Positive Links Speaker Series
The surprising effects of smiling on stress, health, and behavioral outcomes
Sarah Pressman
September 20, 2016
4:00-5:00 p.m.
Free and open to the public; reception to follow.
Michigan Ross Campus
Blau Hall
700 East University
Colloquium, 5th Floor
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1234
Positive Links:
Gain inspiring and practical research-based strategies for building organizations that are high performing and bring out the best in people. Learn from leading positive organizational scholars and connect with our community of academics, students, staff, and leaders.
Positive Links sessions take place at Michigan Ross, and are free and open to the public.
About the talk:
Smiling is a simple but powerful behavior with interesting ties to social, physical, and mental wellbeing. In her talk, Pressman will outline some of her recent research on the positive and negative effects of this simple act in both natural and experimental paradigms.
Outcomes discussed will range from how smiling alters physical stress trajectories, perceptions, and responses to pain, and even how often individuals go to visit a doctor. We also explore behavioral effects of smiling and reveal the surprising ways that smiling may alter whether or not individuals behave immorally and how positive expressions may alter risky decision making.
Pressman will end with a discussion of the possible mechanisms underlying these effects along with important needs in future research.
About Pressman:
Sarah Pressman is an award-winning Associate Professor of Psychology and Social Behavior in the School of Social Ecology at the University of California, Irvine. Her work seeks to understand how positive emotions are beneficial for objective physical health and longevity. Her research findings have been published in top psychology journals, and featured in media outlets like the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Colbert Report. Watch Pressman’s TEDX talk: “Why doctors should care about happiness.”
Hosted by:
Kim Cameron, co-founder of the Center for Positive Organizations; William Russell Kelly Chair of Management and Organizations; Professor of Higher Education
Sponsors:
The Center for Positive Organizations thanks University of Michigan Learning & Professional Development, Sanger Leadership Center, Tauber Institute for Global Operations, Samuel Zell & Robert H. Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies, and Diane and Paul Jones (MBA ‘75), for their support of the 2016-17 Positive Links Speaker Series.
Registration link:
http://positiveorgs.bus.umich.edu/events/the-surprising-effects-of-smiling-on-stress-health-and-behavioral-outcomes
