Humans use specific fake smile expressions to communicate negative affect politely
the verdict
SUPPORTED
the evidence backs this
confidence 86/100
Evidence from functional analyses of facial expressions demonstrates that humans employ distinct types of smiles, such as affiliative or polite smiles, to navigate social interactions and communicate negative or non-threatening affect politely.
Evidence for · 3
Functional Smiles: Tools for Love, Sympathy, and War.
2017 · cited by 67
Paper [0] establishes that smiles are functionally diverse, identifying distinct expressions such as affiliative smiles that serve social functions like peaceful interaction.
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More for · 2
Effects of Social Anxiety on Emotional Mimicry and Contagion: Feeling Negative, but Smiling Politely.
2018 · cited by 16
Paper [1] demonstrates that individuals experiencing negative emotions or social anxiety use polite smiles to mask or suppress negative affect and avoid conflict.
Evidence for Distinct Facial Signals of Reward, Affiliation, and Dominance from Both Perception and Production Tasks.
2021 · cited by 15
Paper [2] confirms that smiles like affiliation smiles signal non-threat and promote harmonious interactions, operating as distinct social signals.