REAL vs. FAKE SMILES – can we tell the
difference?
Whenever we smile, there are 2 potential
muscles we activate. The first one is the
zygomaticus major and it controls the
corners of your mouth. Whenever this muscle
only is activated, it’s not actually a genuine
smile. Scientists call this also the “social” smile.


The second muscle, known to show sincerity
is the obicularis occuli and it encircles our eye
socket.
The true smile also called the duchenne smile,
named after the famous scientist who first
separated the “mouth corners”-only smile,
from the “eye socket” one.


Many people are unable to spot a fake smile.
Fake smiles often look very similar to
genuine smiles; however, they are slight
differences. This is because they are
brought about by different muscles,
controlled by different parts of the brain.
For example, fake smiles can be performed
at will because the brain signals that create
the smile come from the conscious part of
the brain and prompt the zygomaticus
major muscles in the cheeks to contract.
These muscles pull the corners of the mouth
outwards.
Genuine smiles, on the contrary, are
generated by the unconscious brain and are
automatic. When people feel pleasure, these
signals pass through the part of the brain
that processes emotion, making the mouth
muscles move as well as the muscles that
raise the cheeks. Muscles called the
orbicularis oculi and the pars orbitalis also
contract, making the skin around the eyes
crease up and eyebrows dip downward.
Sometimes, even with intense fake smiles,
lines around the eyes will appear and the
cheeks may bunch up making it look as if
the eyes are contracting and the smile is
genuine. However, the key signs that
distinguish these smiles from real ones are
when the eye cover fold – the skin between
the eyebrow and the eyelid – moves
downwards and the end of the eyebrows
dip slightly.
Hopefully you are giving and receiving
more real smiles than fake but, regardless of
the origin, be sure to brush at least twice
daily with a fluoride toothpaste, floss once
daily and visit your dentist regularly so you
can proudly show off your grin.
http://www.thesmilefiles.org/april-2012/can-you-spot-a-fake-smile-vs-a-real-one/