WEBVTT - The Facial Feedback Hypothesis 0:00:03.000 --> 0:00:04.840 Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, a production of 0:00:04.880 --> 0:00:13.600 I Heart Radios How Stuff Works. Hey, you, welcome to 0:00:13.640 --> 0:00:15.640 Stuff to Blow your Mind. My name is Robert Lamb 0:00:15.720 --> 0:00:18.760 and I'm Joe McCormick. And let's give this opening another shot, 0:00:18.800 --> 0:00:21.279 because I just tried to really corny opening line and 0:00:21.400 --> 0:00:25.360 Robert's just a look of quiet contempt across the table. 0:00:25.800 --> 0:00:28.200 I was I was laughing on the inside, you know, 0:00:28.520 --> 0:00:30.760 I'm sure you were. I wasn't even laughing at my 0:00:30.800 --> 0:00:33.960 own joke there, um, And maybe this will be better. Okay, 0:00:33.960 --> 0:00:36.680 So we're gonna start off today by doing a Charles 0:00:36.760 --> 0:00:40.320 Darwin deep cut. So Darwin of course published his great 0:00:40.320 --> 0:00:43.000 work on the Origin of Species in eighteen fifty nine, 0:00:43.280 --> 0:00:45.239 and of course that was the book that explained his 0:00:45.400 --> 0:00:48.839 theory of the origin of species, the revolution by natural selection. 0:00:49.280 --> 0:00:51.519 Then later you got another one, that's The Descent of 0:00:51.600 --> 0:00:55.080 Man eighteen seventy one, which applied his theory to human evolution. 0:00:55.560 --> 0:00:58.360 And then a year after that, in eighteen seventy two, 0:00:58.760 --> 0:01:02.720 he published The Oppression of Emotions in Man and Animals, 0:01:03.040 --> 0:01:09.760 which is about the biological features of emotions like happiness, sadness, surprise, fear. 0:01:10.440 --> 0:01:14.679 For example, The relationship between what we feel and the 0:01:14.720 --> 0:01:19.080 physical expressions of those feelings in the body. Because I 0:01:19.120 --> 0:01:21.920 think this is one of those little mysteries that's so 0:01:22.080 --> 0:01:25.760 close and so invisible, we forget to ask why, But 0:01:26.000 --> 0:01:29.759 why is it that emotions which are influenced by the 0:01:29.840 --> 0:01:33.120 content of our thoughts, like our beliefs and our knowledge 0:01:33.120 --> 0:01:37.880 what we're aware of? They why do they cause these powerful, automatic, 0:01:37.959 --> 0:01:43.240 even unconscious reactions from the muscles and glands throughout the body. 0:01:43.280 --> 0:01:47.200 Why does a feeling of moral disgust cause us to 0:01:47.400 --> 0:01:50.920 involuntarily turn our faces away and crinkle our noses up? 0:01:51.440 --> 0:01:55.360 Or why does a feeling of embarrassment or passion sometimes 0:01:55.600 --> 0:01:58.000 cause blood to rush to the cheeks and cause us 0:01:58.000 --> 0:02:00.320 to cover parts of our faces with our hands ends, 0:02:00.960 --> 0:02:04.600 Or why does an emotionally manipulative TV commercial about a 0:02:04.680 --> 0:02:08.760 sad dog trigger these unconscious movements in the eyebrows and 0:02:08.800 --> 0:02:11.160 the corners of the mouth, or even engage the tear 0:02:11.280 --> 0:02:14.560 ducks if you're a real sap, yes, the sad dog. 0:02:14.960 --> 0:02:17.560 The dog should be smiling and be happy. Right, Well, 0:02:17.600 --> 0:02:20.040 there's always like those are the things that are funny, 0:02:20.040 --> 0:02:24.240 where like a really dramatically moving, you know, whole movie 0:02:24.400 --> 0:02:27.359 or book might not make me cry, but like the 0:02:27.360 --> 0:02:31.480 the sentimental commercial with like the old dog Buddy and 0:02:31.520 --> 0:02:33.640 the you know, buying the puri in a one for 0:02:33.760 --> 0:02:37.880 him or whatever that really like gets me going finally 0:02:37.919 --> 0:02:41.200 sharpened and by um uh, you know, a multimillion dollar 0:02:42.120 --> 0:02:44.720 marketing campaigns to cut right to the heart. Now their 0:02:44.760 --> 0:02:48.680 emotional assassins, they slip in in the night, their ninja. 0:02:48.880 --> 0:02:53.040 So I think these relationships between thoughts and feelings and 0:02:53.400 --> 0:02:59.200 autonomically regulated involuntary activity of the skeletal muscles in the 0:02:59.280 --> 0:03:03.280 face and elsewhere in the body is truly a fascinating 0:03:03.360 --> 0:03:08.480 evolutionary mystery. Why do our bodies execute these movements when 0:03:08.520 --> 0:03:12.440 we feel these things? What biological purpose does it serve? 0:03:12.840 --> 0:03:15.920 And why does so many of these relationships between feelings 0:03:15.960 --> 0:03:18.640 and movements of the skeletal muscle, not all, but a 0:03:18.680 --> 0:03:22.160 lot of them. Why do they seem to transcend cultural, national, 0:03:22.240 --> 0:03:26.320 and linguistic barriers. So I think this whole area is 0:03:26.360 --> 0:03:30.120 a is a totally interesting subject ripe for investigation. But 0:03:30.200 --> 0:03:34.400 today we wanted to focus on one specific question that 0:03:34.480 --> 0:03:38.360 arises from Darwin's work here, and to introduce this question, 0:03:38.400 --> 0:03:40.800 I want to read a passage with a few abridgements 0:03:41.040 --> 0:03:43.280 from the very end of the book, where Darwin writes 0:03:43.320 --> 0:03:46.520 about some of the implications of his observations about emotions 0:03:46.600 --> 0:03:51.120 in humans and animals. Quote. The movements of expression in 0:03:51.160 --> 0:03:54.040 the face and body, whatever their origin may have been, 0:03:54.440 --> 0:03:58.160 are in themselves of much importance for our welfare. They 0:03:58.200 --> 0:04:01.360 serve as the first means of munication between the mother 0:04:01.440 --> 0:04:04.880 and her infant. She smiles approval and thus encourages her 0:04:05.000 --> 0:04:08.880 child on the right path, or frown's disapproval. We readily 0:04:08.960 --> 0:04:12.120 perceive it's right away, But come on, a kid was 0:04:12.200 --> 0:04:16.640 just born, just already just complete disapproval. Maybe that's more important. Later, 0:04:18.080 --> 0:04:21.839 we readily perceive sympathy in others by their expression. Our 0:04:21.960 --> 0:04:25.920 sufferings are thus mitigated and our pleasures increased, and mutual 0:04:26.000 --> 0:04:29.680 good feeling is thus strengthened. The movements of expression give 0:04:29.800 --> 0:04:33.880 vividness and energy to our spoken word. They reveal the 0:04:33.960 --> 0:04:37.440 thoughts and intentions of others more truly than do words, 0:04:37.560 --> 0:04:41.000 which may be falsified. And then a little bit later, 0:04:41.240 --> 0:04:46.159 the free expression by outward signs of an emotion intensifies it. 0:04:46.720 --> 0:04:49.120 On the other hand, the repression, as far as this 0:04:49.200 --> 0:04:53.240 is possible, of all outward signs softens our emotions. He 0:04:53.320 --> 0:04:57.040 who gives way to violent gestures will increase his rage. 0:04:57.400 --> 0:04:59.840 He who does not control the signs of fear will 0:05:00.000 --> 0:05:03.279 experience fear and a greater degree. And he who remains 0:05:03.320 --> 0:05:07.279 passive when overwhelmed with grief loses his best chance of 0:05:07.320 --> 0:05:11.719 recovering elasticity of mind. These results followed partly from the 0:05:11.800 --> 0:05:15.640 intimate relation which exists between almost all the emotions and 0:05:15.680 --> 0:05:20.359 their outward manifestations, and partly from the direct influence of 0:05:20.400 --> 0:05:24.400 exertion on the heart and consequently on the brain. Even 0:05:24.440 --> 0:05:28.760 the simulation of an emotion tends to arouse it in 0:05:28.839 --> 0:05:32.600 our minds. Shakespeare, who from his wonderful knowledge of the 0:05:32.680 --> 0:05:36.200 human mind ought to be an excellent judge, says, is 0:05:36.200 --> 0:05:38.520 it not monstrous that this player here? And this is 0:05:38.520 --> 0:05:41.640 a line from Hamlet's soliloquy, where he's watching the play, 0:05:41.760 --> 0:05:44.360 and he's watching the actors, and he concludes in the 0:05:44.480 --> 0:05:46.520 end that the plays the thing wherein I'll catch the 0:05:46.560 --> 0:05:49.760 conscience of the king. But earlier in the soliloquy he's 0:05:49.920 --> 0:05:53.720 uh watching the actors act, and and Hamlet thinks, is 0:05:53.760 --> 0:05:56.600 it not monstrous that this player here? But in a 0:05:56.680 --> 0:06:00.599 fiction in a dream of passion could force his soul 0:06:00.760 --> 0:06:04.280 so to his own conceit that from her working all 0:06:04.400 --> 0:06:08.840 his visage wand tears in his eyes, distraction in his aspect, 0:06:09.120 --> 0:06:13.200 a broken voice, and his whole functions suiting with forms 0:06:13.240 --> 0:06:17.680 to his conceit, and all for nothing. You know, this 0:06:17.760 --> 0:06:21.919 is interesting getting into acting, because I feel like, maybe 0:06:21.920 --> 0:06:23.320 this is just me, but I feel like a lot 0:06:23.360 --> 0:06:27.760 of us when we watch a well acted scene, especially 0:06:27.800 --> 0:06:29.640 in a film as opposed to a play, where you 0:06:29.640 --> 0:06:32.400 can actually get so much closer uh to the facial 0:06:32.440 --> 0:06:35.919 features of the actor, if if the actor is is 0:06:35.920 --> 0:06:40.760 truly talented, it's something to behold watching them channel emotions, 0:06:40.760 --> 0:06:45.440 sometimes completely nonverbally, and I think it probably stands out 0:06:45.440 --> 0:06:47.359 for a couple of reasons. For for starters, there are 0:06:47.360 --> 0:06:50.920 a lot of bad or just average performances in film 0:06:51.120 --> 0:06:55.760 where you don't see authentic emotion uh channeled, even in 0:06:55.800 --> 0:06:58.000 like scenes of extreme emotion, which you're going to encounter 0:06:58.080 --> 0:07:01.320 more often in a film perhaps than in everyday life. 0:07:01.480 --> 0:07:04.039 But even in everyday life, when we are when we're 0:07:04.080 --> 0:07:08.200 encountering someone displaying extreme emotion, we are likely a part 0:07:08.200 --> 0:07:10.480 of that scenario. You know, unless we're just as we 0:07:10.520 --> 0:07:12.840 see something on the street. But even then, I mean, 0:07:12.840 --> 0:07:15.240 are we Unless you're a complete bystander and you're just 0:07:15.240 --> 0:07:17.680 completely locked out of it, you're probably going to feel something. 0:07:17.960 --> 0:07:20.240 That's a really good point. Whereas if you watch, if 0:07:20.240 --> 0:07:22.559 you're watching just a really well acted scene in a film, 0:07:22.640 --> 0:07:25.520 like you, you have that permission of distance right where 0:07:25.520 --> 0:07:27.520 you can stand back and say, look at what their 0:07:27.560 --> 0:07:31.360 their faces doing, Like I'm watching blood vessels move, I'm 0:07:31.400 --> 0:07:34.320 seeing something in their eyes, like I'm I'm seeing authentic 0:07:34.360 --> 0:07:37.440 emotion pour out of their face. Yeah, It's like watching 0:07:37.440 --> 0:07:40.600 a film can, especially with great acting, can be like 0:07:40.720 --> 0:07:45.600 a tasting course for human emotions, whereas normally, like you know, 0:07:45.680 --> 0:07:48.160 you'd be involved in the cooking or something where you 0:07:48.200 --> 0:07:50.600 know and so uh and of course it would just 0:07:50.600 --> 0:07:54.679 be rude to try to observe other people's emotions. Uh 0:07:54.800 --> 0:07:56.960 so yeah, yeah, that's a really good point about acting. 0:07:57.040 --> 0:08:01.320 And it is uh interesting, I mean we often wonder 0:08:01.440 --> 0:08:06.280 this right, like, um, when an actor convincingly portrays an 0:08:06.280 --> 0:08:10.400 emotion or character, does the actor actually feel that emotion? 0:08:11.000 --> 0:08:15.160 What are the important biological or psychological differences in the 0:08:15.240 --> 0:08:19.120 moment between an actor acting out in emotion with their 0:08:19.120 --> 0:08:23.120 face and their body and a person actually feeling that emotion. Like, what, 0:08:23.120 --> 0:08:25.880 what are the differences you could name their Yeah, I mean, 0:08:25.960 --> 0:08:28.760 obviously they're different approaches to acting, different schools of acting. 0:08:28.840 --> 0:08:31.360 But uh, you know, certainly a lot of the time 0:08:31.400 --> 0:08:35.160 when you're seeing somebody emote on the screen, they are 0:08:35.240 --> 0:08:37.959 they are drawing on real emotions, real experiences that are 0:08:38.440 --> 0:08:40.960 in some way comparable to what their character is supposed 0:08:41.000 --> 0:08:42.600 to feel. Yeah, And I think that's why a lot 0:08:42.600 --> 0:08:45.560 of times actors actually need time to say, get into 0:08:45.640 --> 0:08:48.040 and out of character. You know, they can't turn it 0:08:48.080 --> 0:08:50.480 off and on in an instant. I mean, I guess 0:08:50.480 --> 0:08:52.600 maybe some can, but a lot can't. They need they 0:08:52.640 --> 0:08:55.400 need a few moments to sort of gather themselves to 0:08:55.440 --> 0:08:57.680 get in and then gather themselves once they get out. 0:08:59.000 --> 0:09:01.400 But yeah, So anyway, are one is suggesting here that 0:09:01.840 --> 0:09:06.880 the bodily manifestations of emotion, including the facial expressions, are 0:09:06.960 --> 0:09:11.280 not just a consequence of the emotions we feel, though 0:09:11.280 --> 0:09:13.679 they are that, of course, uh. And the fact that 0:09:13.720 --> 0:09:17.160 we have these outward uh signs of the emotions we feel, 0:09:17.200 --> 0:09:21.240 of course, is useful for communicating our emotional states to others, 0:09:21.240 --> 0:09:24.000 and this could be one very important biological role that 0:09:24.040 --> 0:09:27.840 these expressions play. But he says they also are involved 0:09:27.880 --> 0:09:33.040 in the regulation and maintenance of the emotions themselves. So 0:09:33.080 --> 0:09:37.280 a smile isn't just a consequence of feeling joy. The 0:09:37.400 --> 0:09:43.160 smile contributes to and sustains and modulates the feeling of joy. 0:09:43.240 --> 0:09:46.320 The tightened lip corner isn't just a result of our 0:09:46.400 --> 0:09:49.320 feeling of contempt, but it in some way makes us 0:09:49.440 --> 0:09:51.800 feel contempt. So it's almost like there are two dogs 0:09:51.920 --> 0:09:54.440 chained to each other, and if one moves the other 0:09:54.440 --> 0:09:56.600 one cannot help but be moved as well. Right, well, 0:09:56.600 --> 0:09:58.960 I mean according to to Darwin's view here. Yeah, so 0:09:59.440 --> 0:10:04.040 his idea that the bodily expressions don't just follow from 0:10:04.080 --> 0:10:08.199 emotional states. They they in part are the emotional states. 0:10:08.280 --> 0:10:12.640 They contribute to and control the emotional states. Yeah yeah, 0:10:12.720 --> 0:10:14.719 and uh, you know, we'll get into this some more. 0:10:14.760 --> 0:10:16.640 But I think that this is something that a lot 0:10:16.679 --> 0:10:19.760 of us can can point to times in our life 0:10:19.760 --> 0:10:23.560 where this either definitely feels true or other times where 0:10:23.600 --> 0:10:27.920 it definitely doesn't feel true. Like um, for instance, I 0:10:28.000 --> 0:10:30.559 go to I go to yoga a lot I really 0:10:31.200 --> 0:10:34.400 enjoy and I think benefit physically and mentally from a 0:10:34.520 --> 0:10:38.559 yoga practice. And there are times where you're you're in 0:10:38.600 --> 0:10:41.319 a pose and a teacher may tell everybody, don't you know, 0:10:41.360 --> 0:10:44.640 don't forget to smile, smile, and then that'll change your 0:10:44.679 --> 0:10:50.240 sort of emotional uh participation with the pose, And in 0:10:50.280 --> 0:10:53.040 those situations it it does feel sometimes like it helps. 0:10:53.200 --> 0:10:55.080 On the other hand, I've had teachers who say that 0:10:55.160 --> 0:10:58.400 they they've stopped saying that because sometimes people in the class, 0:10:58.920 --> 0:11:01.440 you know, have bad experience. It's with being told to smile. 0:11:01.559 --> 0:11:04.160 I mean, that's become very much a betting, harassed on 0:11:04.200 --> 0:11:09.080 the streets, a cliche of misogynistic behavior, telling someone they 0:11:09.080 --> 0:11:11.920 should smile more telling someone they should smile, And it 0:11:11.960 --> 0:11:14.280 can be that alone. Yeah, I can feel no matter 0:11:14.400 --> 0:11:16.679 you know, you know, you know what what your your 0:11:16.720 --> 0:11:20.360 your gender happens to be, it's like being told to smile, 0:11:20.480 --> 0:11:22.920 as if that is just going to fix your problems, 0:11:22.920 --> 0:11:25.920 that's gonna totally change your your your mood. It can 0:11:25.960 --> 0:11:29.440 feel insulting, right like, surely my emotional state depends on 0:11:29.520 --> 0:11:31.880 more than just what my face is doing. And ultimately 0:11:32.080 --> 0:11:34.920 I think we all can agree it does. Being told 0:11:34.920 --> 0:11:38.480 to smile and then smiling does not fix whatever caused 0:11:38.520 --> 0:11:40.760 you to frown to begin with. And then that's not 0:11:40.800 --> 0:11:42.920 getting into the case, you know, the situation that we 0:11:42.960 --> 0:11:44.800 do need to frown, We do need to have like 0:11:44.840 --> 0:11:48.640 the full spectrum of emotions. Right, that's certainly right, even 0:11:48.640 --> 0:11:51.080 if Darwin is correct, Like even if Darwin is right 0:11:51.160 --> 0:11:54.800 that the smile itself can give you some kind of 0:11:54.800 --> 0:11:58.320 feedback that in turn actually increases the positivity of your 0:11:58.320 --> 0:12:01.439 emotional state the smile and make you happier. I mean 0:12:01.679 --> 0:12:04.080 that that doesn't necessarily mean it's good for other, like 0:12:04.160 --> 0:12:07.720 exogenous forces to try to coerce smiling on you, to 0:12:07.800 --> 0:12:10.400 tell you you should be smiling, which I think can 0:12:10.440 --> 0:12:12.960 probably lead to all kinds of other emotions that could 0:12:13.040 --> 0:12:17.120 negate whatever positivity comes from the muscle movements that might 0:12:17.160 --> 0:12:21.080 be making you happier. So, as we're talking, you know, 0:12:21.080 --> 0:12:23.880 we're not talking just about smiles, but smiles do come 0:12:23.960 --> 0:12:27.240 up a lot in in the discussion here, so I 0:12:27.240 --> 0:12:28.839 thought it would be helpful to take a moment just 0:12:28.880 --> 0:12:31.600 talk about what a smile is. Um. You know, our 0:12:31.640 --> 0:12:35.160 smile is a bit different from you know, the smile 0:12:35.240 --> 0:12:39.040 that we see expressed by our great ape brethren. Where 0:12:39.080 --> 0:12:41.600 it is essentially a fear grin. Uh. You know, it's 0:12:41.679 --> 0:12:44.360 it's often flashed when an individual is trapped or threatened, 0:12:44.360 --> 0:12:46.480 it to show of submission to more dominant members of 0:12:46.480 --> 0:12:49.440 the group. And you know it's it is then an 0:12:49.440 --> 0:12:53.480 admission of fear and a signal, uh though a signal 0:12:53.520 --> 0:12:55.640 that doesn't just stand on its own. It's like part 0:12:55.679 --> 0:12:59.720 of a larger bodily signal that is expressed, uh, just 0:13:00.040 --> 0:13:02.160 if to say, you know, I am not hostile, I 0:13:02.160 --> 0:13:04.840 am not a threat. And I was reading a little 0:13:04.840 --> 0:13:08.720 bit about this. Neuroscientist um Michael Graziano, who have discussed 0:13:08.760 --> 0:13:11.880 on the show before. He has a wonderful Eon magazine 0:13:11.960 --> 0:13:15.400 article that discusses this topic and he points out a 0:13:15.480 --> 0:13:17.719 number of things we've talked about here already. Also points out, 0:13:17.720 --> 0:13:20.520 you know that that even you know, with humans, people 0:13:20.600 --> 0:13:24.559 sometimes in subservient positions will will smile a lot. You know, 0:13:24.600 --> 0:13:27.720 there's sort of the uh, you know, the the boot 0:13:28.280 --> 0:13:31.480 licking smile that we still kind of identify the idea 0:13:31.480 --> 0:13:34.800 of the obsequious smile. Yeah, and uh, and so that 0:13:35.400 --> 0:13:37.600 in that it would seem that there are certain aspects 0:13:37.679 --> 0:13:41.160 of the great ape smile, but haven't quite left us. Uh, 0:13:41.200 --> 0:13:43.360 you know. He points as well to shakespeare line from 0:13:43.400 --> 0:13:46.760 troy Less and Cressida quote they send their smiles before 0:13:46.800 --> 0:13:50.760 them to Achilles, which which I think is is rather nice. 0:13:51.200 --> 0:13:53.480 So the human smile seems to have definitely emerged out 0:13:53.480 --> 0:13:55.040 of the same sort of thing. I mean, you know, 0:13:55.200 --> 0:13:57.520 we are we are primates after all. And of course 0:13:57.559 --> 0:13:59.680 even though they're you know, a smile as a smile 0:13:59.720 --> 0:14:02.839 as a mile, there are some cultural differences in the 0:14:02.840 --> 0:14:06.880 way smiles are perceived from one culture to another. Um. 0:14:07.240 --> 0:14:11.559 We mentioned, uh, Darwin mentioned babies earlier, and and certainly 0:14:11.720 --> 0:14:15.400 human newborns flash reflex smiles, but then social smiles come 0:14:15.440 --> 0:14:19.760 a little later, six to twelve weeks generally. Um. Yeah. Anyway, 0:14:19.760 --> 0:14:23.240 In this an article, Graziano points out that, you know, 0:14:23.320 --> 0:14:27.080 most commentators agree that primate smiles are very old, and 0:14:27.160 --> 0:14:28.800 some think that it might have evolved out of an 0:14:28.840 --> 0:14:31.440 old or threatening display. But he thinks that if we 0:14:31.480 --> 0:14:34.280 focus too much on the teeth, we miss something else. Again, 0:14:34.280 --> 0:14:37.360 that full body display that is evident, right, It involves 0:14:37.480 --> 0:14:41.200 multiple regions of muscles in the face. Yeah, I think 0:14:41.560 --> 0:14:43.880 stuff around the cheeks and the sides of the mouth, 0:14:43.920 --> 0:14:46.360 but also the eyes right, yeah, yeah, and even yeah, 0:14:46.440 --> 0:14:48.600 just like what you know, the full body is doing 0:14:48.600 --> 0:14:51.320 in the full uh you know, communication array, that is 0:14:51.360 --> 0:14:53.960 the face in the head. So what do he proposes 0:14:54.040 --> 0:14:56.880 ultimately is that we're talking We're talking about here is 0:14:56.880 --> 0:14:59.560 a smile. That's kind of a halfway point between not 0:14:59.720 --> 0:15:03.239 re acting to a display of dominance and fully reacting 0:15:03.320 --> 0:15:06.800 to it. Um, which which is which is interesting? It's 0:15:06.800 --> 0:15:10.480 almost like, uh, you know, these these creatures learning to 0:15:10.600 --> 0:15:13.320 lie to each other, to deceive each other, you know. Um, 0:15:13.680 --> 0:15:15.760 here's a quote from where he's talking about like monkey 0:15:15.800 --> 0:15:20.360 A and monkey be, you know, hypothetically interacting. Quote. Monkey 0:15:20.360 --> 0:15:22.480 BE can learn a lot by watching the reaction of 0:15:22.520 --> 0:15:26.880 Monkey A. If Monkey A makes a full blown protective response, 0:15:27.240 --> 0:15:29.480 cringe and all, it's a pretty good sign that Monkey 0:15:29.520 --> 0:15:32.560 A is frightened. He's uneasy, his personal space is revved 0:15:32.640 --> 0:15:35.120 up and expanded. He must view monkey B as a 0:15:35.200 --> 0:15:38.280 threat a social superior. On the other hand, if Monkey 0:15:38.280 --> 0:15:42.000 A reveals only a subtle response, perhaps squinting and slightly 0:15:42.040 --> 0:15:44.480 pulling back his head, it's a good sign that Monkey 0:15:44.520 --> 0:15:47.240 A is not so frightened. He does not consider monkey 0:15:47.240 --> 0:15:50.200 B to be a social superior or a threat, So 0:15:50.600 --> 0:15:53.480 the social signal evolves from here and he drives home 0:15:53.480 --> 0:15:56.800 the quote. The primary evolutionary pressure is on the receiver 0:15:56.920 --> 0:15:59.560 of the signal, not the cinder. The story is about 0:15:59.600 --> 0:16:03.440 how we came to react to smiles. Yeah, that's interesting, 0:16:03.480 --> 0:16:05.800 but it also raises all these other questions about So 0:16:05.840 --> 0:16:09.240 if we consider the evolution of the smile as having 0:16:09.280 --> 0:16:11.920 something to do with social signaling, and you know, relates 0:16:11.920 --> 0:16:15.000 to the social relationships between animals that live in groups 0:16:15.000 --> 0:16:18.520 and interact with each other, why is it that in 0:16:18.520 --> 0:16:21.480 in our lives at least, I would say the smile 0:16:21.640 --> 0:16:24.880 is very divorced from that original context where you smile 0:16:24.960 --> 0:16:28.040 by yourself all the time, you be completely alone and 0:16:28.120 --> 0:16:31.840 something makes you happy and you find yourself beaming. Yeah, 0:16:31.880 --> 0:16:34.920 this is true. Um. Now, we've discussed before though, how 0:16:35.440 --> 0:16:38.240 we might not laugh, though we might smile but not laugh, 0:16:38.320 --> 0:16:40.040 or at least that's a good point. The laughter might 0:16:40.040 --> 0:16:42.520 be in the smile might be more pronounced if there's 0:16:42.520 --> 0:16:45.800 someone else around, particularly you know, someone we know. Yeah, 0:16:45.880 --> 0:16:48.280 we were just talking about this before we started recording. Actually, 0:16:48.320 --> 0:16:52.560 how you know we we watched the Mystery Science Theater 0:16:52.640 --> 0:16:55.480 three thousand episode and we laugh if somebody else is 0:16:55.520 --> 0:16:58.760 in the room. It's still funny if nobody else is there, 0:16:58.840 --> 0:17:03.680 but you just don't laugh out loud. Yeah, I've I'm 0:17:03.680 --> 0:17:05.560 trying to think of a time if I if I 0:17:05.600 --> 0:17:09.399 ever watched something and just really laughed out loud by myself, 0:17:09.480 --> 0:17:12.440 and how funny it is, Like, uh yeah, nothing comes 0:17:12.440 --> 0:17:14.520 to mind, And in fact, I think I would feel 0:17:14.520 --> 0:17:17.200 weird if I did. I would feel like Sam Neil's 0:17:17.280 --> 0:17:19.000 character at the end of In the Mouth of Madness 0:17:19.040 --> 0:17:23.280 where he's in the movie theater. Sometimes Barbarian movies do 0:17:23.320 --> 0:17:25.240 it for me. I think I was laughing pretty loud 0:17:25.280 --> 0:17:27.679 by myself when I was watching Your Hunter from the Future. 0:17:29.600 --> 0:17:32.159 Maybe you were just beside yourself with laughter. And therefore 0:17:32.359 --> 0:17:36.600 you know you have you know yourself to to communicate 0:17:36.640 --> 0:17:40.760 to um. So so basically, Graziana points out, you know 0:17:40.800 --> 0:17:44.160 that from here it would have been an evolutionary arms race. Um. 0:17:44.200 --> 0:17:45.679 And and this is a wonderful article, by the way, 0:17:45.720 --> 0:17:48.600 it's titled The First Smile. Um. It's available you know, 0:17:49.320 --> 0:17:52.639 Eddie and magazine. And uh, he gets into laughter as well. 0:17:52.680 --> 0:17:56.199 But here's how he sums everything up. Quote. Evolution favors 0:17:56.200 --> 0:17:58.560 animals that can read and react to those signs, and 0:17:58.600 --> 0:18:01.480 it favors animals that can manipulate those signs to influence 0:18:01.480 --> 0:18:05.320 whoever is watching. We have stumbled on the defining ambiguity 0:18:05.359 --> 0:18:08.760 of human emotional life. We are always quite caught between 0:18:08.800 --> 0:18:12.199 authenticity and fake ery, always floating in the gray area 0:18:12.240 --> 0:18:18.720 between involuntary outburst and expedient pretense. Yeah, so, you know, 0:18:18.720 --> 0:18:20.560 I think it's helpful to think about the complexity of 0:18:20.600 --> 0:18:24.040 the smile, the mix of authenticity and fakeery. Um. You know, 0:18:24.119 --> 0:18:26.080 we've just I think we've discussed fake smiles on the 0:18:26.119 --> 0:18:28.639 show before about how you know, there's this lack of 0:18:28.760 --> 0:18:32.120 micro expressive detail and a fake smile that you can 0:18:32.160 --> 0:18:35.680 pick up on. Um, but that to like truly fake 0:18:35.720 --> 0:18:39.119 a smile, you do have to summon some of the 0:18:39.240 --> 0:18:42.679 energy of the smile, you know. Um. Yeah, anyway, it 0:18:42.680 --> 0:18:46.240 gets it gets very complicated, and especially in the human scenario, 0:18:46.359 --> 0:18:49.000 to to define exactly what a smile is in the 0:18:49.040 --> 0:18:51.960 degrees of smiling. Well, here's maybe a good question. Are 0:18:52.080 --> 0:18:57.280 all smiles on command fake smiles? Or are there are 0:18:57.320 --> 0:18:59.879 there cases where you smile on command and not be 0:19:00.000 --> 0:19:02.560 because you know, you suddenly are overwhelmed by a feeling 0:19:02.560 --> 0:19:05.439 of positivity and joy and happiness. You know, you just 0:19:05.480 --> 0:19:08.720 smile because you need to. But it's not fake. Yeah, 0:19:08.760 --> 0:19:10.639 this is a good question. It's it's it kind of 0:19:10.680 --> 0:19:12.760 goes in with laughter as well, or at least kind 0:19:12.760 --> 0:19:15.240 of like the mild laughter. I think of like interactions 0:19:15.240 --> 0:19:18.000 with people, uh, you know, be be it at work 0:19:18.160 --> 0:19:20.199 or you know, strangers at a store. You know, the 0:19:20.240 --> 0:19:23.480 various social interactions that feel our lives. And I'll catch 0:19:23.480 --> 0:19:26.520 myself smiling, I'll catch myself, you know, laughing a little bit, 0:19:26.560 --> 0:19:28.639 even if there's not a joke, which seems strange, like 0:19:28.680 --> 0:19:30.440 maybe I'm it makes me kind of feel like I'm 0:19:30.440 --> 0:19:34.320 the joker or something. Um, the man who laughs. Yeah, 0:19:34.440 --> 0:19:36.200 not in a good way, not in the Steve Miller way, 0:19:36.800 --> 0:19:40.720 but you know in the Batman way. Um and yeah, 0:19:40.760 --> 0:19:43.040 And you start teasing it apart, and you start asking yourself, well, 0:19:43.160 --> 0:19:46.159 was this authentic? Was this inauthentic? Or was it or 0:19:46.200 --> 0:19:48.320 is it like Graziano says, is somewhere in between. Like 0:19:48.400 --> 0:19:51.320 for for instance, um, I think one person wrote into 0:19:51.440 --> 0:19:54.440 us once and accused one or both of us a 0:19:54.560 --> 0:19:57.320 fake laughing at each other's jokes. Do you remember this? 0:19:57.400 --> 0:20:00.920 I don't remember this. And uh, um, yeah, it was 0:20:00.960 --> 0:20:02.480 a while back, and I think only it was only 0:20:02.480 --> 0:20:04.479 one person that ever ever wrote in about it, and 0:20:04.680 --> 0:20:07.480 it just made me stop and think though, because I'm like, well, 0:20:08.040 --> 0:20:12.119 what we do here is is kind of a performance. 0:20:12.440 --> 0:20:15.280 You know, we're not reading from a script. We're having 0:20:15.280 --> 0:20:18.640 an authentic conversation, but it's a conversation knowing that someone 0:20:18.640 --> 0:20:22.640 else is listening to it, and like we we do 0:20:22.760 --> 0:20:25.800 make each other laugh, but maybe we do lean into 0:20:25.840 --> 0:20:27.760 it a little bit. I don't know it Like it 0:20:27.840 --> 0:20:30.200 basically comes down to exactly what Graziana said that it's 0:20:30.240 --> 0:20:33.080 it's not just fakery and authenticity, but there's this there's 0:20:33.119 --> 0:20:36.440 this huge area in between, and we may not even 0:20:36.560 --> 0:20:39.359 be aware of where we are on that spectrum in 0:20:39.400 --> 0:20:41.800 a given moment. Okay, I think we gotta take a break, 0:20:41.800 --> 0:20:46.159 but we will be right back with more than all right, 0:20:46.160 --> 0:20:51.879 We're back. Okay. So we've been discussing facial expressions emotions. Uh, 0:20:52.200 --> 0:20:55.720 Darwin's writing on the relationship between facial expressions and emotions, 0:20:55.800 --> 0:20:57.879 or not just facial expressions, I mean all kinds of 0:20:57.920 --> 0:21:02.600 body expressions and physical manifest stations and emotions. Um. And 0:21:02.640 --> 0:21:04.960 so this leads up to something that we're gonna be 0:21:05.040 --> 0:21:07.320 talking about for the rest of today's episode, which has 0:21:07.320 --> 0:21:12.280 come to be known as the facial feedback hypothesis. Now, 0:21:12.320 --> 0:21:15.320 I guess to have a starting place, we should talk 0:21:15.359 --> 0:21:19.159 about what some of the acceptable emotions for discussions are, 0:21:19.240 --> 0:21:22.680 because obviously there are lots of complex emotions that might 0:21:22.680 --> 0:21:26.000 be you know, little shadings of other more basic emotions 0:21:26.080 --> 0:21:31.680 or combinations of feelings commonly acknowledged basic emotions in psychology, 0:21:31.800 --> 0:21:36.439 as categorized by the American psychologist Paul Ekman. Let's hear him, 0:21:36.440 --> 0:21:45.640 how about happiness, sadness, surprise, discussed, anger, and fear. There 0:21:45.640 --> 0:21:48.399 you got your big six. Now, other psychologists have offered 0:21:48.720 --> 0:21:50.800 slightly different lists, but I think this seems to be 0:21:50.840 --> 0:21:53.280 like a good starting place. These are like six widely 0:21:53.359 --> 0:21:58.639 acknowledged basic emotions, setting aside for a second that, you know, 0:21:58.840 --> 0:22:02.160 different theories of what emotions actually are, which will come 0:22:02.160 --> 0:22:04.280 back to later in the episode. They're they're also like 0:22:04.320 --> 0:22:08.000 the constructionist ideas of emotions, which says, it's more like 0:22:08.040 --> 0:22:11.960 there's some kind of universal slider underneath all these and 0:22:12.000 --> 0:22:14.439 these are like categories that we apply to where that 0:22:14.560 --> 0:22:17.240