Does Your Smile Predict Your Marriage Success
Thu, 04/16/2009 - 14:54
A recent news story said that the success of a marriage can be predicted by how widely you smiled in photographs as a child. Do you think this is all a bunch of hooey, or does it make sense?
Fri, 04/17/2009 - 04:58
#2
Predictable
Behavior patterns are set surprisingly early, and are tough to change. Really big smiles are caused by joy and happiness together, recognition of goodness and celebration of circumstance. When a person learns early to recognize what is good, and to celebrate when there is reason, the benefit is that they both see and share goodness. (For we rarely celebrate alone.) Seeing the good in a marriage, and sharing it with our spouse is a relationship builder.
A large smile is indicative of a positive emotional state. This emotional state may be the result of an internal style of relating to the world. What also should be taken into consideration is that size of the smile may be a result of frequent use of those muscles indicating that there is a frequent positive emotional state. This positive emotional state is most likely contributed to by a healthy psychology. In which case it could be predictive of a good marriage in so far as that positive affect IS caused by healthy psychology which we should presume includes some level of social virtue necessary to maintain a lengthy marriage.
In an age where science ceases seeking the truth, the arts avoid beauty it should come as no surprise the culture lacks moral goodness.