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The Wisdom of Psychopaths
In this groundbreaking adventure into the worlds of psychopaths, the renowned psychologist Kevin Dutton argues that there is a fine line between a brilliant...
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At one time or other, someone has probably told you “it’s written all over your face.” That’s because your emotions can influence your expressions. Well, a study in the journal Psychological Science suggests that the reverse is also true: that the look on your face may influence your ability to process emotions.
Psychologists have a theory called the facial-feedback hypothesis. It states that your mug and your emotions interact. So, when you’re happy, you smile, and the act of smiling boosts your feelings of joy. To test the theory, psychologists reached for the botox. They used the toxin to deaden the muscles that control frowning.
Then they asked their frown-free friends to read statements that were either angry (about telemarketers), happy (about water parks), or sad (no e-mails on your birthday). And they found that the folks on botox took longer to read and understand the sad and angry sentences than they did the happy ones. Their inability to scowl seemed to impair their ability to see why pushy telemarketers or a lack of birthday wishes might make one’s face fall. It all suggests that you should smile as you read the newspaper. Maybe things won’t seem so bad.
—Karen Hopkin
[The above text is an exact transcript of this podcast.]
11 Comments
Add CommentWHOOOOOO are the psychologists??? Is it impossible for this publication to name them?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisA university reference or the name of the article in Psychological Science?
Do you have to make it harder for someone to actually read more about these happy little snippets of information?
You linked the word "Water" but not the reference article! And you linked water to a inane search of SA articles that include water! As if this is somehow pertinent!
I'm left wondering if the results indicate that the brain prevented the negative emotions from occurring, or if the negative emotions were still had, but not understood. While the former could be seen as good for some people, the latter, probably not. Where's the original article?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thissjd0218: "Marc Axel Wollmer, the psychiatrist in charge of the trials being held jointly at Basle University, Switzerland, and Hanover University, Germany".
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisTook about a minute of research with Google...
I used the keywords "facial-feedback hypothesis botox"
This study leaves me wondering two things: 1) Did the researchers really try hard to get unbiased results when such an interesting and sensational result could be 'found'? 2) How do people reading this simply believe such a suspicious result?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThank you MCMalkemus.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisActually, it's probably showing that Botox slows the brain's ability to process anything because it's a toxin that's plugged in pretty close to where the brain lives.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisActually, it's probably an indication that the brain itself is impaired, rather than the ability to react to emotional stimuli. After all, a toxin is being injected pretty close to where the brain lives.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHave they ruled out the possibility that the type of person who might be interested in so much botox that they can no longer smile, might also be the type of person who's emotionally incapable of deeper feelings?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI'm not trying to be flippant! The 'icy beauty' has been around for ages. Maybe he / she is that way because of an inability to perceive emotions? Other than vice versa, as this study suggests.
Or maybe I've mis read this - if they actually tested the same people both before and after botox? In that case it's really fascinating!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI agree 1000000000% on that. when in a either a good mood ot bad mood it will always show onmy face. Its kind of weird ur body does it but i think it for attation then anything else.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisi also think you see it more in girls then guys.
This doesn't surprise me. I've long believed that External expressions of internal states are a two way thing. I don't remember the article, but there was something else I read on this site not too long ago, that went along with this basic idea.
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