Facial feedback theory is a psychological concept that suggests that the facial expressions we make can influence our emotional state. This theory was first proposed by Charles Darwin in the 19th century, and it has since been supported by a large body of research.
According to facial feedback theory, when we make facial expressions that are associated with a particular emotion, such as smiling when we are happy or frowning when we are angry, we can actually increase or decrease the intensity of that emotion. For example, if you smile when you are feeling down, you may find that your mood improves as a result of the smile. On the other hand, if you frown when you are feeling happy, you may find that your mood becomes more negative.
There are several ways in which facial feedback theory might work. One possibility is that the muscles in our face send signals to the brain that help to regulate our emotional state. For example, when we smile, the muscles in our face send signals to the brain that may help to increase the production of neurotransmitters such as serotonin, which can help to improve our mood. Similarly, when we frown, the muscles in our face may send signals to the brain that may decrease the production of neurotransmitters such as serotonin, which can lead to a negative mood.
Another possibility is that our facial expressions influence the way that we interpret the events around us. For example, if we are feeling happy and we smile, we may be more likely to interpret events in a positive way. On the other hand, if we are feeling down and we frown, we may be more likely to interpret events in a negative way. This suggests that our facial expressions can play a role in shaping our emotional experiences.
There is also some evidence to suggest that facial feedback theory may have an impact on our social interactions. For example, if we are smiling and making positive facial expressions when we interact with others, they may be more likely to respond in a positive way. On the other hand, if we are frowning and making negative facial expressions, they may be more likely to respond in a negative way.
Overall, facial feedback theory is a fascinating concept that has the potential to shed light on the complex relationship between our emotions, our facial expressions, and our social interactions. While there is still much research to be done in this area, the evidence so far suggests that our facial expressions can play a significant role in shaping our emotional experiences and the way that we interact with others.
Facial feedback theory
However, this largely depends on whether or not it comes along with proper muscular activities. Development of the theory One of the first to do so, Silvan Tomkins wrote in 1962 that "the face expresses affect, both to others and the self, via feedback, which is more rapid and more complex than any stimulation of which the slower moving visceral organs are capable". The effect of laughter on evaluation of a slapstick movie. In particular, the skeletal muscles were identified as important contributors. For example, sometimes the same physiological symptoms can be involved with very different emotions. One of my participants asked if the drops under the cheeks were to represent tears, but was not excluded from the study. While there could be several explanations for the reduced depression, most researchers assume it is due to the reduced facial feedback from frowning because, after BTX treatment, the patient is unable to frown Lewis, 2018.
Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 13, 131-154. Believe it or not, psychologists have been wondering about this since the nineteenth century, and over time, multiple theories have been developed about the role physiological arousal plays in emotion. As such, it gives an explanation why those participants who were not aware of the distinction between the two factors of humor responses had their assessment of the cartoons influenced by the facial feedback. Example of Facial Feedback Hypothesis at Work The best example of this theory is easy to perform. They contribute to and sustain what we are feeling. When both the original study and its failed replication are correct: Feeling observed eliminates the facial-feedback effect. The first experiment focuses on the efficiency of the procedures used.
On the contrary, the facial movement made with the pen between the lips contracts the orbicularis muscle, which inhibits the muscular activity necessary to smile. Funniness rating was higher when the pen was held in the teeth as cartoons were shown and as the participants rated the cartoons. This work was supported by funding from the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program at the University of Utah awarded to Katherine Wright References Coles, N. Instead, the experimenter would point at the muscles that were supposed to be contracted. Believe it or not, psychologists have been wondering about this since the nineteenth century, and over time, multiple theories have been developed about the role physiological arousal plays in emotion.
The facial feedback hypothesis states that facial movement can influence emotional experience. Similarly, they may infer their emotional states from what they do. Get Help With Your Essay If you need assistance with writing your essay, our professional essay writing service is here to help! These studies continue to this day, and have developed significantly since the 1960s, at which time theories about affectivity take on special relevance in the social and cognitive sciences. On right, the model holds the pen between the teeth, facilitating smile muscles. Specifically, it was found that the facial expression of emotions that are linked to approach e. Do you agree with this idea? This would be an anomaly as the large scale resulted quite differently.
More recent discussion regarding the facial feedback hypothesis has centered around a plausible explanation for the reduced depression found in patients who received cosmetic botulinum toxin injections BTX to reduce frown lines. Our facial expressions can influence our emotions. The groundwork for this theory was laid by psychologist Magda B. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54 5 , 768-777. But do you think that facial feedback can actually generate emotions altogether? Voluntary expressive changes and emotion. The experimenter explained to them the various ways one can use to hold a pen.
These ideas influenced the facial-feedback hypothesis by suggesting that changes in facial muscles and expressions can affect a person's emotional state. Mori and Mori 2007 put forward that if a subject was to have water drops applied to their cheeks and allowed to run down, it would have a depressing affect on the subject without having them realize correlation with the emotion sadness. London, UK: William Clowes and Sons. Journal of Personality, 38, 16-30 Leventhal, H. Children are unable to justify why they play with toys until a researcher explains intrinsic motivation to them Empty stomachs contract, causing both hunger pangs and the secretion of chemical messages that travel to the brain to serve as a signal to initiate feeding behavior.
The theory of facial feedback: gestures that create emotions
Facial expressions can impact your mood and your mental health Frowning can make you grumpier and smiling can make you happier Studies show disabling frown-related muscles reduces depression. Do emotions cause the symptoms, or vice-versa? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Richard Lazarus noted this cognitive appraisal can happen unconsciously, and that we can misattribute arousal, or relate it to emotions inaccurately. Autonomic nervous system activity distinguishes among emotions. Does this make sense to you? The results from this paradigm have also been consistent with the facial feedback hypothesis.
They theorized that when a person faces a particular situation, their brain sends signals throughout the body that result in physical changes in response to the situation. Share this: Facebook Facebook logo Twitter Twitter logo Reddit Reddit logo LinkedIn LinkedIn logo WhatsApp WhatsApp logo Abstract Facial feedback theory testing was the main question of this study. In 2016, almost three decades after the Strack, Martin and Stepper experiment, the psychologist and mathematician Eric-Jan Wagenmakers, together with his collaborators, replicated the sustained pen experiment. Their Cannon-Bard theory of emotion suggests that we experience emotions at the same time as we experience physiological arousal; or, the emotion and the arousal are simultaneous. In this way, the researchers measured facial activity associated with smiling, and wanted to see if the subjective experience of joy was related to such activity. In the late 19th century, William James 1842-1910 , who is also known as the father of functionalist psychology, formulated one theory.
The relationship of emotion to cognition: A functional approach to a semantic controversy. Martin, and Sabine Stepper conducted a study in which they asked participants to watch a series of funny cartoons. The researchers discovered that subjects that viewed the cartoons with the teeth only which facilitated a smile rated the cartoons significantly funnier than those who held the pen with lips only which inhibited a smile or with the non-dominant hand. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 40, 350-354. The role of facial response in the experience of emotion. This is the main assumption of the facial feedback hypothesis. This FFH research was one of the first to successfully blind the subjects to the actual purpose of the study, which increased confidence in the results.
As such, it is possible that recipients may have repressed their proper emotional response to the stimulus Izard, 1977. The testers should all have either agreed on a single way to introduce the experiment, as well as how many drops and where on the temple and cheek, or shown how to; either way there should have been one way all participants were treated. Who gave facial feedback theory? One of the first to do so, :255 Two versions of the facial feedback hypothesis came to be commonly referenced, albeit sometimes being unclear in distinction. However, the fact that affective consequences can be obtained from facial expressions even if their emotional meaning is disguised suggests that more direct mechanisms may be operating as well. The effect of external observation on affective experience Faced with the above controversy, Tom Noah, Yaacov Schul and Ruth Mayo 2018 replicated the study again, first using a camera and then omitting its use. The second experiment further validated the method used and was used to answer some of the important questions that had not been answered in the previous experiments.
