Meaningful facial expression What laugh is particularly good?

What does a "successful" smile look like??
US scientists have explored the question of what a "successful" smile looks like. The results are especially important for plastic surgery, for example, when physicians want to help a patient after an accident or a serious illness to be able to smile again.

Meaningful facial expression
When German researchers recently reported that they had solved the mystery of Mona Lisa's smile, critics said it was still unclear whether it was an expression of sadness or gaiety. The facial expression usually reveals a lot about a person in general, it is also part of the facial diagnosis that helps doctors diagnose disease. Smile also suggests how someone feels. But some people can not smile because of accidents or illnesses. Surgeons who want to help the patient, it is often difficult to make the face so that the smile again "succeeded". Helpful here are new findings of American researchers.

Some people just smile slightly when smiling, others grin with their mouth wide open. Researchers have dealt with the question of what makes a particularly "successful" smile. (Image: Minerva Studio / fotolia.com)

Smile is contagious
When a smiling person meets, the corners of his mouth often pull up quickly. But some also smile from insecurity or arrogance, in some the grin is not serious, but just put on.

Smile is part of our facial expression and can reveal a lot about you. And we can tell you something about us.

Researchers led by Nathaniel Helwig of the University of Minnesota in the United States have worked on a study that smiles well on the other person.

What does a "successful" smile look like??
There is no perfect smile, but the US experts have found out what a particularly "successful" smile looks like.

As the researchers report in the journal "PLOS ONE", a pleasant and genuine smile depends on the position of the corners of the mouth, the width of the smile and the extent to which the teeth are visible.

These findings are particularly important for doctors who have tried, for example via plastic surgery, to help people who can no longer smile because of an accident or a serious illness, reports the news agency APA.

Emotional states about the facial expression
"The ability to communicate emotional states through facial expression is a fundamental aspect of social interactions and nonverbal communication," the researchers write.

For example, it protects you from danger if you know how to interpret an angry or trustworthy face correctly.

And smile plays an important role, especially in interpersonal relationships.

As the news agency says, studies have shown that people who can not smile properly are prone to depression.

Combination of three characteristics
To investigate how a smile is perceived by a counterpart, the researchers showed 3D animations of smiling faces to over 800 study participants and asked them what the face expressed and how genuine, successful and pleasant they were to smile.

According to the scientists showed that less is more in terms of smile more often. Accordingly, a smile reaching from one ear to the other was not necessarily perceived as particularly pleasant and genuine by the subjects.

And a restrained smile did not necessarily seem wrong or unpleasant.

According to the researchers, it has been found that the combination of three features in particular is essential for a successful smile: how much the corners of the mouth are pulled upwards, how far apart the corners of the mouth are and - especially - how strong the teeth are visible.

For example, highly visible teeth interfere with a rather narrow smile, while making it easier with a broader grin.

But it must be "clear that there is not only a really, really good smile," said study co-author Stephen Guy, according to a report in the British newspaper "The Guardian". "Just because your smile is different ... does not mean it's bad in any way."

Slightly asymmetric smile is well received
The new findings would need to be taken more into account in plastic surgery in the future.

In addition to the factors mentioned, it was also shown that the subjects rated a slightly asymmetrical smile as particularly successful, ie when the left and right corners of the mouth moved upwards with a tiny delay.

Rachel Jack from the University of Glasgow welcomed the work of the Americans. "Most research is based on static images that skip potentially important information about facial dynamics," says the psychologist, according to "Guardian." "This study is part of a new generation of work." (Ad)