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Pretending to be happy can actually make you more miserable - especially if you're a woman, according to a new study.
Researchers found that walking around with a forced smile and faking happiness simply led to people feeling gloomier.
So, putting a brave face on your woes could actually be counterproductive.
The research found that women suffered more than men when pretending to be happy.
Psychologist Dr Brent Scott, who led the study, said employers should take note because forcing workers to smile when dealing with the public can backfire.
He said: "Smiling for the sake of smiling can lead to emotional exhaustion and withdrawal, and that's bad for the organisation."
Dr Scott said the research showed customer-service workers who 'fake smile' throughout the day worsen their mood and then withdraw from work, so their productivity drops.
He added: "Bosses may think that getting their staff to smile is good for the organisation, but that's not necessarily the case."
Dr Scott, assistant professor of management at Michigan State University, analysed a group of bus drivers during a two-week period.
The study is one of the first of its kind to examine emotional displays over a period of time and compare the different effect that has on men and women.
His team examined the effects of surface acting - or fake smiling - compared to what was termed 'deep acting', or cultivating positive emotions by recalling pleasant memories.
Dr Scott said: "Women were harmed more by surface acting, meaning their mood worsened even more than the men and they withdrew more from work.
"However, they were helped more by deep acting, which means their mood improved more and they withdrew less."
Dr Scott suggested women tend to suffer more when pretending to be happy because they are expected to be more emotionally expressive than men.
Therefore, faking a smile while feeling down is more likely to go against their normal behaviour and cause more harmful feelings.
Although, 'deep acting' seemed to improve mood in the short-term, Dr Scott says it's not a long-term solution to feeling unhappy.
He said: "You're trying to cultivate positive emotions, but at the end of the day you may not feel like yourself anymore."
(Read by Nelly Min. Nelly Min is a journalist at the China Daily Website.)
(Agencies) |
一项新研究显示，假装快乐反而会让你觉得更加抑郁，对女性来说，尤其如此。
研究人员发现，强颜欢笑、假装快乐只会让你感到更抑郁。
因此，强装快乐来掩盖你的悲伤其实会产生相反的效果。
研究发现，假装快乐的时候，女性比男性更痛苦。
该研究的领头人、心理学家布伦特•斯科特博士提醒雇主们要注意到这一点，因为让员工在应对客户时强颜欢笑结果会适得其反。
他说：“为笑而笑会导致员工工作情绪枯竭，不想工作，而这对于公司来说是不利的。”
斯科特博士说，研究表明那些整天“假笑”的客服工作人员心情通常很差且工作积极性不高，从而降低了他们的工作效率。
他接着说：“老板们可能认为让员工微笑对公司有益，但是事实并不一定是这样。”
斯科特博士是密歇根州立大学的管理学助理教授，他分析了一组公交司机在两周内的表现。
在同类研究中，该研究首度观察了人们在一段时间内的情绪表达，并且比较了这种表达对男性和女性的不同影响。
斯科特的团队比较了表层伪装（或假笑）和深层伪装的不同效果。深层伪装是指通过回想快乐的记忆来培养正面的情绪。
斯科特博士说：“女性在表层伪装中受到的伤害更大，这意味着她们的情绪会比男性变得更糟，也更不想工作。
“但是，深层伪装则能给她们更多帮助，她们的情绪能更好一些，对工作的积极性也更高。”
斯科特博士认为女性在假装快乐的时候更痛苦，因为一般来说女性相比男性更愿意表达自己的情感。
因此，在心情低落的时候强装笑脸会跟她们平常的行为相悖，并导致更多的不良情绪。
但是斯科特博士说，尽管深层伪装能在短期内改善你的心情，但是它并不是应对心情低落的长期办法。
他说：“如果你尽力去培养一种积极情绪，到一天结束的时候，你可能会有一种不真实的感觉。” |
