The BBC has a really interesting test on its web site at the moment. It's all about whether or not people can spot fake smiles versus real ones.
I figured that since it's part of the diagnostic criteria for aspergers that we have problems reading non-verbal cues, it would provide some insightful results.
Real versus Fake Smile Test
The test shows you 20 videos of people smiling either real or fake smiles. You can't replay the smiles until you've finished voting but you can spend as long as you like thinking about them before you choose your answer.
I expected to do badly but in fact, I did really well. I got 19 out of 20 correct.
You'll need a flash enabled browser/computer to do the test.
My Secret (Don't read this until you've done the test yourself)
At the end of the test, it asks you to indicate what clued you in.
In my case it was not the smiles at all. It was other head movements (like shaking it) which indicated that the person had just heard a joke. It was also the speed of the smile. A fake smile is slow and controlled whereas a real smile is spontaneous and fast. It's out of the persons's control.
What it all means
Ultimately, this article causes me to question whether or not people with aspergers have as much difficulty with non-verbal cues as the literature suggests.
- Perhaps we just take longer to think about it. In this case, the length of time available to us matters and the test results don't show the outcome of high speed selection.
- Perhaps we learn as we get older - and I'm doing much better now that I would have done ten years ago?
- Perhaps it's just a function of our naievity. I'd been told that some smiles were going to be fake, so I was expecting them - and suspicious of all.
Whatever the reason, the test and the results are very interesting.
Comments
I'm an adult Aspie with two MAs in psychology. I've studied some of Ekman's previous work, seen videos of him describing facial expressions, etc. I knew of his work on how it is muscles around the eyes that give away real vs. fake smiles, so I looked for that. And yet... I missed 7 of them. I was also looking for signs that the person had been told a joke, etc. I think that's one of the main differences -- Aspies figure out non-verbals by analyzing them, while NTs do it intuitively. I wish they'd given an average correct response, but I would guess that 13 isn't a "bad" score on this, just not a good one either.
i got 10 out of 20.
however, i got the first five in a row right... i was also looking at the head shaking. but... then i told myself i was overthinking it and that that was cheating... i took the test quickly. tried to "go with my gut". i also looked at the eyes more, as people are "supposed" to look at eyes and i tend not to.
so, the test has reinforced that it is ok and GOOD for amanda to "overthink" as that is more effective.
site said most people are bad at spotting fake smiles though. so i think perhaps that anyone who tried to reason it out more than do it intuitively would have better results, regardless of aspie/nt.
I guess you could say on the last 15 I got 14/15.
How often do we read books that use the cliche "but his smile didn't quite reach his eyes" ?
Fun test!
It's like someone handing you 500 Szechuan dollars. Great?
Well, I'm above fifty per-cent, so I know that I have a 50% probability of evaluating the situation correctly.
This seemed like a breeze. The facial expression recognition pictures are absurd, in contrast. I really have to wonder if people actually know what that one expression REALLY means.
Scanning the page, 36(?) sets of nearly-identicial eyes. Some are completely blank. Nothing there. Anger/peering coldly and flirtatious are nearly interchangeable.
Real-life doesn't provide you with 15 seconds of analyzing.
I got frustrated with this test because I honestly had no idea about most of them. I was mostly just picking random answers. Got 9 out of 20 right. The tips on the site after the test and here in your article may come in handy if I can remember them...
This is my first posted comment and I'm really enjoying reading the blog here, so I'd just like to finish by thanking the author and all the contributors for sharing your thoughts. I finally feel I have encountered a community of people I can readily understand and relate to! Sarah.
The head-shaking thing was a huge giveaway in this test, really. It was very obvious to me that those people were laughing, and that would (to me) indicate a genuine smile. Scrunchy eyes, though, were the other thing that I looked for.
I was thinking the same thing. I'm undiagnosed but strongly believe I am an aspie (or was according to DSM-IV.) I can't tell you the amount of times I have perceived conflict at work through 'false smiles' only to have neuro-typicals dismiss my concerns. It's hard to explain but I have this theory that maybe we're over-sensitive to body language and act accordingly but get dismissed for doing so - somehow I'm the one who needs to watch body language. Maybe the unspoken rule we aspies miss is not to react to passive-aggressively/fake behaviours.
Perhaps it's a degree of overcompensation?