<p>The specific example is called the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facial_feedback_hypothesis" rel="nofollow noreferrer">facial feedback hypothesis</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>... the conjectures ... that one's facial expression directly affects
their emotional experience. ... While James included the influence of
all bodily changes on the creation of an emotion ... modern research
mainly focuses on the effects of facial muscular activity.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This is a component of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James%E2%80%93Lange_theory" rel="nofollow noreferrer">James–Lange theory of emotion</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Instead of feeling an emotion and subsequent physiological (bodily)
response, the theory proposes that the physiological change is
primary, and emotion is then experienced when the brain reacts to the
information received via the body's nervous system.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>And also <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-perception_theory" rel="nofollow noreferrer">self-perception theory</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>... asserts that people develop their attitudes ... by observing their
own behavior and concluding what attitudes must have caused it. The
theory is counterintuitive in nature, as the conventional wisdom is
that attitudes determine behaviors.</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-05-16T14:12:26.517Z
2023-05-18T17:45:48.857Z
2023-05-18T17:45:48.857Z
Arnon Weinberg
<p>Normally we smile as a consequence of being happy, but psychologists have, over the years investigated <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/04/190412094728.htm" rel="nofollow noreferrer">the idea that smiling itself can cause happiness</a>.</p>
<p>So, we have the concept of a physical act triggering an emotion in the reverse (or inverse) of what we would expect: the emotion triggering a physical behavior.</p>
<p>What is the psychological term for using a smile to trigger happiness?</p>

<emotion><terminology><physiology><emotional-expression>
What is it called when manipulating the body, such as with a smile, triggers emotion?
Tyler Durden
# What is it called when manipulating the body, such as with a smile, triggers emotion?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2023-05-16)

Normally we smile as a consequence of being happy, but psychologists have, over the years investigated [the idea that smiling itself can cause happiness](https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/04/190412094728.htm).

So, we have the concept of a physical act triggering an emotion in the reverse (or inverse) of what we would expect: the emotion triggering a physical behavior.

What is the psychological term for using a smile to trigger happiness?

**Tags:** emotion, terminology, physiology, emotional-expression


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2023-05-16. Score: 1

The specific example is called the [facial feedback hypothesis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facial_feedback_hypothesis):

> ... the conjectures ... that one's facial expression directly affects
> their emotional experience. ... While James included the influence of
> all bodily changes on the creation of an emotion ... modern research
> mainly focuses on the effects of facial muscular activity.

This is a component of the [James–Lange theory of emotion](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James%E2%80%93Lange_theory):

> Instead of feeling an emotion and subsequent physiological (bodily)
> response, the theory proposes that the physiological change is
> primary, and emotion is then experienced when the brain reacts to the
> information received via the body's nervous system.

And also [self-perception theory](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-perception_theory):

> ... asserts that people develop their attitudes ... by observing their
> own behavior and concluding what attitudes must have caused it. The
> theory is counterintuitive in nature, as the conventional wisdom is
> that attitudes determine behaviors.


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