People Return Smiles Based on Feelings of Status and Power, University of California, San Diego (UCSD) Study

A study conducted to learn more about mimicry of facial features has found that people tend to mimic smiles directed at them by other people based on their own feelings of status and power. The team, led by Evan Carr of the University of California presented its findings at this year's Society for Neuroscience conference in New Orleans. In the study, 55 volunteers were split into two groups. One group was asked to write an essay describing a good event in their life, the other to write about a negative experience. The purpose of the essay writing was to instill feelings of more or less power. After finishing their essays, the volunteers had monitors attached to measure electrical stimulation of facial muscles.