FLOWERS WORLD

Measurement of Positive Emotion
The measurement of emotion, particularly positive emotion, is reliably done in several ways. Positive expressive movements among humans are reliably measured with facial movement, particularly smiles. The smile is the easiest facial movement to recognize. This is especially important when the movement is brief and embedded in ongoing activity. Self-reports of moods are also reliable when longer mood states are measured.
The Duchenne smile is consistently related to positive emotion in humans and is a reliable indicator of happiness, whether or not the happiness can be self-reported (Dimberg, Thunberg, and Elmehed, 2000). For example, Messinger, Fogel and Dickson (2001) showed that the Duchenne smile is associated with reciprocal positive emotion because it is displayed by infants when their mothers are also smiling. Williams et al (2001) argue that the Duchenne smile elicits a hardwired reciprocal response in observers. The Duchenne smile functions both as a shared communication as well as an individual response to positive stimuli. It is a reliable indicator of the ability of a stimulus to elicit immediate positive emotion.
In the course of research on fear stimuli Dimberg and Thell (1988) used pictures of snakes for fear stimuli, and pictures of flowers for neutral stimuli. They found that flowers were not neutral but had effects on rapid changes in facial musculature. They reported that the facial EMG reaction to the flower stimuli is zygomatic muscle activity (smile), which they refer to as a positive response. Dimberg and Thell did not conclude that the study participants exposed to the flower picture were happy because a genuine, or “true” smile (the Duchenne smile) also requires orbicularis oris movement (movement around the eye), which they did not measure. It is possible that they inadvertently discovered a positive emotional stimulus in flowers. This immediate response needs to be tested with further study of the facial response to determine whether the response is indeed the Duchenne smile. This will be one of the first tests we use in Study 1.
If people respond to cultivated flowers with a Duchenne smile, it would be a strong indicator that flowers are an immediate stimulus for positive emotions. Then if interviews and self-reports corroborate the positive effects, this is evidence for long term or secondary effects on mood.