Why Do Americans Smile So Much?

Americans tend to smile more often than people in other countries. Olga Khazan digs into a couple scientific findings why — it turns out, American smiles signal excitement, confidence, and also have to do with a long history of immigration.

For more, read Olga's article, "Why Do Americans Smile So Much?"

Authors: Olga Khazan, Jeremy Raff, Alice Roth, Leah Varjacques

Additional Sources:

Invisibilia: Changing Social Norms Could Save Your Life

NYTimes: Wal-Mart Finds That Its Formula Doesn’t Fit Every Culture

[Cowabungas]

Worth mentioning is a smile in the US can also act as sort of a greeting. For example if I'm busy at work and a coworker walks by, we smile to say hi because I'm too busy to actually say hi and have a conversation.

[joachimmacdonald]

We don't smile in Britain because we have to keep up a constant air of dry sarcasm at all times, thus smiling is unacceptable.

[Schlabbeflicker]

I don't smile to be disarming or friendly. I smile to bear my teeth and demonstrate aggressive dominance. Nobody disrespects you if they think you're ready to rip out their jugular.

[Maria-vmte]

As a Russian, I don't find this video quite accurate.
For instance, It's not true Russians don't smile in photos. It's very common and normal to smile for the camera. It's also common to politely smile while providing a service (but not in an exaggerated manner).
It's just that we greatly value sincerity. Russians instantly spot the difference between sincere and insincere smiles, and a robotic, fake, and overly enthusiastic smile from a complete stranger might just seem creepy. Especially if a person smiles with just their mouth, and not their eyes - then it seems like they're baring teeth. So no, smiling (especially with teeth) as a non-verbal communication doesn't always build trust and cooperation.
I've also noticed an interesting physiological difference - a large part of Americans smile with both rows of their teeth. Most Russians smile only with their lips or by showing only the upper row of teeth.

[caracrabtree]

I'd say it's cultural. We're repeatedly almost daily told since toddlerhood to "smile". It's programmed so much it becomes automatic to most situations like greeting others, etc...

[warrenchambers]

I'm American. I smile because it's polite. Also I like to make others feel more at ease, like in serious environments. But mostly I'm American whos free to do as please(if I can afford it ) ; )

[duckcluck]

I smile at strangers cuz i dont want to seem like a grumpy douche
It just feels polite and normal for me

[artuselias]

Smiling is definitely not the worst thing to export :D

[dildiobrandong]

In my country, people's default faces are mostly neutral and it really seems weird to see people just smile for no reason, making them seem crazy to us or having ulterior motives. It's not like smilling is seen as negative but rather smilling without any apparent reason seems to really weird us out.

[chrisza]

My country smiles a lot too, but I found it hilarious when a Brit once said that Americans smiling at strangers makes him even more depressed

[calforrai]

I grow up in Asia and I find big smiles especially weird when I see them on Asian Americans after moving here. Similarly Americans find our shyness incredibly weird. We didn't grow up in an environment that encourages us to be confident and expressive. Being light-hearted and blunt is impolite and inconsiderate. So it's best to show your maturity and restraint with an apologetic grin. To a certain extent I envy Americans' confidence but also despise them for their seemingly selfish or ignorant happiness. But not all Asians are like this of course. My parents were really strict so when it comes to expressing happiness I used to be very cautious.

[napoleonmeowparte]

The reasons why Americans smile so much because Americans have mastered the art of living in your bubbles

[yuppers]

Five years in braces. After that, you better believe I'm going to smile!

[cocogoat]

I always thought it's just polite. If you are scowling people will think you offended them in some way. It's not flirting or necessarily because they are happy, it's just manners.

But I think it's kinds hilarious other countries think a happy smile is a negative thing. Like... how dare people be happy!

[thetexasbuttholeticklingba]

I'm American and I still don't smile. I've always refused. It's dumb and forced. I'd rather just be myself. You can be nice and polite without smiling.

[LB-jwly]

Ironic that in the countries such as Nordic ones and Germany that rate as the happiest people on earth smile less while America has a much higher rate of depression. In Germany if you smile all the time for no reason they think that person is mentally slow.

[mohanpanickerpanicker]

I'm from India and its true we don't smile as much. To smile at a stranger is such a polite gesture that I wish other countries would do the same. Polite gestures to strangers is reminder that we are all in this together that is what it means to be civilized over being tribal and only caring about your relatives.

[aureliomanalo]

I love smiling! Smiling is my favorite!

[georgethompson]

Go to Thailand and you will see that smiling a lot is not just american. Also, China is extremely diverse. 1.3 billion people, many ethnicities. I get the point, though. As a foreigner living in the US, I think americans are generally more friendly and smile more than other developed countries.

[caninho]

i met an american on a movie set here in germany, and i was kinda overwhelmed by his energy and social skills. never met someone having so much talkative energy. it drained me, but also made me happy. and there is this weird thing americans do, when you agree on something, you get a high five or shake his hand. hahaha