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No mirrors for the powerful: Why dominant smiles are not processed using embodied simulation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 December 2010

Li Huang  and
Adam D. Galinsky
Li Huang
Affiliation:
Department of Management and Organizations, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208. [email protected]@kellogg.northwestern.eduhttp://www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/faculty/huanghttp://www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/faculty/bio/galinsky.htm
Adam D. Galinsky
Affiliation:
Department of Management and Organizations, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208. [email protected]@kellogg.northwestern.eduhttp://www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/faculty/huanghttp://www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/faculty/bio/galinsky.htm
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Abstract

A complete model of smile interpretation needs to incorporate its social context. We argue that embodied simulation is an unlikely route for understanding dominance smiles, which typically occur in the context of power. We support this argument by discussing the lack of eye contact with dominant faces and the facial and postural complementarity, rather than mimicry, that pervades hierarchical relationships.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 33 , Issue 6 , December 2010 , pp. 448
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

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