Want to look younger than you are? Then this new research will convince you to sport a poker face because, apparently, smiling can make you look two years older.
And if you reacted to this with utter surprise then here’s some good news – that expression might just have shaved off a couple of years from your face. At least that’s what the psychologists from the University of Western Ontario in Canada say.
However, according to this experiment, smiling doesn’t actually age you – it only makes the person who is looking at you think you are a couple of years older than your actual age.
Researchers tested 43 participants, with an average age of 24.3 years, who were given 70 photos (35 men and 35 women) to look at.
The average age of people in the photos was 25. The photos were a mixture of individuals with smiling, neutral and surprised expressions.
The experiment showed participants perceived the surprised faces as the youngest and smiling faces the oldest, which contradicts the popular belief that smiling makes you look younger.
“We associate smiling with positive values and youth,” said study co-author Melvyn Goodale, director of the Brain and Mind Institute at Western University.
“Think of all the skin-care and toothpaste companies that sell the same idea every day.
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“The striking thing was that when we asked participants afterwards about their perceptions, they erroneously recalled that they had identified smiling faces as the youngest ones.
“They were completely blind to the fact they had ‘aged’ the happy-looking faces.
“Their perceptions and their beliefs were polar opposites.”
Goodale said the ageing effect of a smile comes from wrinkles that form around the eyes. A look of surprise, on the other hand, smooths any wrinkles.
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“It may seem counter-intuitive, but the study shows that people can sincerely believe one thing and then behave in a completely different way,” Goodale said.
The experiment was conducted on a small group of people but the researchers say their results “make it clear that the same person can believe that smiling makes one appear younger, but at the same time judge smiling faces as older than neutral faces”.
So the next time someone compliments you about your youthful looks, you could act incredibly surprised. Or maybe you could scrap all that and smile to your heart’s content because life is too short.
The study is published in the journal Psychonomic Bulletin and Review.
