Popularity_Project

Facial expression has been proposed as a key mechanism in forming and maintaining social relationships. Here we show that facial expressivity predicts popularity during initial social group formation. We measured the facial behaviour of strangers during naturalistic online social interactions in small groups (N = 256; in 72 groups) and calculated social network indices based on relative liking. More expressive individuals were more popular and perceived as warmer and more cooperative. In contrast, attractiveness did not leverage a social advantage. We suggest that facial expressivity is perceived as an honest indicator of potential cooperation and therefore favoured in group settings where cooperation is important to offset potential competition. Our findings show that facial expression serves an important role in determining popularity in social group settings.