Another test of the passive facial feedback hypothesis: when your face smiles, you feel happy.
88 undergraduates (44 men, 44 women) participated in an experiment to examine whether the cutaneous sensation of having the cheeks lifted would cause a feeling of happiness. Two types of paired adhesive bandages connected with rubber bands were prepared and used either to raise or lower the cheeks. While the bandages were applied, the participants rated their feelings. The results showed that 50 participants felt happiness when their cheeks were lifted, statistically significant compared to the 27 who felt sadness. They confirmed the hypothesis that people may feel happy when their cheeks are lifted upward.
Mori
Kazuo
K
Institute of Symbiotic Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology Nagano Technical College, Japan. kaz-mori@cc.tuat.ac.jp
Mori
Hideko
H
D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect / Q000502:physiology; D002610:Cheek / Q000502:physiology*; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D005149:Facial Expression; D005152:Facial Muscles / Q000502:physiology; D005246:Feedback / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006240:Happiness; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012107:Research Design; D012904:Smiling / Q000502:physiology*; D013334:Students / Q000706:statistics & numerical data