"Smile Intensity in Photographs Predicts Longevity"

After reading this, I think I will get my photo album out. How about you? This is a fun study; it made me smile. The link to the article was posted on a listserv by Dr. Martin Seligman, the father of Positive Psychology.

Excerpt:

Emotions affect personalities and life outcomes by influencing how people think, behave, and interact with others (Izard, 1971). People with positive emotions are happier and have more stable personalities, more stable marriages, and better cognitive and interpersonal skills than those with negative emotions, throughout the life span (Harker & Keltner, 2001; Hertenstein, Hansel, Butts, & Hile, 2009).

Facial expressions are a barometer of the emotions (Izard, 1971), and like emotions, they vary in form and intensity. Studies by Ekman, Friesen, and their colleagues (e.g., Ekman & Friesen, 1978; Ekman, Levenson, & Friesen, 1983; Levenson, Ekman, & Friesen, 1990) have shown that it is possible to identify different emotional states from facial expressions.

Previous studies have found that positive emotions, as inferred from smile intensity in childhood photos and college yearbook photos, are correlated with marriage stability and satisfaction (Harker & Keltner, 2001; Hertenstein et al., 2009). The present study is the first to link smile intensity to a biological outcome: longevity.

Little information (other than smile intensity) was available regarding the individuals in the previously mentioned photo studies. In the current study, however, we were able to include many additional factors known to influence longevity because of the group we elected to evaluate. We focused on Major League Baseball (MLB) players because detailed statistics are available for each player (dating back prior to 1900), and because MLB players represent a homogeneous occupational group. We (and other researchers) have used this database to examine numerous factors related to longevity (Abel & Kruger, 2005, 2006, 2007; Kalist & Peng, 2007).

Click to read the rest of "Smile Intensity in Photographs Predicts Longevity" (Psychological Science).