Universal Meaning of the Smile

[Slaughterist]

Some gestures such as shaking the head and sticking the thumb or middle middle finger up have different meanings in different societies. The smile is universally accepted as a symbol of happiness or good faith. Some thought suggests that this is related to behavior developed in apes.
Here's a thought I had. If there were ever any societies that did not use the traditional smile as a sign of happiness and good faith they would have disappeared quickly. When they contacted other societies they would be viewed with distrust or anger because the non-smiling society would never appear to be happy. Each time the non-smilers attempted to show openness and good faith to the smilers they would make some kind of face that may look horrible to us. Hence they would be shunned or attacked.
Ultimately, it is useful for all societies to have a common way to show good will towards one another. This promotes cooperation.
Has anyone read anything about this or have any additional thoughts?

 

[eddymrsci]

shaking hands is also universally accepted as a gesture of friendliness and cooperation, right?

anyhoo, yes this is definitely a very interesting thread, I also sometimes wonder what makes the smile so special that it just gives you a good and friendly feeling

did you know that it takes 26 muscles to smile (no wonder the terminator could never do it)

 

[Slaughterist]

I think I have read that the handshake had a more deliberate and rational basis. First the open handed wave became a symbol of non-aggression. The open hand shows that you do not have a weapon. Apparently, some people started to hide weapons up their sleeves. When strangers met they would shake hands to assure that there were no hidden weapons. Seems reasonable, but again, I do not have a source for this.

 

[Enigma'07]

Then why do thumbs up and the finger and all that have differant meanings? Wouldn't they have evolved the same meaning if we use your logic?

 

[§outh§tar]

I don't like to be hugged by certain people.

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Contemporary approaches to emotion

The functions of emotions

Functions of emotion expressions
Role of expressions in emotion experiences
In The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals Darwin clearly revealed his belief that even voluntary emotion expression evoked emotion feeling. He wrote: “Even the simulation [expression] of an emotion tends to arouse it in our minds.” Thus, Darwin's idea suggested that facial feedback (sensations created by the movements of expressive behaviour) activate, or contribute to the activation of, emotion feelings. A number of experiments have provided substantial evidence thatintentional management of facial expression contributes to the regulation (and perhaps activation) of emotion experiences. Most evidence is related not to specific emotion feelings but to the broad classes of positive and negative states of emotion. There is, therefore, some scientific support for the old advice to “smile when you feel blue” and “whistle a happy tune when you're afraid.”

Darwin was even more persuasive when speaking specifically of the regulation of emotion experience by self-initiated expressive behaviour. He wrote:

The free expression by outward signs of an emotion intensifies it. On the other hand, the repression, as far as this is possible, of all outward signs softens our emotions.

Experiments by more contemporary researchers on motivated, self-initiated expressive behaviours have shown that, if people can control their facial expression during moments of pain, there will be less arousal of the autonomic nervous system and a diminution of the pain experience.

Role of expressions in communicating internal states
The social communication function of emotion expressions is most evident in infancy. Long before infants have command of language or are capable of reasoning, they can send a wide variety of messages through their facial expressions. Virtually all the muscles necessary for facial expression of basic emotions are present before birth. Through the use of an objective, anatomically based system for coding the separate facial muscle movements, it has been found that the ability to smile and tofacially express pain, interest, and disgust are present at birth; the social smile can be expressed by three or four weeks; sadness and anger by about two months; and fear by six or seven months. Informal observations suggest that expressions indicative of shyness appear by about four months and expressions of guilt by about two years.

The expressive behaviours are infants' primary means of signaling their internal states and of becoming engaged in the family and larger human community. Emotion expressions help form the foundation for social relationships and social development. They also provide stimulation that appears to be necessary for physical and mental health.
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From the Encyclopaedia Britannica.

 

[invert_nexus]

Just get your new edition of the encyclopedia brittanica, SouthStar?

I'm not so sure that the smile is a universal symbol. I can't imagine that all cultures use it in the same way. I know that in primates, the smile is a threat. It shows the teeth. I seem to recall several primitive cultures using it in the same way. That was probably before the missionaries came though... Of course, in some places the missionaries just ended up in the cooking pot. Probably because they smiled at the wrong time...

 

[§outh§tar]

Just get your new edition of the encyclopedia brittanica, SouthStar?

Let me have my fun!

I'm not so sure that the smile is a universal symbol. I can't imagine that all cultures use it in the same way. I know that in primates, the smile is a threat. It shows the teeth. I seem to recall several primitive cultures using it in the same way. That was probably before the missionaries came though... Of course, in some places the missionaries just ended up in the cooking pot. Probably because they smiled at the wrong time...

Ewww.. missionary tastes baad!

 

[Asguard]

your right about the hand shake

that is why fences and the scouts ect all shake with there LEFT hand

because they ARE armed (or in the case of the scouts WERE armed when the tradition started)

 

[Slaughterist]

I just know that I see various website referring to the smile as a universal symbol when i do a search for "smile universal symbol." It seems quite widespread though I do not have a good source to cite.

Gestures probably have different meanings because they are more ambiguous than the wave. Waving quite clearly demonstrates a lack of a weapon at hand. The only time it might be interpreted as a hostile gesture is if you are within arms reach of another. Waving could even be considered as barely a symbol at all since it is not symbolizing a lack of weapon, but literally showing it. It is not much of a leap at all for its meaning to become non-hostility.

Symbols like the middle finger, thumb or peace sign are ambiguous. A middle finger could mean anything from the number one, a phallus, a sword or a reference to the sky. The peace sign I suppose represents the letter "V" for victory, meaning the war is over and peace reigns. It could also represent the fingers used for drawing a bow. The English archers used that symbol or a variant of it to taunt the French. These symbols require a deliberate societal consensus and learning, but the wave does not.