Which of the following illustrates the facial feedback effect?

• A. Becoming angry when someone insults you
• B. Smiling even when you do not feel happy and then beginning to feel happier as a result
• C. Laughing at a funny joke told by a comedian
• D. Feeling sad after hearing bad news from a friend

Answer: (B)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Understand the facial feedback hypothesis, which suggests that facial expressions can influence emotional experiences, meaning that the act of forming a facial expression can actually lead to the corresponding emotional feeling.
2. Identify the key idea in the problem: the facial feedback effect involves changes in emotion that result from making a facial expression, rather than the emotion causing the expression.
3. Analyze each option to see if it fits this idea: becoming angry due to an insult is an emotional reaction causing a facial expression, not the other way around.
4. Recognize that smiling without initially feeling happy, and then starting to feel happier, directly illustrates the facial feedback effect because the facial expression (smiling) influences the emotional state (feeling happier).
5. Confirm that laughing at a joke or feeling sad after bad news are emotional responses to external stimuli, not examples of facial expressions causing emotions, so they do not illustrate the facial feedback effect.