A variety of findings in the fields of constitutional personality
theory, person perception, emotion, and orthodontic dentistry suggest there
may be a relationship between personality dimensions and facial structure.
Twenty subjects with long, angular faces and 20 subjects with short, square
faces were selected on the basis of a radiographic study of their facial
structure. The subjects completed a biographical data sheet and took Forms A
and B of the 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire. Subjects with long, angular
faces were found to be more responsive, assertive, and genuine than subjects
with short, square faces who were more restrained, conforming, and shrewd. The
results of the study were compared with findings in the somatotype literature
linking body size and shape with personality traits. The role of genetic
factors underlying facial structure and personality attributes, the
development of behavior patterns based on social stereotypes about facial
shape, and the effect of postural sets on facial form during maturation were
discussed. Suggestions were made for further research utilizing EMG recordings
and developmental observations.
There have been various
studies that have reported converging evidence concerning self-stranger
agreement for personality traits to the effect that self-stranger agreement is
particularly strong for extraversion and conscientiousness. The present study
replicates these findings and reports evidence that this consensus reflects
the above-chance accuracy of ratings by strangers rather than the effects of
self-presentation only.
Several studies have demonstrated some accuracy in
personality attribution using only visual appearance. Using composite images
of those scoring high and low on a particular trait, the current study shows
that judges perform better than chance in guessing others' personality,
particularly for the traits conscientiousness and extraversion. This study
also shows that attractiveness, masculinity and age may all provide cues to
assess personality accurately and that accuracy is affected by the sex of both
of those judging and being judged. Individuals do perform better than chance
at guessing another's personality from only facial information, providing some
support for the popular belief that it is possible to assess accurately
personality from faces.
The human tendency
to form impressions of others is ubiquitous and consequential. Consensus, or
agreement among individuals, regarding their first impressions based on the
facial appearance of others can lead to the treatment of other individuals in
particular ways that shape their outcomes
and behaviors. For an impression to be considered accurate it must not only be
consensual but must also show correspondence to an external criterion, such as
whether impressions of individuals' leadership ability are related to the
performance of their group or organization. Many of our first impressions may
not have valid external criteria to enable an assessment of the accuracy of
the impression. Yet, whether our impressions are accurate or merely
consensual, they can still often predict important outcomes.
A limited but
growing literature has shown that our impressions can be both consensual and
predictive despite important social and perceptual distinctions, such as
differences in culture.
Despite the crucial role of physical appearance in
forming first impressions, little research has examined the accuracy of
personality impressions based on appearance alone. This study examined the
accuracy of observers' impressions on 10 personality traits based on full-body
photographs using criterion measures based on self and peer reports. When
targets' posture and expression were constrained (standardized condition),
observers' judgments were accurate for extraversion, self-esteem, and
religiosity. When targets were photographed with a spontaneous pose and facial
expression (spontaneous condition), observers' judgments were accurate for
almost all of the traits examined. Lens model analyses demonstrated that both
static cues (e.g., clothing style) and dynamic cues (e.g., facial expression,
posture) offered valuable personality-relevant information. These results
suggest that personality is manifested through both static and expressive
channels of appearance, and observers use this information to form accurate
judgments for a variety of traits.
Study: Strangers can spot 'kindness' gene
Article
People with a certain gene trait are known to be more kind and
caring than people without it, and strangers can quickly tell the difference,
according to US research published on Monday...In most cases, the observers
were able to tell which of the listeners had the "kindness gene" and which
ones did not, said the findings in the Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences edition of November 14 [2011].
Oregon State University
Facial width-to-height ratio is a sexually dimorphic metric that is
independent of body size and may have been shaped by sexual selection. We
recently showed that this metric is correlated with behavioral aggression in
men. In Study 1, observers estimated the propensity for aggression of men
photographed displaying neutral facial expressions and for whom a behavioral
measure of aggression was obtained. The estimates were correlated strongly
with the facial width-to-height ratio of the stimulus faces and with the
actual aggression of the men. These results were replicated in Study 2, in
which the exposure to each stimulus face was shortened to 39 ms. Participants'
estimates of aggression for each stimulus face were highly correlated between
Study 2 (39-ms exposure) and Study 1 (2,000-ms exposure). These findings
suggest that the facial width-to-height ratio may be a cue used to predict
propensity for aggression in others.
Narcissism is characterized in part by an acute
concern for one's appearance. Despite this fundamental aspect of narcissism,
little is known about whether narcissism is manifested in features of physical
appearance. Can you tell if someone is narcissistic just by looking at them?
Our results indicate that snap judgments of narcissism based on full-body
photographs are at least as accurate as snap judgments of any of the big five
personality traits. Narcissists are more likely to wear expensive, flashy
clothing, have an organized, neat appearance requiring a lot of preparation,
and (in females) wear makeup and show cleavage. Furthermore, observers' judgments correlate with the presence of these cues, suggesting that they are
drawing on the correct information when making their judgments. Finally,
observers' judgments are associated with three of the four facets of
narcissism and capture the unique constellation of personality traits typical
of narcissists (i.e., high extraversion and low agreeableness). These findings
suggest that physical appearance reflects narcissists' personality,
preoccupation with good looks, and desire to be the center of attention, and
serves as a vehicle with which to promote their status.
Facial profiling: New study shows facial structure can reveal personality
Article
We’ve all heard of racial profiling, but what about facial
profiling? It may sound silly, but new research from a team of Brock
University psychologists suggests that we subconsciously ascertain possible
aggression in others
based on their facial structure. The findings, published recently in
Psychological Science, show that face shape--specifically a measurement
called facial width-to-height ratio (WHR)--may influence the instant
judgments we make about others. Not only that, but the Brock University study
demonstrates that these automatic predictions can be remarkably accurate...
The Roles of Featural and Configural Face Processing in Snap Judgments of
Sexual Orientation
Abstract
Research has shown
that people are able to judge sexual orientation from faces with above-chance
accuracy, but little is known about how these judgments are formed. Here, we
investigated the importance of well-established face processing mechanisms in
such judgments: featural processing (e.g., an eye) and configural processing
(e.g., spatial distance between eyes). Participants judged sexual orientation
from faces presented for 50 milliseconds either upright, which recruits both
configural and featural processing, or upside-down, when configural processing
is strongly impaired and featural processing remains relatively intact.
Although participants judged women’s and men’s sexual orientation with
above-chance accuracy for upright faces and for upside-down faces, accuracy
for upside-down faces was significantly reduced. The reduced judgment accuracy
for upside-down faces indicates that configural face processing significantly
contributes to accurate snap judgments of sexual orientation.
Blog discussing research:http://6keysoptimalhealth.blogspot.com/2012/05/got-gaydar.html
This study investigated whether women track possible cues of paternal
and genetic quality in men's faces and then map perception of those cues onto
mate attractiveness judgments. Men's testosterone concentrations served as a
proxy for genetic quality given evidence that this hormone signals
immunocompetence, and men's scores on an interest in infants test were chosen
as prima facie markers of paternal quality. Women's perceptions of facial
photographs of these men were in fact sensitive to these two variables: men's
scores on the interest in infants test significantly predicted women's ratings
of the photos for how much the men like children, and men's testosterone
concentrations significantly predicted women's ratings of the men's faces for
masculinity. Furthermore, men's actual and perceived affinity for children
predicted women's long-term mate attractiveness judgments, while men's
testosterone and perceived masculinity predicted women's short-term mate
attractiveness judgments. These results suggest that women can detect facial
cues of men's hormone concentrations and affinity for children, and that women
use perception of these cues to form mate attractiveness judgments.
Article on this research
here.
The identification of altruists based on non-verbal cues might offer a
solution to the problem of subtle cheating. Previous studies have indicated
that the ability to discriminate altruists from non-altruists emerges during
evolution. However, behavioural differences with regard to social exchanges
involving altruists and non-altruists have not been studied. We investigated
differences in responses to videotaped altruists and non-altruists with the
Faith Game. Participants tended to entrust real money to altruists more than
to non-altruists, providing strong evidence that cognitive adaptations evolve
as counter-strategies to subtle cheating.
Article on this research
here.
In a series of experiments, Tracy and colleague Nicholas P. Satariano
had seven gay and seven heterosexual males record a list of monosyllabic
words, such as "mass," "food," and "sell"; Listeners were then
asked to identify the sexual orientation of the speakers when played those
entire words, the first two letter sounds (say, "ma"), or just the first letter sound
("m"). Although they couldn't accurately guess the sexual orientation of the
speaker with just the first letter sound, "when presented with the first two
letter sounds, listeners were 75 percent accurate," says Tracy.
ORDER FORM for
Facial Profile from Photographs
For Facial Profiling services in person, please fill out an inquiry form
here.
RESEARCH ON THIN-SLICING
Two studies examined the role of processing style (intuitive vs.
deliberative processing) in a deception detection task. In the first
experiment, a thin slicing manipulation was used to demonstrate that intuitive
processing can lead to more accurate judgments of deception when compared with
traditional deliberative forms of processing. In the second experiment,
participants who engaged in a secondary (concurrent) task performed more
accurately in a deception detection task than participants who were asked to
provide a verbal rationale for each decision and those in a control condition.
Overall, the results converge to suggest that intuitive processing can
significantly improve deception detection performance.
Are narcissists better at reading minds?
(The dark side of theory of mind)
By
Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman,
Adjunct
Assistant Professor of Psychology at New York University
Article
February 14, 2012
