SUBTEXTfeelings of confidence increased as well. One fed on the other,
and by the year's end she had been promoted to the next level.
Dr. Robert Zajonic, a psychologist at the University of Michigan,
has uncovered evidence of a physiological basis to what Lisa discov-
ered—that convincingly changing the subtext you project can affect
your mood and attitude. As facial muscles relax or tighten, the
temperature of blood flowing to the brain is raised or lowered.
These changes in temperature in turn affect the brain centers
that regulate emotions.
As proof, Dr. Zajonic had volunteers repeat certain vowel sounds
over and over. A long "e," which forces a smile, and "ah," which
imitates the expression of surprise, both induced pleasant feelings.
Other sounds, such as a long "u," put volunteers into a bad mood.
A team of psychologists at Clark University in Worcester, Massa-
chussets, found confirming evidence for Dr. Zajonic's theory. Like
Dr. Zajonic, they showed that facial expressions indicating disgust,
anger, fear, or surprise indeed aroused those emotions. The expres-
sion caused the mood! Simply stated, looking happy makes you
feel happy. Looking sad makes you feel sad.
Dr. Paul Ekman and other psychologists at the University of
California Medical School in San Francisco went a step further.
They showed that when people mimic different emotions, they
actually experience distinct physiological reactions, such as
changes in body temperature and breathing rates.
In these and other instances, science is catching up with folk
wisdom, which tells us to "put on a happy face" or "walk tall."
The very act of changing your expression or your posture starts a
chain reaction that makes you actually experience change, which
makes it even easier to "look the part."
Changing your subtext by changing your behavior gives strength
and validity to your text.