Relationships between Facial Impressions of Appearance and Actual Facial Movements of Cheek and Mouth Areas during Dynamic Smile

Abstract

The present study examined the effects of facial movements on impressions of facial appearance during dynamic smiling. The participants (80 women) rated the 68 women in the videos, posing with a smile, in terms of attractiveness, likability, and beauty on a 5-point scale. The displacements of the sides of both the cheeks and mouth areas in each video were measured using the optical flow method. Five time points were chosen from time series data that had been divided into four equal intervals. T-tests were applied to analyze the differences in displacements and velocities between the higher- and lower-rated-stimulus groups. The results indicate that the magnitudes of the initial displacements and the acceleration of the initial velocities were most important in creating a positive impression of dynamic smiles. The results also show that there are both common and specific relationships between facial movements and impressions of facial appearance.