Think His Smile is Friendly? Research Shows Men Use Their Smiles to Manipulate Women

Hmm… you might not want to show this article to your boyfriend or your male colleagues. Let’s just say that it could start giving them ideas…

According to researchers us womenfolk are far more likely to do the bidding of a man if he smiles at us. Yes, really. It sounds really freakin’ stupid, but apparently researchers have solid proof that we’re pushovers when a fella flashes us a cheeky grin.

In order to prove their claim, researchers at the University of Granada looked at the way women behaved during different interactions with their male friends and work colleagues.

In one experiment, the man was handing out instructions and the women obeyed him more if he grinned at them. Outrageously the women also obeyed the man, even if he issued a blatantly sexist statement after he smiled at them.

According to the boffins, the women who took part in the experiments also assumed a submissive posture when a man smiled at them.

Why did they do this? Well, the researchers believe that it’s all to do with warmth. They concluded that a man’s ‘perceived warmth’ encouraged us to act coy and to submit to him.

All smiles: is your man simply being friendly or is he trying to manipulate you?

We have to ask, what’s the deal with this? Are we just hardwired to do this? Unfortunately the researchers couldn’t answer this question.

However, body language expert Patti Wood said that these findings were “troubling.” We’re inclined to agree.

“Even if there’s dissonance between what’s been said and what his body is doing, women will look to the body,” said Ms Wood.

“If they see a smile, then the interaction seems more friendly. It’s a tricky situation, and one that highlights just how subtly sexism can intrude on interactions,” she added.

Fair enough, but there’s one thing that we’re now desperate to know:  how do you stop men from tricking you with their cheeky smiles? The answer is, thankfully, relatively simple. Apparently you should stop smiling yourself and look him directly in the eye.

“Smiling can make women seem more subordinate. If you’re smiling when giving an important statement, it makes that statement weaker,” said Ms Wood.

Are you a sucker for a cheeky grin?