Human beings communicate in various ways. These ways are called ‘gestures’. We have a long list of body gestures that help us convey how we feel. Smile is one such gesture we have. Smiles vary from being real to fake. But it can express a lot more. Read further to discover what are the different kinds of smiles…

Reward Smiles
This is the kind of smile that is reactionary. For instance, when your friend looks at you and smiles, your brain sends you signals and dopamine is released. Dopamine is a chemical released in our body, when we feel happy. So, when you receive a positive vibe, you automatically feel rewarded and hence, as a reaction you break into a reward smile.

Affiliation Smiles
It involves the upward pull of lips, where the teeth remain hidden. It is a gentle nature of smile, perceived as a gesture of compassion to communicate trustworthiness. This smile acts as a social connector. For instance, when you are unable to do something, and someone, say a classmate, comes up to help you then the smile you will receive from them is an affiliation smile.

Dominance Smiles
It is a kind of asymmetrical smile, where one side of the face is pulled up and the other side is pulled down. It is generally used to show superiority or dominance. For instance, when you defeat your elder brother in a computer game, the way you smile at him is a dominance smile.

Embarrassed Smile
A smile evoked out of an embarrassed situation accompanied by the downward tilting of the head is, embarrassed smile. It is very common for all of us. We use it when we mistakenly step on the freshly wiped floor and make it dirty again.

Duchenne Smile
It is the smile of genuine happiness. It involves a lot of our organs like lips, cheeks, and eyes. The Duchenne Smile denotes the happy state of mind. For instance, when we look at our loved ones (or in my case, I look at Pizza) we break into a Duchenne smile.

Did this article make you smile? Let me know.