Darwin published his findings on evolution of facial expression in his 1872 work The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals. His theory of primate to human facial evolution is divided into three parts, and deals with the fact that as our pre-human ancestors repeatedly reacted to stimuli in similar ways, our nerves and facial muscles adapted to allow us to continue to react with the same gestures. Darwin comprised his theory from three main points. The Principle of Associated Habits held that “consciously performed behaviors, originally necessary to survival, become unconsciously associated with certain states of the mind and through ‘habit’ come to be unconsciously performed when these states of mind are aroused, even if the original action is unnecessary” (Ekman, p 14). The Principle of Antitheis stated, “Once a habitual pattern is established because it is useful, the arousal of the opposite emotion induces an involuntary tendency to carry out movement directly opposed to the habitual pattern.”(Collier, p 76). The final Principle of Direct Action of the Nervous System held that “the excited nervous system acts directly and involuntarily on the body” (Ekman, p 14). According to Darwin’s work, primates evolved to gain the adaptive advantage of being able to express fear, danger, surprise, etc with the face (Skolnikoff, p52).
Our project will attempt to hone in specifically on one facial expression, the smile. The smile can convey a gamut of emotion, from intense joy, to embarrassment, to romantic interest. We have different types of smiles to suit different emotional intent and can read others based on what type of smile they present. Our smile evolved from “what was originally a primate fear expression,” a “grin” seen on the faces of lemurs and monkeys in distress (Skolnikoff, p 82). Interestingly, the human “fear” expression has no real counterpart in the primate world. The hypothesis for our project is as follows:
Smiling plays a crucial role in determining the favorability of a mate; we use smiling as a way to communicate our attraction or interest in a another person. We smile more around those that we are physically or emotionally attracted too, and refrain from smiling when we wish to defer a suitors advance.
b. By studying the smile as it occurs in social contexts between men and women, we hope to discover patterns that might lead to conclusions about nonverbal sex differences. There is evidence that women smile more and are generally more facially expressive than men, and we hope to be able to test this theory through observation and surveying. This project will hopefully provided conclusive evidence that smiling plays a pivotal role in mate selection and that women smile more in order to attract the attention of male counterparts.
c. This project is particularly relevant to the college collective because college age students are at the peak of reproductive capability and sexual fertility. College is viewed as a time when people are expected to date, and many people find future marriage partners while seeking undergraduate and graduate degrees. College students are also often engaged in leisure activities such as parties and dancing where they can meet each other and interact romantically.
2. Relevance of the research question
a. Several researchers have investigated facial expression and the role it plays in social interaction. Paul Ekman is one of the foremost facial kinesicists (body language scientists) and has published several studies in the past that sought to find patterns in facial expressive behavior. Ekman studied infants in 1979 and determined that smiling is an innate gesture that humans can exhibit from birth. He did extensive research with cross-cultural facial expression, and in 1971 found that members of a New Guinea bush tribe were able to identify the emotions portrayed in several pictures of Americans even though they had no contact with American media or American society. In 1972 Ekman and his team of kinesicists discovered that American and Japanese citizens are more facially expressive while watching films if they believe that they are alone in the theater (Collier, p62).
Numerous published works exist on the topic of facial expression, most with detailed analysis of the smile as it is used in cultures worldwide. Gary Collier of the University of Cape Breton wrote Emotional Expression, a book that synthesized much of the recent study concerning facial behavior. Collier explores the innateness of smiling and draws conclusions about its usefulness based on research conducted by several different kinesicists. Paul Ekman edited Darwin and Facial Expression, a book that details how Darwin’s theories of evolution apply to the evolution of facial expression. The book explains the minutia of muscle adaptation and the evolution of complex nervous systems that gradually allowed animals to use their faces for expressing emotion. Hedwig Lewis published Body Language, a Guide for Professionals to explain how one might use their body and face effectively in business and social situations. The work also contains a lot of theory on the whys and how of nonverbal communication, and is clearly written to provide a concise introduction to the uses of body language.
b. The intricacies of romantic interaction between men and women have been the subject of written texts, music and art since the creation of Adam and Eve. This project will hopefully provide some insight into the whys behind these interactions, and address questions of mate selection that could be applied to the world at large. The art of communication is exceedingly important to healthy relationships, and nonverbal communication accounts for approximately fifty-five percent of human language (Lewis, p20). If a research project can shed light on precisely what is interpreted from different patterns of body language (specifically patterns of smiling for this project) perhaps it can serve as a guide to determining how we as humans could best use our adaptive advantage of facial expressiveness to share our thoughts and feelings with others.
Bibliography for Project:
1. Axtell, Roger E. Gestures, The DOs and TABOOs of Body Language Around the World. John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York: 1998.
2. Collier, Gary. Emotional Expression. Hillsdale: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1985.
3. Ekman, Paul, Ed. Darwin and Facial Expression, A Century of Research in Review. New York: Academic Press, 1973.
4. Hall, Judith. Nonverbal Sex Differences. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1984.
5. Lewis, Hedwig. Body Language, a Guide for Professionals. New Delhi: Response Books, 1998.
6. Rosenfeld, Lawrence B. With Words Unspoken. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1976.
3. Materials and Methods
a. This group will test our thesis using 3 experiments and a survey that we will distribute among the NS classes and to random students at Miami University. Our project is based on the premise that smiling is one of the most important gestures in determining whether we assess an individual as fit for romantic interlude. We want to evaluate the responses of men and women to various types of smiles, while attempting to judge how much of a role each smile plays in the reciprocation of our advances. We also want to find out what the Miami populace thinks about the use of smiling in romantic situations and possibly observe chimpanzees to investigate the facial expressions that primates use during presexual contact.
For the first set of experiments, the group will make qualitative observations about smiling on campus using four different smiles as outlined in the Lewis book Body Language. The researchers shall employ the simple smile (no teeth exposed), the upper smile (top row of teeth exposed), the broad smile (both rows of teeth exposed), and the biting lip smile (coy tuck of bottom lip, for women only). An additional criterion is that half of the smiles must be executed using a seductive look (termed “gaze”) and the other half with a plain straight face that one might use if happy about something platonic. This experiment will test whether the smile itself attracts the test subjects, or whether people read the entire facial expression to recognize the message of interest.
The experimenters will perform these tests (possibly utilizing some additional outside researchers to assist in smiling at the test subjects) in two very different locations. The first will be a busy nightclub with a large crowd of random people, and the other will be up on Miami’s Slant Walk or at Shriver Center, places where groups of students frequently congregate. Hopefully the group will find differences or correlations between the responses of test subjects at both locations.
To quantitatively assess the success of our smiling observation experiment, it is necessary to formulate a rating system to assign a numeric value to each smile that the experimenters receive. This group plans to rate reciprocated smiles on a one-to-five somewhat subjective scale. A rating of “one” would be assigned to a test subject who did not return any sort of affirmative facial gesture and/or walked away to signal disinterest. A “five” rating would be assigned to a test subject who actually approached the experimenter after receiving their smile and/or made vocal or physical contact.
We have already attempted this experiment once, inside the First Run club on a very busy Saturday night. The group found it very difficult to keep track of data while dancing amongst a large crowd. Also, when the nightclub is extremely busy it is hard for people to ‘respond’ to our smiles with more than a smile in return. The close proximity of the other patrons in the club makes it almost impossible for test subjects to push through the crowd and make physical contact. It also seemed necessary to smile at the same subject more than once to elicit a real response. A way to improve some of these problems might be to have an observer watch the experimenters and keep track of the data without also trying to perform the experiment. There is also a necessity to go to the club on a night when it is not overly crowded (NOT SATURDAY!). A problem with smiling on the walkways is that it may be hard to interpret the responses. The subjects might return the experimenters smiles in order to be polite and not attach any romantic significance. It will be up to the group to determine how to differentiate between the two.
Close observation of primates by zoologists and ethnographers has yielded much proof that primates use many of the same facial expressions that humans do. This is not a surprising fact considering that humans adapted the facial muscles necessary for smiling before and during our evolution from the lower primates. But do they mean the same thing? Do primates (specifically chimps) smile when are happy, or around a potential mate? If there is enough time, this group might attempt to understand the smiling behavior of the chimpanzee to determine whether or not there is sex behind their smiling. The group will hopefully get an opportunity to watch and film the facial expressions of chimps (at the Cincinnati Zoo) to investigate how their facial expressions change before they get involved in sexual contact with a potential mate. The main problem with this experiment is that the researchers will be at the total mercy of the chimps. The group will have to patiently observe the behavior of the chimps for several days, maybe weeks before getting the desired information. It is likely that the group will never observe chimps during mating rituals and so there will not be enough data or observations to make sound conclusions.
b. The researchers will also perform a survey of both Western and Main Campus Miami students to get information on usage of smiling during dating and the frequency of smiling in general on Miami’s campus. Did the Miami Smiles campaign work to make to student body more outwardly positive? That question is not the main focus of the survey but could provide an interesting side note. The group will attempt to survey an equal number of Western kids and Main Campus kids to see if there is a difference between the smiling behaviors within the two groups. Are Western kids really that much friendlier? Perhaps this survey will answer the question.
The researchers will distribute this survey to as many students as possible, to equal numbers of main and Western students. The group will probably hand out one hundred surveys total, and tabulate the results from the survey using Statview or another computer based quantifying program. The fifty-fifty division will provide the experimenters with hopefully even numbers to work with. An example survey is shown below- it is still in the review process (any suggestions would be appreciated).
Example Survey:
THE SEX BEHIND SMILING-NS 2
Please complete the following survey questions. Thank you very much!
1. What is your gender?
Male Female
2. How often do you initiate smiles on campus with complete strangers?
Infrequently (less than once per day) Sometimes (One to three times per day)
Often (Three to eight times per day) Frequently (More than eight times per day)
3. How often do you return a smile given by a complete stranger?
Infrequently Sometimes Often Frequently
4. Do you smile more frequently at those of the opposite sex?
YES NO SOMETIMES
5. Are you comfortable receiving smiles from those of the opposite sex?
YES NO SOMETIMES
6. Do you often interpret a smile from a member of the opposite sex as a romantic advance?
YES NO SOMETIMES
7. Do you smile frequently at those of the same sex?
YES NO SOMETIMES
8. Are you comfortable receiving smiles from those of the same sex?
YES NO SOMETIMES
9. Does a "nice smile" increase a mate’s attractiveness?
YES NO SOMETIMES
10. Is the frequency with which a person smiles a factor in whether or not you will date them?
NEVER SOMETIMES ALWAYS
11. Is a person’s smile a romantic turn-on?
YES NO SOMETIMES
13. Do you view smiling in a romantic situation as invitation for further romantic contact?
YES NO SOMETIMES
Timeline for Research Execution:
2/26/00 Post online response to proposals
3/6/00 Distribute surveys
3/8/00 Perform first Slant Walk experiment
3/9/00 Post online project report
3/20/00 Tabulate Survey results
3/22/00 Repeat Slant Walk experiment
3/25/00 Repeat First Run Club experiment
3/27/00 Trip to Cincinnati Zoo (tentative)
3/30/00 Post online progress report
4/2/00 Repeat trip to Cincinnati Zoo (tentative)
4/5/00 Begin editing Chimp Video (tentative)
4/6/00 Post online progress report
4/7/00 Begin correlating data via Statview and making charts and graphs
4/17/00 Draft Final Project
4/27/00 Post Final Project
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