THE SUBTLE SMILE What im going to say is based in a research made by profesor Marianne LaFrance about the role

of nonverbal communication in communication SMILES are always there in our everyday life and they play an important role in our nonverbal communication. You see your friend for first time in months, and you can not help but lift the corners of your mouth. You date your crush, and when you are nervously trying to avoid eye contact, looking up you see it: a quick shining glint of white. Smiles. So, what can these simple smiles mean? THE PURPOSE OF SMILING smiling is one of the most revealing yet overlooked aspects of our lives. In modern culture, LaFrance asserts that the main purpose of smiling is to form, sustain, and repair interpersonal relationships. How can a smile crate relationships? It triggers happines and inspires trust on the other person (Depending on the smile, of course). smiling is not only expected during formation of relationships but also that it is necessary. Individuals with brain lesions, physical malfunctions, psychological disorders, or other conditions that lead to loss of facial control have trouble forming substantive relationships. It is necessary for us to have interpesonal relationships DIFFERENT TYPES OF SMILES Social psychologists have divided the realm of smiles into two categories genuine and fake smiles. Fake smiles are created through the use of a single muscle that connects to the corners of the mouth; meanwhile, genuine smiles also involve the orbicularis oculi, a muscle that surrounds the eyeball. Although mimicking the mere mouth movement may be easy, few can deliberately eng age their orbicularis oculi to replicate a genuine smile. Smiles are contagious. The researchers exposed participants to Duchenne smiles and measured their reactions. They found that genuine smiles directly induced smiles from the participants, confirming the general hypothesis.