Smile

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For other uses, see Smile (disambiguation).

A natural smile without teeth showing

A natural smile with teeth showing

In physiology, a smile is a facial expression formed by flexing muscles most notably near both ends of the mouth, but also around the eyes. Among humans, it is customarily an expression of pleasure or amusement, but can also be an involuntary expression of anxiety, in which case it can be known as a grimace. There is much evidence that smiling is a normal reaction to certain stimuli and occurs regardless of culture. Happiness most often causes the smile to occur, though. Many studies indicate that smiling is an innate reaction, as children blind from birth, and even human fetuses smile; however feral children generally do not smile, perhaps lending evidence to the contrary, perhaps indicating the profound psychological disturbance that results in a member of a social species brought up with no elders or peers. Among animals, the exposure of teeth, which may bear a resemblance to a smile, are often used as a threat - known as a snarl - or a sign of submission.

Smiling not only changes a facial expression, but can also make the brain produce endorphins which reduce physical and emotional pain, and give a greater sense of well-being.

1 Types of smiles
2 Trivia
3 References
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] Types of smiles

An example of the "Pan American smile".

Researchers have identified a number of different types of smiles.

The "Duchenne smile", after the researcher Guillaume Duchenne, is the most studied, and involves the movement of both the zygomaticus major muscle near the mouth and the orbicularis oculi muscle near the eyes. An example of the smile is shown in the girl's smile in the middle of the page. It is believed that the Duchenne smile is only produced as an involuntary response to genuine emotion, and is therefore what one could call the "genuine" smile. Due to the involvement of the muscle near the eyes, it is sometime said that one can tell whether or not a smile is "real" by whether or not it "reaches the eyes".
The "Pan American smile", on the other hand, is the voluntary smile involving only the zygomaticus major muscle to show politeness; for example, by a flight attendant on the former airline of the same name. Considered "insincere", this type of smile has also been called the "Professional Smile" by David Foster Wallace in his comedic short story A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again".

[edit] Trivia

During the 1988 Summer Olympics (Games of the XXIV Olympiad) held in Seoul, the South Korean government made smiling a national decree for its citizens.