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Single-stage Dynamic Reanimation of the Smile in Irreversible Facial Paralysis by Free Functional Muscle Transfer
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Smiling makes you look older.

Tzvi Ganel1

  • 1Department of Psychology, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, 84105, Israel. tganel@bgu.ac.il.

Psychonomic Bulletin & Review
|April 10, 2015
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Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Smiling faces are perceived as older, not younger, contrary to common belief. This effect is linked to the visibility of smile-associated wrinkles, impacting age perception.

Keywords:
Age evaluationsFace perceptionFacial expression

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Area of Science:

  • Psychology
  • Social Psychology
  • Perception

Background:

  • Smiling is a key nonverbal communication tool in social interactions.
  • Facial expressions, including smiles, influence how individuals perceive others' age.
  • A common assumption is that smiling faces appear younger than neutral faces.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the effect of smiling on perceived age.
  • To challenge the conventional assumption that smiles make people look younger.
  • To identify the underlying mechanisms of smile-induced age perception.

Main Methods:

  • A series of experiments were conducted using various facial stimuli.
  • Participants were shown photos of individuals with neutral and smiling expressions.
  • Perceived age was assessed across different experimental conditions and stimulus sets.

Main Results:

  • Smiling faces were consistently perceived as older than neutral faces of the same individuals.
  • This effect was robust across different experimental conditions and stimulus sets.
  • The age-perception shift was attributed to the observer's difficulty in ignoring smile-associated wrinkles, particularly around the eyes.

Conclusions:

  • The study reveals a counterintuitive finding regarding the relationship between smiling and perceived age.
  • Smiling does not consistently lead to perceptions of youthfulness.
  • Observer's attention to facial wrinkles associated with smiling plays a crucial role in age perception, challenging existing beliefs.