He added, "These aspects of positive emotionality may be what's leading some people to remain married," with the flip side being that "people who smile little may demonstrate more negative emotionality" and later report "less life happiness over their life spans." LeeAnne Harker and Dacher Keltner conducted a similar study at the University of California at Berkeley. They looked solely at Mills College women's yearbook photos, but tracked how these individuals later fared at ages 21, 27, 43 and 52. "Over time, women who expressed more positive emotion in their yearbook pictures became more organized, mentally focused and achievement oriented, and less susceptible to repeated and prolonged experiences of negative affect," Harker and Keltner concluded. Hertenstein was quick to point out that such studies may "not generalize to many other cultures," since photo smiling practices in other countries can vary. Also, he admits there's "a significant amount of variability in the data," despite the identified patterns, perhaps quelling possible protests from un-divorced graduates recalling their less-than-flattering yearbook pics. "So just because people can find examples that do not fit the pattern," he said, "it doesn't mean that the pattern isn't evident." Related Links: Yearbook Photos of U.S. Politicians HowStuffWorks.com: Is Marriage a Good Investment? |
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