Fake It Till You Make It

While reading this past week, facial feedback hypothesis in particular really stuck out to me. Facial feedback hypothesis is the idea that changing your facial expression or body language can lead to matching changes in emotion (Laird, 1974). I use this concept constantly as an athlete. Especially during volleyball matches, I don’t play well if I’m stressed out or thinking too much. After I make a mistake or if I’m struggling, I try to smile and laugh it off. It really does help me relax and move on to the next point.

Research (Keillor et al., 2003; Kleinke et al., 1998) shows we can vary our emotions by contracting certain facial muscles and wearing different expressions. Even when you feel completely down in the dumps, if you smile, you will feel happier. This is also in part due to the physiological arousal in our brain that comes from contracting different facial muscles. According to Schachter and Singer (1962), the two-factor theory of emotion states that we experience emotion from physiological arousal and how we cognitively interpret that arousal. Once your brain becomes physiologically aroused, its processing: “If I’m smiling, I must be happy.”

You always hear the phrase, “fake it till you make it.” Our coach will say to us if you’re unconfident in one area of your game, fake confidence until you pick it back up. If you act confident standing tall with shoulders raised, your chest expanded, and your head held high (the book calls this expansion), you tend to feel more confident. On the other hand, if you’re slumped over with your head lowered and shoulders slumped (contraction), you’ll begin to feel more gloomy and insecure (Stepper & Strack, 1993). When I was a freshman, my coach yelled at me constantly for “looking passive” on the court. I never quite understood what she meant… To her, I looked timid and scared (I probably was!!!), but my body language effected how I felt and played. Now, even without realizing it, I am constantly trying to control my emotions by controlling my outward appearance.

             

When in doubt, smile and you’ll feel better!!! J

References:

Keillor, J. M., Barrett, A. M., Crucian, G. P., Kortenkamp, S., & Heilman, K. M. (2003). Emotional experience and perception in the absence of facial feedback. Journal of the International Neurological Society, 8, 130-135.

Kleinke, C. L., Paterson, T. R., & Rutledge, T. R.(1998). Effects of self-generated facial expressions of mood. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74, 272-279.

Laird, J. D. (1974). Self-attribution of emotion: The effects of expressive behavior on the quality of emotional experience. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 29, 475-486.

Schachter, S., & Singer, J. (1962). Cognitive, social, and psychological determinants of the emotional state. Psychological Review, 69, 379-399.

Stepper, S., & Strack, F. (1993). Proprioceptive determinants of emotional and nonemotional feelings. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 64, 211-220.

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