Understanding how smiling influences relationship building during real-life conversations

Smiling during conversations creates warmth, making people feel more comfortable and connected. For example, a friendly smile when meeting someone new can ease nervousness. A smile can soften tension in a debate, showing respect among the participants despite disagreement. In fact, extensive studies have been conducted in the past in an attempt to understand smiling interactions in a natural conversation. Despite these studies, however, little is known about the extent to which one’s smile influences or gets affected by the other person’s smile during a conversation.

A new study sought to investigate this by quantifying the influence of smiling in face-to-face conversations. The study, led by Professor Yohei Otaka from the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Fujita Health University School of Medicine, Japan, found that the amount of smiling by the speaker increased as the listener's smile intensity increased, particularly in same-sex pairs. The study also involved lead researchers Dr. Yota Obayashi, Dr. Shintaro Uehara, and Dr. Akiko Yuasa from the same university. Their findings were published in Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience on 09 August 2024.

When asked about the motivation behind pursuing this study, Prof. Otaka exclaims, “The main purpose of this study was to develop a methodology for assessing dementia symptoms, given the affected individuals tend to lose their facial expressions. We also intend to evaluate the rehabilitation treatment efficacy in these individuals.” Adding further, he says, “This study is, in fact, the first step towards the larger, above-mentioned goal by evaluating the reaction of people to the smile of others in young healthy participants.”

The study involved 40 participants (20 men and 20 women) in three-minute, face-to-face conversations. During these interactions, listeners were asked to smile at different levels—lesser, moderate, and greater—and the speakers’ smiles were observed in response. A specialized software was used to measure the intensity and frequency of the smiles during the conversations.

Results revealed that speakers smiled more when listeners smiled more, especially in conversations between two individuals of the same-sex—men smiled more when talking to other men who smiled, and women smiled more when talking to other women who smiled. Interestingly, this effect was less pronounced in mixed-sex conversations, suggesting that individuals did not show the same level of mutual smiling as they did when conversing with same-sex partners. However, the researchers speculate that in mixed-sex pairs, the speakers smiled more often than the listeners in order to build interpersonal relationship.

Another key finding was that the more the listener smiled, the more positive the speaker felt about the interaction. Speakers reported feeling friendlier and enjoying the conversation more when their partner smiled frequently. This finding highlights the emotional importance of smiling in conversations, as it enhances feelings of connection and rapport between individuals. Explaining these findings further, Prof. Otaka says, “If one smiles more during a conversation, the other person will also smile more, which can lead to a better interpersonal relationship with each other.”

Additionally, the study found that smile synchronization occurred consistently across all types of pairs—both same-sex and mixed-sex. This implies that, regardless of who was talking to whom, people smiled simultaneously, reinforcing that smiling is a reciprocal behavior.

In summary, the study reveals that smiling is a powerful, dynamic part of face-to-face conversations. Speakers’ smiles are influenced by how much and how intensely the listener smiles, particularly in conversations between individuals of the same-sex. Also, smile synchronization is essential in creating social bonds and fostering positive feelings during interactions.

These findings emphasize the importance of nonverbal communication, especially facial expressions, in everyday conversations. Furthermore, this study suggests that the interaction between two individuals can be helpful in assessing dementia and psychological dysfunctions.

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Reference

Title of original paper: The other person’s smiling amount affects one’s smiling response during face-to-face conversations

Journal: Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2024.1420361

About Fujita Health University

Fujita Health University is a private university situated in Toyoake, Aichi, Japan. It was founded in 1964 and houses one of the largest teaching university hospitals in Japan in terms of the number of beds. With over 900 faculty members, the university is committed to providing various academic opportunities to students internationally. Fujita Health University has been ranked eighth among all universities and second among all private universities in Japan in the 2020 Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings. THE University Impact Rankings 2019 visualized university initiatives for sustainable development goals (SDGs). For the “good health and well-being” SDG, Fujita Health University was ranked second among all universities and number one among private universities in Japan. The university became the first Japanese university to host the "THE Asia Universities Summit" in June 2021. The university’s founding philosophy is “Our creativity for the people (DOKUSOU-ICHIRI),” which reflects the belief that, as with the university’s alumni and alumnae, current students also unlock their future by leveraging their creativity.

Website: https://www.fujita-hu.ac.jp/en/index.html

About Professor Yohei Otaka from Fujita Health University

Yohei Otaka is a Professor and Chairman of the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at Fujita Health University, Japan. Prof. Otaka is also the Director of Fujita Health University Nanakuri Memorial Hospital, and Vice President of the Japanese Association of Rehabilitation Medicine. With 252 publications and 2,374 citations to his credit, his research has significantly contributed to rehabilitation medicine, including research disciplines, such as stroke, fall prevention, and robotics. His work spans clinical and academic domains, reflecting his commitment to advancing medical knowledge and technology.

Funding information

The author(s) declare that financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This work was supported by Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, KAKENHI (https://www.jsps.go.jp/j-grantsinaid/) Grant Number JP20K23145 and JP22K17598. The funders had no role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.