Why you should start grinning the “Duchenne smile”
A COLUMN By Kathryn Ross
People aren’t smiling. I remember an ad from the 1950s or ‘60s of a family driving down the road in their station wagon and everyone, including the family dog, has a great big smile on their face. You don’t see that much anymore.
The1950s and the early 1960s were good times. People had jobs. Growing families only needed one income to survive. As they used to say “there were two cars in every garage and a chicken in every pot.”
Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy were our presidents. Businesses were booming. The modern highway system across the nation was being built and aside from the threat of communist aggression, the Cold War and the McCarthy hearings, life was OK. After World War II the United States was making good on the promises of 1776, unless you were black.
I guess what I’m trying to point out in this column is that the times were good and most people were happy, but then I was a ten year old kid, what did I really know? Still we didn’t have a 24-hour news cycle that constantly reminded us of all the horrible and evil things that were taking place. We were naïve, but happy in our ignorance. Those smiling families were everywhere.
You don’t see a lot of people randomly smiling these days. People are rather grim faced.
My friend and I were talking about it yesterday as we sat in the bank selling tickets for the June 7th Babcock BBQ. (Excuse the blatant advertising.)
We noticed that as people did their bank business they didn’t smile. Whether coming or going their faces were grim.
They didn’t smile until we went into our soft pitch. “Have a nice day,” didn’t bring out the pearly whites. That didn’t happen until we got a little more persistent saying things like “Oh what a beautiful jacket” or “What a friendly baby.” Then people engaged, smiled and started talking.
Scientists say a smile is a facial expression that conveys emotions such as happiness, sociability, or amusement and can vary in type and social meaning. A smile is primarily formed by flexing the muscles at the sides of the mouth often involving the zygomaticus major and orbicularis oculi muscles which can create the distinctive crows feet around the eyes and genuine smiles known as Duchenne smiles. Smiling is deeply rooted in human biology and psychology triggering the release of neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin which enhance mood and reduce stress. Evolutionarily smiles may have originated from the fear grin in primates signaling harmlessness or submission.
Smiles serve as a universal form of communication expressing delights, sociability, joy or amusement, but they can also convey embarrassment, sarcasm or discomfort depending on cultural and social context. They influence social interactions by making individuals appear more approachable and likeable and they can reinforce social bonds and even manipulate social situations.”
Ever run into a person who shakes their head yes, and smiles while trying to convince you of something?
“Types of smiles include the Duchenne smile – a genuine smile involving both mouth and eye muscles signaling true happiness or affection.
The reward smile – which expresses contentment or approval and often reinforces positive behavior and social interactions.
The polite or social smile – which is a controlled smile used to maintain social harmony and is sometimes devoid or genuine emotion.
So what is it, Trump Derangement Syndrome, the economy, a lack of faith, or too much news? There seems to be a genuine lack of happiness. There is too much gloom and doom. All the movies, television shows and games played on our phones and computers are full of violence and bloodshed.
I loved the Yellowstone series, but it felt kind of strange to be routing for characters who thought nothing of killing or cheating.
Today not every event foretells the end of the world. Some say we are desensitized. I think people are more sensitive than ever before. To my mind we need to realize that not everything that happens relates to Armageddon, maybe we just have to start looking for the rainbow, the happy medium, the full glass and stop our obsessions over the national news, Trump and what’s wrong with the nation and the world. We can’t ignore things, but we don’t have to dwell and commiserate.
We need to look at what’s right with the world and smile when we’re driving down the road in our SUVs.
Kathryn Ross is a Wellsville lifelong resident, a journalist, writer, and community activist. You can reach her anytime, kathr_2002@yahoo.com
