A ‘true’ smile for a beloved political leader

The present study addressed whether exposure to verbs referring to positive emotional expressions (e.g., ‘to smile’) of ingroup and outgroup political members elicits a Duchenne or non-Duchenne smile. The so-called Duchenne, or ‘true’ smile, is considered an involuntary displays of positive affect, whereas the non-Duchenne, or ‘false’ smile, is used to communicate a positive emotion when it is not felt (Niedenthal, 2010). Interestingly, it has been found that automatic facial mimicry of smiling faces occurs for both Duchenne and non-Duchenne smiles (Krumhber, Likowski, & Weyer, 2013). However, no studies have analyzed whether the muscular facial activation that occurs when individuals read words referred to positive emotions expressed by ingroup or outgroup members (i.e., Ingroup member A smiles) reveals Duchenne or non-Duchenne smiles. To investigate this issue, participants of left- and right-wing political orientation were presented with subject-verb sentences, where the subject was either a left- or right-wing politician and the verb referred to positive facial expressions, such as ‘Bersani smiles’ or ‘Alfano laughs’. Facial expressions were assessed by means of electromyographic (EMG) measurement of the zygomatic major and orbicularis oculii muscle regions. Indeed, the combined activation of these two muscles is considered a measure of Duchenne smile (Niedenthal, 2010). Results showed that participants displayed a ‘true’ and ‘sincere’ smile only when they read that an ‘ingroup member smiles’. No smile was found for outgroup members. Implications of these results in terms of underlying political cognitions affecting the activation of facial expressions in response to language will be discussed.