Abstract
Previous studies investigated the effects of interpersonal relationships on facial expressions by comparing friends with strangers. This study examined facial expressions in the course of relationship formation. Twenty pairs of female strangers met once a week for three weeks watching film clips aimed to elicit a positive emotions. We measured smiles and gazes during and after presentation of the film clips. Subjective emotions and social motives were also measured. Smiling increased from Week one to Week two, but did not change from Week two to three. The results support the theory of Berg & Clark's (1986) that relationships are differentiated very early on. The score for “concern about partner's evaluation” on the social motive questionnaire decreased from Week one to two suggesting that decreasing avoidant social motives facilitates the expressions of smiles in the course of relationship formation.
