Status affects how readily people return smiles, research reveals

If you smile at your boss and she smiles back, beware. It could be a sign that she does not think too highly of you, according to a study.

People who feel powerful are more likely to mimic the smiles of those they perceive as low status, according to research presented at the annual Society for Neuroscience conference in New Orleans. They are less likely, however, to return the smiles of people they consider of higher status than themselves. And when people are not feeling particularly powerful, they return everyone’s smiles almost equally.

Mimicking other people’s behaviour is an important mechanism of bonding in group situations, according to Evan Carr from the department of psychology at the University of California in San Diego, who led the study. “Mimicry has been shown to help build relationships, and both power and status seem to affect how we unconsciously employ this strategy,” he said.

Power, he said, referred to someone’s internal feeling of being able to take control of others, whereas status was a more externally defined quality. “It’s more to do with perceived reverence or some type of social hierarchy,” said Carr.