Jul 6, 2012 · When a human bares his teeth, flattens his ears and tightens his throat muscles, he is smiling. How did this odd evolutionary divergence happen?

Jan 12, 2025 · When you smile at an ape, especially showing the upper teeth prominently, it can be perceived as a challenge or threat, rather than a friendly gesture. This misinterpretation can lead to an aggressive response, particularly in species known for their territoriality.

Nov 24, 2022 · It's not an act of aggression for most apes, it's a signal of nonaggression or submission, or fear, stress and nervousness, depending on which type of smile it is. The first type is the appeasement grin, used as a signal of submission to a …

May 31, 2019 · Despite these similarities, the human smile differs from the ape equivalent in that we typically pull up our mouth corners and infuse the expression with even more friendliness and affection. This applies only to the real smile, though. We often wear plastic smiles with no deep meaning whatsoever.

Feb 16, 2025 · Research shows that what looks like a cheerful smile might actually be a sign of discomfort or submission, especially in situations of stress. So, the next time you catch a glimpse of an ape’s smile, remember that their expressions may not reflect joy as you might expect.

This use of the smile is not too different from its use by apes who also can use their smile to show fear. The smile evolved over millions of years and differently through several animals, cultures, and through different social behaviours as an affect display to show happiness, pride, contempt, fear, anger, embarrassment, love, and several ...

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"If an orangutan is appearing to grin, this is what's known as an 'appeasement grin', meaning it's not a true smile," Holly said. "In fact, many primate species, including orangutans, will open their mouths and bare their teeth in a 'smile' as a threat or to signify they feel unsafe."

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