# Story 3: The psychology of facial expressions at work - **Episode:** [142](https://agents.truthliesandwork.com/episodes/142.md) (2024-11-05) - **Type:** news-roundup - **Tags:** psychology, facial-expressions, body-language, workplace - **Time:** 11:19–15:30 (start 679s) - **Listen:** [https://truthliesandwork.com/142?t=679](https://truthliesandwork.com/142?t=679) --- [11:19] Leanne Elliott: I don't know, it's fairly quiet. What are we, Tuesday the 5th of November? I think there's not much going on today apart from, from the Grow Europe. I don't know. Um, oh, of course, it's the US elections day, isn't it? Slipped my mind. Um, yes, as the states are deciding if it'll be Trump or Harris. Um, everything's just getting a little bit tense, isn't it? So I thought I'd bring you something lighter, albeit very loosely related. Al, have you heard of the saying, smile and the world smiles with you? [11:49] Al Elliott: I think that's a song, isn't it? [11:51] Leanne Elliott: Well, it turns out that there is some real psychology behind it. Um, so previously on the show, we did talk about how Kamala Harris belly laugh was getting quite the reaction. People loved it or hated it, but nobody could deny it did inject some much-needed energy into the, um, the US presidential campaigns. Um, but I'm not here to talk about Kamala Harris because anytime that I do, I get trolled on social media. YouTube, don't come for me. What I am here to talk about is actually about how our facial expressions can affect our mood. So a new study from the University of Essex published in Emotion dives into the idea that facial expressions can influence how we feel, something known as the facial feedback hypothesis. So maybe you've heard about the pen-in-the-mouth experiment where people mimicked a smile and then rated cartoons as funnier. Have you heard about that one? [12:44] Al Elliott: Oh no [12:44] Leanne Elliott: So put your pencil, put your pencil in your mouth. No, like, so it's like it's horizontal, like you're chewing on it like that. Why do you look sad? That's meant to— that's meant to be a smile. Anyway, yes. Oh my goodness. Moving on. Um, some new research that was reported in The Psychologist, um, has pointed out, um, some interesting, interesting findings on this as well, albeit using a slightly different and probably more reliable— after we've seen your demonstration, Al— methods. Um, so it used electrodes stimulate the muscles that create smiles and frowns. And the results? Well, when participants' smile muscles— [13:27] Al Elliott: Again [13:28] Leanne Elliott: And the results? So when participants' smile muscles were activated, they felt happier even without any extra triggers like a funny video or memory. If they were shown positive images while their smile muscles were activated, their mood even improved. On the other hand, stimulating frown muscles led to feeling down, especially when paired with sad, sad images. So the effects are small, but they do suggest that our expressions don't just show our feelings, they can shape them. So while a forced grin might not flip your day upside down entirely, um, it does potentially go some way to making you feel a bit better. This made me think about our fabulous guest Annabelle from last week, our Gen Z. who shared one of her tips for resilience and confidence was to smile at herself in the mirror. Said it, you know, made herself laugh, made herself feel better, and had more energy to go on with her day. Well, Annabelle, science and psychology backs you up. It is an excellent thing to do to lift your mood in the morning. Um, I thought that was kind of a cool study. Al, thoughts? [14:30] Al Elliott: Yeah, I think— well, when I was in sales and doing then banging the phones, we're always told to stand up and smile on the Because you could actually, you could actually feel or hear it through, through the voice. But I also felt that when I smiled, I had a better day, even though I was cold calling and it was a bit, it was a bit, it was a bit rubbish. I did feel like I had a better day. So yeah, I can see this. I can see this working. And also, you know, if you— if I used to, when I did have a job, in fact, it might be the same job actually, what I really didn't like, I used to watch funny videos before I went to work [15:03] Leanne Elliott: Yeah [15:03] Al Elliott: Um, which really helped because then I was going to work with a smile on my face. And then, like you said, it must have transferred and made me get through the day, which wasn't a brilliant job, which is why I left and started my own business. But that's a different story [15:13] Leanne Elliott: Yeah, absolutely. So if anyone is, you know, over the next few days and watching those election results roll in, whichever way it goes and whichever side of the political spectrum you are on, um, if it's not going your way, just smile. Give a little smile. Your, uh, your mood shall lift