Body Language of The Frown or Downturned Smile
Cue: The Frown or Downturned Smile
Synonym(s): Reverse Smile, Upside Down Smile, Inverted Smile, Downturned Smile.
Description: Happens when the mouth is inverted into a down-facing “u” shape. It is a downward pull of the corners of the mouth and eyelids.
In One Sentence: The downturned smile signals high stress, unhappiness, anger, displeasure, grief, sadness and other negative thoughts such as disapproval.
How To Use it: Use the downturned smile to show others that you are not happy with the situation you find yourself. When done to a receptive audience, the downturned smile can evoke protective feelings by signaling grief or sadness. This can help you by motivating them to resolve your displeasure.
Context: General
Verbal Translation: “I’m so stressed and unhappy that my smiling face has been turned upside down.”
Variant: Lip compression (See Compressed Lips) is a close relative to the down-turned smile. While smiling the corners of the mouth curl downwards momentarily displaying a caught/suppressed frown. See Smiling, Fear Smile, Friendly Smile, Frown (the) or Downturned Smile, Honest Smile or Duchenne Smile, Jaw Drop Smile, Nervous Smile, Polite Smile (the), Uneven Smile Or Lopsided Smile, Upper Lip Smile, Artificial Smile or Fake Smile, Nervous Smile, Honest Smile or Duchenne Smile, Contempt Facial Expression.
Cue In Action: When confronted with bad news, his lips turned from a smile to the complete opposite as his lips moved into an inverted u-shape.
Meaning and/or Motivation: It indicates high stress, unhappiness, anger, displeasure, grief, sadness and other negative thoughts as well as disapproval. Additionally, the down-turned smile can show unhappiness, anger, and depression when held for any permanent length of time. When it flashes quickly as a micro expression, it usually signifies stress.
It has been shown that frowning requires more muscles and effort than does smiling and so naturally our default facial expression is the smile, but when frowning does happen, it has true meaning due to its required effort.
Cue Cluster: The relative negativity of the cue is amplified or minimized by associated cues. Dominant people will use disapproving frowns, snarls or pursed lips to control other people. They might squint while in conversation, or avoid eye contact altogether, or even hold prolonged unblinking eye contact. When people are truly sad, they will hunch or slump over, sooth themselves by stroking various parts of their body and will orient away from people.
Body Language Category: Anger, Closed facial gestures, Depressive body language, Dislike (nonverbal), Negative body language, Rejection body language, Stressful body language, Suppressed facial expression.
Resources:
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