Can You Spot a Fake Smile? Learn How to Detect Genuine and Faked Smiles

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the ability to distinguish between genuine and faked smiles, prompted by a test linked to a BBC survey. Participants share their scores from the test and discuss the cues they used to identify the authenticity of smiles, including body language and facial movements.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants report their scores, with a range from 10 to 18 out of 20, indicating varying levels of success in identifying smiles.
  • Several participants suggest that head movement is a key indicator, with some claiming that a shaking head correlates with genuine smiles.
  • Others argue that body language, particularly eye movement and the persistence of the smile, plays a significant role in determining authenticity.
  • A participant mentions that genuine smiles involve more than just mouth movement, including eye and cheek muscle engagement.
  • There is a suggestion that perceptions of beauty may influence the ability to judge smiles, with some claiming that less attractive individuals had genuine smiles while more attractive ones were faked.
  • Some participants express skepticism about the accuracy of their methods, questioning whether head movement is a reliable indicator of truthfulness.
  • One participant notes that they improved their score by focusing on the eyes rather than the mouth.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on the most reliable indicators of genuine versus faked smiles, with multiple competing views on the importance of body language, facial movement, and perceptions of attractiveness.

Contextual Notes

Some participants mention that their understanding of genuine smiles was influenced by prior knowledge, which may affect the validity of their scores.

Who May Find This Useful

This discussion may be of interest to those studying psychology, social interactions, or non-verbal communication, as well as anyone curious about the nuances of facial expressions.

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8 of 20, ouch! The ones I felt confident about I was completely wrong on!

I went through with their ideas about spotting fakes and I got 17 out of 20 :smile:
 
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16/20 :smile: <----- was that fake or genuine.

I suppose I cheated anyway because I knew before the test what makes a genuine and a fake smile and thus knew what to look out for.
 
Wow, 18/20 ! Does that mean I'm some kind of talent? :biggrin:
 
10/20.. I was awful!
 
14/20 - I looked for head motion. The more they shook their head the more likely it seemed that they would be genuine.
 
17/20 - Yeah, whenever they shook their head it was real.
 
14/20 right here.

I lost track at the end and got 3 in a row wrong.

Fun test though.
 
I got 16 out of 20
 
  • #10
17 out of 20. Sometimes it helped when you could pick up shoulder movement too.
 
  • #11
10 out of 20

I guess I've got no people skills.
 
  • #12
The only reason I figured it out was cause I looked at their body language more than their smiles.
 
  • #13
scorpa said:
The only reason I figured it out was cause I looked at their body language more than their smiles.

Well, that is the key.
 
  • #14
Jason - The quote in your sig is actually due to Alfred Rényi.
 
  • #15
DeadWolfe said:
Jason - The quote in your sig is actually due to Alfred Rényi.

I got it from a site, so maybe Erdos quoted him.
 
  • #16
LeonhardEuler said:
17/20 - Yeah, whenever they shook their head it was real.

I don't know how that possibly be accurate. People tend to move their heads when they're lying.
 
  • #17
16/20. I was on the fence with 2 of them and I ended up guessing those wrong. You can tell if they are fake or not by the way they move their head. Back and forward=real smile. Lying/fake=other head movement.
 
  • #18
If anybody read what was printed after the test you or watched a program on the bbc about 6 months ago then you will know that when people fake a smile they conciously only move their mouth muscles. When the smile is genuine the unconciously move their mouth muscles and many muscles around the eye changing the shape of the eye. The cheeks also move up.
 
  • #19
I got 10 out of 20 also, but I think I was just catching onto looking at the eyes instead of the mouth. I got all of the last eight in a row.

How did the Asburgers amonst us do?
 
  • #20
16/20 here.
 
  • #21
14/20. I focused on how quickly their smile receded. It seems that a fake smile diminishes more abruptly whereas a genuine smile is a little more persistent.
 
  • #22
eeh, I think a glued-on smile is just the fakest there is..:smile:
 
  • #23
15/20 here!
 
  • #24
ShawnD said:
I don't know how that possibly be accurate. People tend to move their heads when they're lying.
I think its because the actual smiles were caused by something that surprised them, so they moved their heads a little.
 
  • #25
I got 18/20, the eyes were very telling, all the fake ones stared and didn't blink their eyes.
 
  • #26
Lol I am glad that so many people are doing this. I actually expected a much more random response but I suppose that with the body language it is possible to consistently gauge a real vs faked smile.
 
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  • #27
13 out of 20. I thought the 5 of the genuine smiles were fake and that 2 of the fake ones were real.
 
  • #28
I think an "ugliness" twist was inserted in the test:

Many of the most ugly peoples' smiles were actually genuine, while a lot of the beautiful peoples' smiles were fake.

Those who judge by "appearances only", will get a bad score on the test..
 
  • #29
So with this test we can see who is superficial? :smile:
 
  • #30
Monique said:
So with this test we can see who is superficial? :smile:

Or just bad at telling when someone is being fake!:rolleyes:
 

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