# Spot the Fake Smile - Easy or Hard? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 25, 2005, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spot-the-fake-smile-easy-or-hard/300926 "2005-04-25T00:08:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![empty\_filing\_cabinet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@empty\_filing\_cabinet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/empty_filing_cabinet)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2005, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spot-the-fake-smile-easy-or-hard/300926/21 "2005-04-26T00:34:40Z")
> [@ninetypercent](#): > > how 'bout this… real or computer generated? : [Alias Software | Get Prices & Buy Alias 2022 | Autodesk](http://www.alias.com/eng/etc/fakeorfoto/quiz.html) Got most of them wrong. Can’t tell the difference. > [@Idlewild](#): > > fakers had much less movement Interesting. And observant. I’ve read that – that if someone’s fidgety, that actually could be a sign of truth-telling, as fakers move less, because they’re concentrating on the fake. But I guess it all varies with the person, and the context. > [@Scott Evil](#): > > Spoiler: Also observant; same comment as above. ---
**Author:** ![empty\_filing\_cabinet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@empty\_filing\_cabinet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/empty_filing_cabinet)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2005, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spot-the-fake-smile-easy-or-hard/300926/22 "2005-04-26T00:40:02Z")
> [@empty filing cabinet](#): > > I’ve read that – that if someone’s fidgety, that actually could be a sign of truth-telling, as fakers move less, because they’re concentrating on the fake. But I guess it all varies with the person, and the context. P.S. - E.g., I read about a drug mule that was stopped at the airport and was being detained pending bowel movements got real fidgety after refusing to go the bathroom for 12 hours. ---
**Author:** ![Vision\_of\_Love](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Vision\_of\_Love](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vision_of_Love)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2005, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spot-the-fake-smile-easy-or-hard/300926/23 "2005-04-26T03:06:23Z")
19/20 for me. I didn’t expect to do _that_ well. I probably wouldn’t have if I hadn’t learned from a book a long time ago that the you-know-what is/are usually the indicator of a real smile. I got #5 wrong. That extremely long smile threw me off. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2005, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spot-the-fake-smile-easy-or-hard/300926/24 "2005-04-26T03:24:10Z")
I got 18, but was thrown off by the fact that #13 scared the bejesus out of me. ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Bruin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Queen\_Bruin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Bruin)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2005, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spot-the-fake-smile-easy-or-hard/300926/25 "2005-04-26T05:27:33Z")
I got 15/20. I find it a little hard, although I go by the eye-crinkling as well. Sometimes it just looks a little off to me. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2005, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spot-the-fake-smile-easy-or-hard/300926/26 "2005-04-26T05:52:40Z")
I did the test, and am just not getting it: What makes a smile “fake”? Whoever produced that web site pointed a camera at at several, and said “smile!”. What makes some smiles genuine and some fake? It’s late, so perhaps I’ve missed an explanation on that web site, but I’m not seeing a distinction relevant to that test. Please clue me. ---
**Author:** ![Another\_Primate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Another\_Primate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Another_Primate)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2005, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spot-the-fake-smile-easy-or-hard/300926/27 "2005-04-26T06:12:12Z")
I am pitiful. 7 out of 20. Ouch. ---
**Author:** ![Keapon\_Laffin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e274bd/32.png) [@Keapon\_Laffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keapon_Laffin)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2005, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spot-the-fake-smile-easy-or-hard/300926/28 "2005-04-26T07:51:01Z")
15 out of 20. I disagree about the eyes. I think you should look at the overall. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2005, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spot-the-fake-smile-easy-or-hard/300926/29 "2005-04-26T11:36:20Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > I did the test, and am just not getting it: What makes a smile “fake”? > > Whoever produced that web site pointed a camera at at several, and said “smile!”. What makes some smiles genuine and some fake? > > It’s late, so perhaps I’ve missed an explanation on that web site, but I’m not seeing a distinction relevant to that test. Please clue me. My assumption: for the fake ones, that’s probably similar to what they did. But for the genuine ones, they probably had a different set up. Instead, they maybe didn’t tell them to smile, but said they weren’t filming yet and then told some funny joke or had something “spontaneous” and funny (cute/adorable/whatever, like having a new puppy run around and be silly) happen, and so could tape the smiles. That way there are “genuine” smiles (because they’re filmed smiling at something they saw/heard) and “fake” smiles (because they were told to smile and had to do so intentionally). The end info after the quiz tells us the differences between a spontaneous smile and a conscious smile, so I’m figuring that’s it. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2005, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spot-the-fake-smile-easy-or-hard/300926/30 "2005-04-26T11:59:16Z")
> [@zweisamkeit](#): > > My assumption: for the fake ones, that’s probably similar to what they did. But for the genuine ones, they probably had a different set up. Instead, they maybe didn’t tell them to smile, but said they weren’t filming yet and then told some funny joke or had something “spontaneous” and funny (cute/adorable/whatever, like having a new puppy run around and be silly) happen, and so could tape the smiles. > > That way there are “genuine” smiles (because they’re filmed smiling at something they saw/heard) and “fake” smiles (because they were told to smile and had to do so intentionally). The end info after the quiz tells us the differences between a spontaneous smile and a conscious smile, so I’m figuring that’s it. Either that, or they randomly assigned some to be fake and some not. I’m starting to think we’re being put on by whoever put up the site. :dubious: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spot-the-fake-smile-easy-or-hard/300926.md?page=1)