathematics or chemistry on the new topic of the lesson. " What kind of laugh? I didn't say anything funny!

8. Russian smile is considered as a sincere expression of good mood or sympathy for the interlocutor and should be only sincere, and no other.
In the Russian mind, a sincere smile is a reflection of a good mood and a good attitude towards the interlocutor. In order for a Russian person to have the right to smile, he must really treat the interlocutor well, or he must be in a great mood at the moment.

9. The smile of a Russian person must have a reason known to others.
If a Russian person does not understand the reasons for the interlocutor's smile, the "unreasonable smile" can cause him serious concern, and the need to find out the reason for this smile. So, the director’s smile may seem incomprehensible to the saleswoman, and confuse her (“probably he found a shortage in me”). There is a unique saying in Russian that is absent in other languages ​​- "Laughter without a reason is a sign of a fool." People with Western thinking cannot understand the logic of this saying, they do not understand why Russians consider a person laughing for no apparent reason to be crazy and why laughter means a person's stupidity.

10. The reason for a person's smile should be transparent, understandable to others. If the reason is not clear or is considered insufficiently respectful for others, others may interrupt the smile, make a remark - "Why are you smiling?".

A worthy reason for a smile in Russian communication is recognized as material well-being, a joyful event in life, hence a good mood.
Dale Carnegie's call "Smile!", in a Russian audience usually leads to a replica: “ Why smile? There is not enough money, there are only problems around, and you smile.” Note the use of the pronoun what? why? The Russian consciousness does not perceive a smile as addressed to someone in space, as if it does not see a communicative meaning in it, but perceives a smile as a reflective signal of a good internal psychological mood based on personal spiritual and material well-being.

11. In Russian communicative culture, it is not customary to smile just to cheer up the interlocutor, to please the interlocutor, to support him. It is not customary for Russians to smile for the purpose of encouraging themselves.

Try to smile at yourself in the mirror and not think, but say three compliments to yourself out loud, for sure, you won’t succeed right away, but you can learn this with the help of psychological exercises with affirmations (from the English affirmative - positive, positive), that is, with positive sentences - with good, kind phrases.

If there is no good mood or material well-being, a Russian person will not smile. In a Japanese documentary about a forced landing of an airplane, a flight attendant was shown smiling at all passengers before an emergency landing, she did her job of reassuring passengers, and how she fell after the plane landed and writhed in hysterics after experiencing psychological stress.

Public opinion in Russia to some extent even condemns the self-cheering smile: “Her husband left her, but she walks and smiles,” or “she has seven shops, and she walks smiling” etc. - in these phrases, encouragement itself is condemned during a difficult life situation. There are many examples of positive thinking and encouraging affirmations to oneself in Russian folklore, revealing the resilient Russian spirit and Russian character.

In Russian folklore old proverbs and sayings have been preserved in which one can hear the hope for a successful outcome. For example, " was or was”, “where ours did not disappear”, “maybe it will blow over!”, “God will not give out, the pig will not eat”, “for one beaten they give two unbeaten”, “there will be a holiday on our street”, “What the hell is not jokes”, “whatever happens”, “hope in God, but don’t make a mistake yourself” and etc.

12. In the Russian mind, it takes a certain amount of time to smile.
A smile in the Russian mind is considered as a kind of independent step in communication, which in many cases is redundant. The Russian proverb “time for work, hour for fun” means, first work, then you will smile and have fun. In the USSR, the satirical phrase of Arkady Raikin was popular: “ Laughing should be in specially designated places!

13. A smile should be appropriate from the point of view of others, correspond to the situation of communication.
Most of the standard situations of Russian communication do not approve of a smile. It is not customary to smile in a tense situation - "no smiles". It is not customary to smile if there are people nearby who have grief, misfortune, serious grief, someone is sick, etc., as an inappropriate smile on your part can demonstrate a lack of sympathy for the person.

14. Smiling in a formal setting and in company demonstrates a good mood and friendliness of people.
The British are surprised that Russians smile and laugh all the time during dialogues among themselves in a formal office setting. (Brosnahan, p. 77). Namely, in the official setting of the office, where friendly relations have already been established, Russians demonstrate sincere smiles, friendly jokes, open emotions, and laughter. In the office team, established friendships allow openness and a smile as a sign of mutual goodwill and pleasant communication with colleagues.

15. Russians rarely smile, but often laugh. For Russians, the distance between a smile and laughter is not great; in life, often, a smile and laughter are identified, likened to one another.
Interestingly, the Russian words “laugh”, “grin” have a common Slavic root “cm”, which comes from a very ancient Vedic Sanskrit word from the Veda of hymns “Rig-Veda”: smi, smyate, smitya - smi, smayate, smitya - smile, blush, turn red or shining, shine (RV).
smita - smita - smile, gentle laughter;
samsmi - saMsmi- to be ashamed, to blush.

In many Indo-European languages, we find words consonant with Sanskrit words, but with some changes in pronunciation, for example: Old Russian. lang.- grin , bulg. - pacification , Serbian - laughter, Croatian. - osmijeh , Czech - Usměv , Ukrainian — laugh , Bosnian. - osmijeh , it. - sorriso , Spanish - sonrisa , catalan. - somriure , fr. - sourire , lat. - ipsum , Latvian. - smaids , lit. - Sypsena , made. - mocking a, english smile , Norwegian — smile , Polish.- uśmiech , words. - Usmev , port. — sorriso , rum. — zambet - to smile.

The Russian word "smile" is derived from the Old Russian word "to flatter", which means "to flatter, to fake"; "smiling" - a smile, weakening; "smile" - smile.

Household non-smiling of a Russian person , and not gloominess, is due to the cultural and historical traditions of the entire Slavic ethnic group, and the Russian people, in particular, not the desire to "coax", that is, "to flatter, to fake."

In fact, Russian people, for the most part, are cheerful, open, cheerful and witty people who know how not to lose heart and easily find a way out of the most difficult life situations. In Russian folklore, many proverbs and sayings have been preserved that confirm these qualities of the Russian people.

“Russian people are fearless like animals, friendly like angels, wise like nature, and trusting like children.”

A Russian person does not need to be understood, a Russian person needs to be felt. And those who succeed either fall in love with a Russian person forever, or most often they themselves soon become Russians.

Americans compare themselves with avocados, which have an outer soft shell, and inside a hard and not edible bone, and Americans compare Russian with a coconut, which has a hard shell on top, and juicy pulp and milk inside. You have to be able to open a coconut to enjoy its contents!

Smile, gentlemen, smile!

Russian proverbs and sayings:
He who laughs last laughs best.
Shut up, look around.
There is no truth in jokes.
There is no truth in jokes.
Who does not understand jokes, do not joke with him.
Joking jokes, but don't piss people off.
Know how to joke, know how to stop.
There is no better joke than on yourself
Do not jest, in which there is no way.
They don’t joke that they don’t give it to their hands.
Every joke is a joke.
A smile will set you on edge.
There is no laughing matter here.
There's no laughing matter here.
Business time, fun hour.
The joke doesn't go down the drain.
Jokingly, people drink honey.
Joked, joked and joked.
The boyar is happy with the jester, but he does not go in line with him.
The jester is not a jester, but a good bastard.
Jester striped / eversion, pea /
This is a joke to chickens.
The chickens are hungry.
It's young to laugh: the hair hasn't grown on the teeth yet.
Not before good cheered up.
It's laughter before tears.
You will not be full of laughter.
Laughter is a bagpipe: he blew it, played it and threw it.
Martyn joked, yes, and fell under the tyn.
Who is cheerful, and who hung his nose.
And it's funny that the stomach is thinner.
Behind the fun, sorrow follows on the heels.
Laughter takes with a fool, but grief is here.
Laughs chuckles, but business is business.
Beer is beer, business is business, but a joke go to a strange village.
Laughter with laughter, but a joke aside.
The devil would joke with the demon, the water man with the goblin.
Every joke is dissolved in two: whoever laughs, but the mouse is in trouble.
Bad joke bastard.
He frolicked, had fun, yes, he fell into the pit.
And not every joke suits a fool.
Who is funny, he is tearful.
From a fool and laughter crying rushing.
Know how to joke, know how to laugh it off.
Do not laugh, friend, not having outlived the century.
Laughter is good, but what kind of ridicule will be.
Whoever you laugh at, he will cry over you.
What you laugh at, you work for.
The last laugh is better than the first.
Do not laugh with your nose: the blow will stick (runny nose).
Don't laugh, peas: no better than beans.
Do not laugh, water: she is young.
Do not laugh, peas, at the beans - you yourself will be under your feet.
You joke on others, love a joke on yourself.
If you don't like jokes, don't joke about it.
If you love a joke on Thomas, then love on yourself.
It's also funny, but it went to the knife.
People used to be smarter, but now they are happier.
Seriously.
Joke is a joke, but business is business.
Joke joke, but buy rye.
The jester in friendship is wrong.
Don't believe the joke.
It's good to laugh on a dry shore.
The joke is not a joke.
Gnawing nuts is not for ridicule.
This joke is not in a fox coat. / that is, naked, rude, unpleasant /
Jokes to joke - people stir up.
Joke, but take care of the space behind your back.
Joke joke, but pay the debt.
Joke joke, but buy bread.
Lives on laughter.
You will ask for a century, you will live the word.
On the age-old joke no one will.
We live jokingly, but we really die.
An extra joke is not good for fun.
Joking well to paint. /before getting angry/
Joke over the other until the paint enters the face.
Don't joke more than a ruble. / more expensive than the ruble do not joke /
A joke won't do you any good.
A joke will do no good.
What laughter lives in is sin.
To joke the hell with your brother.
The joke doesn't do any good.
And laughter leads to sin.
And laughter, and sin.
Both laughter and grief.
Laughter for no reason is a sign of foolishness.
Other laughter responds to weeping.

The beauty queen in England this year is 24-year-old Cambridge student Karina Tyrall.
There are a few more photos under the cut. She will represent England in the Miss Universe pageant.

In my opinion, the girl, of course, is pretty, but she does not reach the beauty queen. At the same time, there are a lot of beautiful women in England, English women are not entirely scary, as many believe. But in the post I want to talk not about the beauty or harmony of features, but about the specifics of facial expressions and the manner of smiling.

What I really don't like is the on-duty grin. Especially in the last two frames. This is not a smile, this is a demonstration of teeth to the dentist. A lot has already been written about the difference between smiles in the West and in Russia. In the West, a smile is just a sign of politeness, it does not mean at all that a person is currently happy and glad about something. This is all clear. This is a feature of culture, and in principle, sometimes a hypocritical smile is better than a gloomy but sincere face. But why the smile turns into a grin - that's what I don't understand.

How many years I have lived in England, it still never ceases to amaze me how stony and grinning faces the British have with on-duty-forced-polite smiles. Below in the photo is an ordinary married couple, not actors, not models, a photo of a married couple from a newspaper. And the woman is pretty and the child, but they both have, again, a grin that disfigures the most beautiful facial features in my opinion. What is most interesting, children, despite all their spontaneity, literally from the cradle learn to grin in this way. The mouth is puckered, and the eyes are glassy. For me it's amazing.

After all, I also smile a lot on duty in England, and I also take pictures with a smile, but even when I’m in a bad mood and I have to smile for a shot or for politeness, I never get such a grin and glassy eyes, and even they have children get. To make a grin, I need to tighten up, I need to deliberately disconnect the upper part of the face from the lower one, it doesn’t work out that way for me at all. When I smile, even the most “on duty”, the reaction of all the muscles of my face is automatically triggered, the whole face seems to “lift”, all the muscles of the face are involved ... but they don’t.

And I still don’t understand why you need to show your teeth when you smile.

When the British are in their own circle, in the circle of friends, they are very lively and quite sincere, therefore such a difference between a smile for their own and a smile for politeness strikes me.

The Guardian once posted a selection of photographs of Tsarist Russia at the turn of the century, the people in the photo are like people, with human faces, and not dentist patients with a grin for examination. So, most of the comments on those photos from modern Western readers boiled down to questions, jokes and sarcasm about gloomy faces, they say, why don’t they smile, it’s hard to see life.

In my post about you can see an example of two more "beauties" - glass eyes. And in general, read this post, if not yet, I will say with all indiscretion that it is very interesting.