A fake smile would be less effective to produce positive feelings because “it is not accompanied by the feeling of enjoyment that produces a genuine smile.” (Nevid, 2015, p. 306) Thinking of positive thoughts helps produce a genuine smile which produces positive feelings.
For the experiment, I had five friends and family members hold a pencil in their mouth and show their teeth, producing a “smile.” Next, I asked them to rate how happy they were on a scale of 1-7 (7 being extremely happy). Then I had five other friends hold a pencil in their mouth, but keep their mouths closed and not produce a smile. Again, I asked them to rate how happy they were on a scale of 1-7. Before the experiment, I expected that the ones who show their teeth and producing somewhat of a smile will produce happier feelings than the ones who did not show their teeth and not smiling. My findings were correct. The ones showing their teeth rated their happiness at a higher level on the scale. Their average was about 5.6 and when rounded to six, their happiness was high