Facial Expressions: The Secret to Instantly Improving Your Social Relationships

Published in the journal Scientific Reportsa study conducted at Nottingham Trent University in the United Kingdom, reveals that having an expressive face is enough to make people you interact with like you.

In a statement, Eithne Kavanagh, research fellow and co-author of the study, said: “Our results show that facial expressiveness is linked to positive social outcomes. This suggests that more expressive people are more successful in attracting partners and forming social relationships.”

The impact of facial muscle movements on social relationships

The study required two separate experiments. The first part involved the scientists posing as participants in video calls with 52 people. The goal? To record their natural expressions during various everyday scenarios. The conversations were designed to involve a range of behaviors, including listening, humor, embarrassment, and conflict.

These same people then recorded short video clips of their faces as they tried to achieve social goals such as appearing friendly or disagreeable without being disliked. Then, more than 170 other people watched clips of these video calls and recordings. They rated the emotions expressed to determine how understandable and likable the participant was. At the same time, the researchers measured the impact of the participants’ facial muscle movements.

Expressive people are perceived as likeable

Overall, it was observed that the most expressive participants were seen as the most likeable and that this improved social interactions. According to Bridget Waller, another co-author of the study, these findings are important from the perspective of human evolution: “This could explain why individuals have evolved more complex facial expressions than any other species. They help us form stronger bonds and better navigate the social world.”