Short Paper smile experiment

1 Running head: The Smile Experiment

“The Smile Experiment: Participant-Observation Study”

Student Name

Southern New Hampshire University

2 The Smile Experiment

Abstract

The scientific debate over the reason for facial expressions varies from adaptation,

empathy, to underlying social motives. Scientific research in neurosurgery tells us that

mimicking facial expressions as well as giving off facial expressions as social cues is how we

interact with other minded humans (Steubar, 2014). The idea behind this study to show varying

facial expressions in two different social situations. Conducted at an outdoor shopping mall as a

participant observation I was able to engage fellow consumers in a naturalistic experiment to see

if they would mimic a smile. The prediction was that there would be a positive outcome while

shopping were as consumers who were eating would show more negative engagement. Although

the prediction was not significant enough to support the research hypothesis, the study does shine

a light on the purpose for facial expressions and social cues.

3 The Smile Experiment

What’s in a smile, is it a biological instinct which displays inner emotions or a social cue

of underlying motives? Charles Darwin argues that facial expressions are primordial instincts

which have evolved as instinctive survival mechanisms. A study done by the University of

Amsterdam argues that facial expressions are social acts which display individual’s intentions in

a given situation. Thus, if a smile serves as a social act, these facial displays should vary across

different social situations (Jakobs, 1999). Theodor Lipps, the father of exploration into human

empathy, suggests that humans are minded creatures with the need for “inner imitation.”

Inspired by Lipps’ philosophy neuroscientists have found that mirror neurons act as a mechanism

to help human perception of other’s emotions based on facial expressions (Steuber, 2014).

Therefore, it is in our nature to empathize with other minded creatures by mimicking, or

mirroring, facial expressions such as a smile.

The purpose of this study was to blend together the idea that it is in our human nature to

mimic the facial expressions of others and that facial expressions are social acts that will vary

across different social situations. The research hypothesis was if I smile at 10 customers while

shopping the feedback will result in greater positivity than smiling at people who are eating at a

restaurant. The null hypothesis of course predicted the results would be the same. The idea is

that people would be in a more positive mind set than those who were engaged in a task such as

eating. The study was held in a popular outdoor shopping mall during a busy retail weekend.

The primary focus was to engage consumers in direct eye contact while smiling to find if they

mimicked the facial expression. Second, customers at a busy restaurant in mall where engaged

in the same manner with greater difficulty, because they were focused on eating. The outward

4 The Smile Experiment

facial expressions of the participants were operationalized on a scale with an expression scale

ranging from 4 as a smile to 1 as an angry expression.

Method

This was a naturalistic observation study because the focus was on consumers in the

shopping mall and customers at a restaurant. This study was also primarily participant

observation and was concealed. As a fellow shopper and diner the researcher could gather more

authentic data when observing the mimicry of facial expressions as social cues (Cozby & Bates,

2014). The study was conducted on an especially busy shopping day which was the last

Saturday before the beginning of School, which in Tennessee is also a tax-free holiday. This

would ensure the environment to be particularly busy. During the primary phase of the study

held inside shops at the mall yielded participants that were primarily mother’s with their children

who ranged in estimated ages of 10-15. During this phase I simply shopped with the participants

and attempted to make eye contact and administer a smile. Figure 1.1 shows the scale on which

the returned facial expressions were rated.

The secondary phase was conducted in a restaurant in front of the mall during lunch time.

The tax-free holiday also ensured there would be ample opportunity to engage consumers. This

proved to be a difficult task as predicted because the customers were engaged in the task of

eating and rarely looked up to afford the engagement opportunity. Frequent trips were made to

the restaurant to attempt engagement. Although, as predicted, the second phase in the restaurant

would deem itself more difficult in engaging empathetic mimicry the hypothesis results were not

as predicted. See figure 1.2 for results. The independent variable in this study is the different

social situations: one, shopping and two, dining. The dependent variable is the range of facial

expressions.

5 The Smile Experiment

The participants who engaged in facial mimicry the most were those who were focused

less on a particular task. Mothers who shopped with their children were focused on the task of

picking out clothes and controlling their children whereas the children were less engaged in the

activity thus more apt to smile. The mothers who did make eye contact and immediately

returned to their task with no change in facial expression were given a neutral rating. There was

one father with a family who stood idly by as the mother engaged herself with the task of

shopping for the children while he was not engaged in the task took the time to smile. One

participant, the single adult female, while waiting in the checkout line engaged me in

conversation after the exchange of smiles. She was not focused on a particular task and chose to

exchange friendly banter during her wait.

The second phase of the study aforementioned was slightly more difficult because

everyone in the restaurant was engaged in a task. Whether people were conversing or eating,

they were unaware of those around them and rarely looked up. The restaurant experience took

longer due to the need to wait for people to get up from their seats in order to engage or for new

customers to sit down. Also, I took a few trips to the restroom in order to pass by several

customers in order to catch a glance. Astoundingly, the only negative feedback received in the

day resulted in a frown from a waitress. Otherwise, responses that resulted in immediate return

to task without change in expression resulted in a neutral rating.

Figure 1.1

Smile Neutral Negative Angry

4 3 2 1

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Figure 1.2

Shopping Parent/Child Role/Age-range Gender Facial Expression Rating

Mother Female 3 Mother Female 3 Father Male 4 Mother Female 3 Child Male 4 Child Female 4 Employee Female 4 Single Adult Female 4 Employee Female 4 Mother Female 3

Sample Mean 3.6 Dining

Parent/Child Role/Age-range Gender Facial Expression Rating Father Male 3 Child Female 4 Waitress Female 2 Teenager Male 4 Teenager Female 4 Older/Grandparent Male 3 Mother Female 4 Father Male 3 Young Couple Female 3 Young Couple Male 4

Sample Mean 3.4

Results

Although, as predicted, the shopping experience did yield a higher score resulting in a

higher positivity rating the difference in the sample’s mean would not be statistically significant

enough to reject the null hypothesis (Aron, 2011). Arguably, the difficulty in obtaining results

from phase two of the study as well as the lack of engagement by mother’s engaged in various

tasks shows that facial expressions are social cues. Those who were engaged in tasks may not

have reciprocated the facial expression given by me; however, they gave a social cue to signify

they were preoccupied and uninterested in my offer for social engagement. Those who were less

7 The Smile Experiment

preoccupied engaged in the social exchange of a smile. Thus, whether or not the sample’s means

were statistically significant enough to support the hypothesis that a shopping experience would

give more positive facial expressions than at a restaurant the participants did give varying social

cues across the two social situations.

The study could be further improved by walking up to shoppers and attempting to engage

them in conversations. Afterward, have the participants rate their emotions about being

interrupted while shopping. The restaurant phase could be improved by sending two different

waiters to groups of tables, one who smiles and one who does not. Have the customers fill out a

survey about their waiters at the end of their meal. Further studies can be conducted to shed light

on social cues various social cues in more demanding settings such as classrooms, hospitals, or

police stations.

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References

Aron, A., Coups, E., and Aron, E. (2011). Statistics for the Behavioral and Social Sciences: A Brief Course (5th ed). Pearson.

Cozby, Paul C., Bates, Scott C. (2012). Methods in Behavioral Research (11th Ed.) New York,

NY: McGraw Hill.

Jakobs, Esther, Manstead, Antony S.R., Fischer, Agneta H. (1999). Social Motives and

Emotional Feelings as Determinants of Facial Displays: The Case of Smiling. Pers Soc

Psychol Bull, 25, 4 424-435.

Stueber, Karsten. (2014). "Empathy", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2014

Edition). Accessed on <http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2014/entries/empathy/>.