Pretending to be happy can actually make you more miserable — especially if you’re a woman, according to a new study.
The research found that women suffered more than men when pretending to be happy. Psychologist Dr. Brent Scott, who led the study, said employers should take note because forcing workers to smile when dealing with the public can backfire. He said, “Smiling for the sake of smiling can lead to emotional exhaustion, and that’s bad for the organization.”
Dr. Scott said the research showed customer-service workers who “fake smile” throughout the day worsen their mood and then withdraw from work, so their productivity drops. He added, “Bosses may think that getting their staff to smile is good for the organization, but that’s not necessarily the case.” Dr. Scott, assistant professor of management at Michigan State University, analyzed a group of bus drivers during a two- week period.
The study is one of the first of its kind to examine emotional displays over a period of time and compare the different effect that has on men and women. His team examined the effects of surface acting — or fake smiling — compared to what was termed “deep acting”, or cultivating(培养) positive emotions by recalling pleasant memories.
Dr. Scott said, “Women are harmed more by surface acting, meaning their mood worsens even more than the men and they withdraw more from work. However, they are helped more by deep acting, which means their mood improves more.”
Although “deep acting” seems to improve mood in the short-term, Dr. Scott said it’s not a long-term solution to feeling unhappy.
He said, “You’re trying to cultivate positive emotions, but at the end of the day you may not feel like yourself anymore.”
小题1:What does the underlined word “backfire” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?
A．Have the opposite effect.
B．Lead to conflict.
C．Drive people mad.
D．Help a lot.小题2:What can we learn from the passage?
A．Surface acting is good for organizations.
B．Men benefit more from deep acting than women.
C．Fake smiling causes more harm to women than men.
D．Recalling good memories is a long-term solution to feeling down.小题3:The findings of the research might serve as a warning to _______.
A．employees
B．employers
C．researchers
D．customers.小题4: What would be the best title for the passage?
A．Solution to feeling unhappy
B．How to cultivate positive emotions
C．How to improve workers’ productivity
D．Fake smiling makes you miserable
