Like in a children’s song – if not to yourself, then to someone else. French social psychologist Nicolas Guéguen discovered a pattern: a person who received a friendly smile shows a greater willingness to help others than someone who has been deprived of a smile.
Like in a children’s song – if not to yourself, then to someone else. French social psychologist Nicolas Guéguen discovered a pattern: a person who received a friendly smile shows a greater willingness to help others than someone who has been deprived of a smile. The experiment involved 800 men and women. They all descended and ascended the stairs, and every second met a smiling girl below. At the top, another extra was waiting for everyone, who “awkwardly” dropped a box of floppy disks. Those who were smiled on the way were much more likely to offer their help to the “absent-minded” one. The author of the experiment explains this phenomenon as follows: a smile addressed to you not only improves your mood, but also affects self-esteem. A person unconsciously wants to maintain a positive attitude and … comes to the aid of another, thus increasing self-esteem.