Emotional Contagion and Facial Expressions

Taylor Wade Queens University of Charlotte

Introduction The purpose of this study is examine how factors such as gender and companionship can affect smiling and other nonverbal facial expressions. Previous studies have indicated that women smile more often than men Morse (1982), and that people do not only naturally mimic other peoples smiles, but feel emotions of happiness (Sonnby-Borgstrm, 2002).

Angry Pictures

Sad Pictures

Hypotheses This first hypothesis, derived from Morse Smiling Pictures (1982), claims that women smile more often than men. The second hypothesis claims that people do not only naturally mimic other peoples smiles, but feel emotions of happiness (SonnbyBorgstrm, 2002).

Method
Participants The participants were 30 undergraduate college students ranging from ages 18-24. 15 females and 15 males. Procedure Participants were tested in a secluded testing room on campus at Queens University of Charlotte . .Participants were placed in pairs in either the men-men group (N=10), women-women group (N=10), or the men-women group (N=10). They were shown a series of three smiling pictures, three sad pictures, and three angry pictures. After viewing each picture the participants facial expressions were recorded as either; (1) no smile, (2) half-smile, (3) full smile. Participants also completed a questionnaire that measured their emotional levels of happiness, sadness, and anger after each picture.

Results The hypotheses that was supported claimed that smiling at someone will cause that person to smile back, and that they will experience feelings of happiness as well. Participants smiled more often and rated their feelings of happiness as higher when looking at the smiling pictures (M=11.7667), compared to the angry pictures (M=6.000) and sad pictures (M=4.000). The three smiling pictures also received the highest ratings of happiness (M=4.100, SD=.662, M=4.200, SD=.664, M= 3.467, SD= .937), (F (1,29)=122.92, p < .0001). There was no significant difference in gender. Most smiling was in the girl-girl group (M=14.300), followed by the guy-guy group (M=14.100), and the guy-girl group (M=11.600). Conclusion From the study I can conclude that smiling at someone will not only cause them to smile back, but they will feel emotions of happiness as well. When participants viewed the three smiling pictures, they not only smiled in response but they reported greater feelings of happiness when compared to the angry and sad pictures. Although there was a slight difference in gender, it was not significant enough to support the hypothesis that women smile more often than men. A possible confound in the study was that individuals may have been smiling at something other than the picture, or may have felt uncomfortable during the testing. Participants who were with a companion that they knew were much more expressive, especially when the participants were familiar with the experimenter.