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Sex Differences in Self-awareness of Smiling During a Mock Job Interview

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Abstract

The present study examined sex differences in awareness of smiling behavior during a job interview, along with intended outcomes of false smiling. Male and female participants were assigned to the interviewee role of a mock job interview and were videotaped. Results indicate that women were more self-aware of false, but not genuine, smiling. In addition, women reported using false smiles to mask negative emotion and to appear enthusiastic more than did men. Naïve judges rated women who smiled in an attempt to mask negative emotion more harshly than men who smiled for this reason. Implications of these findings for the understanding of sex differences in smiling are discussed.

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Notes

  1. Although Duchenne and non-Duchenne smiles are often considered to mirror the genuine/false smile distinction, the correspondence is not perfect. For example, in an attempt to appear genuinely happy some actors are able to fake a Duchenne smile by involving AU six muscles (Carroll and Russell 1997). In addition, recent research suggests that movement around the eyes is sometimes found in deliberate (or false) smiles as well as spontaneous ones (Schmidt et al. 2006).

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Acknowledgments

I would like to thank Steve Martinenza, Bethany Dannelly, Sarah Otey, and Meredith Elkins for their help recruiting and testing participants. This research was funded by the Council on Undergraduate Research and the American Psychological Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Washington and Lee University, Lexington, VA, 24450, USA

    Julie A. Woodzicka

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  1. Julie A. Woodzicka
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Correspondence to Julie A. Woodzicka.

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Woodzicka, J.A. Sex Differences in Self-awareness of Smiling During a Mock Job Interview. J Nonverbal Behav 32, 109–121 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10919-007-0046-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10919-007-0046-2

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