Smiling Is Not A Universal Sign Of Happiness, According To Modern Neuroscience

This story appeared in the March 20, 2017 issue of Level Up by Forbes newsletter. The TSA has spent $1 billion training airport personnel to detect terrorist-like body language, the New York Times reports, and the U.S. legal system looks for displays of remorse when deliberating on first-degree-murder trials. However, such readings of human nature are predicated on outdated neuroscience, new research concludes. Lisa Feldman Barrett, a Northeastern University professor of psychology, is at the forefront of the "constructed emotion" theory. For example: Fear does not have a specific operating location in the brain, nor does it create a universal response, like widening your eyes.