1
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Saribay SA, Pokorný Š, Tureček P, Kleisner K. Facial basis of stereotypes: Judgements of warmth and competence based on cross-group typicality/distinctiveness of faces. Br J Psychol 2024. [PMID: 39347699 DOI: 10.1111/bjop.12738] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2022] [Accepted: 09/09/2024] [Indexed: 10/01/2024]
Abstract
Human migration is an increasingly common phenomenon and migrants are at risk of disadvantageous treatment. We reasoned that migrants may receive differential treatment by locals based on the closeness of their facial features to the host average. Residents of Türkiye, the country with the largest number of refugees currently, served as participants. Because many of these refugees are of Arabic origin, we created target facial stimuli varying along the axis connecting Turkish and Arabic morphological prototypes (excluding skin colour) computed using geometric morphometrics and available databases. Participants made judgements of two universal dimensions of social perception-warmth and competence-on these faces. We predicted that participants judging faces manipulated towards the Turkish average would provide higher warmth and competence ratings compared to judging the same faces manipulated towards the Arabic average. Bayesian statistical tools were employed to estimate parameter values in multilevel models with intercorrelated varying effects. The findings did not support the prediction and revealed raters (as well as target faces) to be an important source of variation in social judgements. In the absence of simple cues (e.g. skin colour, group labels), the effect of facial morphology on social judgements may be much more complex than previously assumed.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Petr Tureček
- Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
- Center for Theoretical Study, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
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2
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Connor P, Nicolas G, Antonoplis S, Koch A. Unconstrained Descriptions of Facebook Profile Pictures Support High-Dimensional Models of Impression Formation. PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY BULLETIN 2024:1461672241266651. [PMID: 39078047 DOI: 10.1177/01461672241266651] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/31/2024]
Abstract
Dominant models of impression formation focus on two fundamental dimensions: a horizontal dimension of warmth/communion/trustworthiness and a vertical dimension of competence/agency/dominance. However, these models have typically been studied using theory-driven methods and stimuli of restricted complexity. We used a data-driven approach and naturalistic stimuli to explore the latent dimensions underlying >300,000 unconstrained linguistic descriptions of 1,000 Facebook profile pictures from 2,188 participants. Via traditional (Exploratory Factor Analysis) and modern (natural language dictionaries, semantic sentence embeddings) approaches, we observed impressions to form with regard to the horizontal and vertical dimensions and their respective facets of sociability/morality and ability/assertiveness, plus the key demographic variables of gender, age, and race. However, we also observed impressions to form along numerous further dimensions, including adventurousness, conservatism, fitness, non-conformity, and stylishness. These results serve to emphasize the importance of high-dimensional models of impression formation and help to clarify the content dimensions underlying unconstrained descriptions of individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul Connor
- Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ, USA
| | | | | | - Alex Koch
- The University of Chicago Booth School of Business, IL, USA
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3
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Schmitz M, Vanbeneden A, Yzerbyt V. The many faces of compensation: The similarities and differences between social and facial models of perception. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0297887. [PMID: 38394248 PMCID: PMC10890726 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0297887] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2022] [Accepted: 01/03/2024] [Indexed: 02/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Previous research shows that stereotypes can distort the visual representation of groups in a top-down fashion. In the present endeavor, we tested if the compensation effect-the negative relationship that emerges between the social dimensions of warmth and competence when judging two social targets-would bias the visual representations of these targets in a compensatory way. We captured participants' near spontaneous facial prototypes of social targets by means of an unconstrained technique, namely the reverse correlation. We relied on a large multi-phase study (N = 869) and found that the expectations of the facial content of two novel groups that differed on one of the two social dimensions are biased in a compensatory manner on the facial dimensions of trustworthiness, warmth, and dominance but not competence. The present research opens new avenues by showing that compensation not only manifests itself on abstract ratings but that it also orients the visual representations of social targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mathias Schmitz
- Université Catholique de Louvain, Institute for Research in the Psychological Sciences, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Antoine Vanbeneden
- Université Catholique de Louvain, Institute for Research in the Psychological Sciences, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Vincent Yzerbyt
- Université Catholique de Louvain, Institute for Research in the Psychological Sciences, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
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4
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Effects of social context on facial trustworthiness judgments. CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s12144-022-04143-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
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5
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Sutherland CAM, Young AW. Understanding trait impressions from faces. Br J Psychol 2022; 113:1056-1078. [PMID: 35880691 PMCID: PMC9796653 DOI: 10.1111/bjop.12583] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2021] [Revised: 06/13/2022] [Accepted: 06/23/2022] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Impressions from faces are made remarkably quickly and they can underpin behaviour in a wide variety of social contexts. Over the last decade many studies have sought to trace the links between facial cues and social perception and behaviour. One such body of work has shown clear overlap between the fields of face perception and social stereotyping by demonstrating a role for conceptual stereotypes in impression formation from faces. We integrate these results involving conceptual influences on impressions with another substantial body of research in visual cognition which demonstrates that much of the variance in impressions can be predicted from perceptual, data-driven models using physical cues in face images. We relate this discussion to the phylogenetic, cultural, individual and developmental origins of facial impressions and define priority research questions for the field including investigating non-WEIRD cultures, tracking the developmental trajectory of impressions and determining the malleability of impression formation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clare A. M. Sutherland
- School of Psychology, King's CollegeUniversity of AberdeenAberdeenUK,School of Psychological ScienceUniversity of Western AustraliaCrawleyWestern AustraliaAustralia
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6
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The cultural learning account of first impressions. Trends Cogn Sci 2022; 26:656-668. [PMID: 35697651 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2022.05.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2022] [Revised: 05/16/2022] [Accepted: 05/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Humans spontaneously attribute character traits to strangers based on their facial appearance. Although these 'first impressions' typically have no basis in reality, some authors have assumed that they have an innate origin. By contrast, the Trait Inference Mapping (TIM) account proposes that first impressions are products of culturally acquired associative mappings that allow activation to spread from representations of facial appearance to representations of trait profiles. According to TIM, cultural instruments, including propaganda, illustrated storybooks, art and iconography, ritual, film, and TV, expose many individuals within a community to common sources of correlated face-trait experience, yielding first impressions that are shared by many, but typically inaccurate. Here, we review emerging empirical findings, many of which accord with TIM, and argue that future work must distinguish first impressions based on invariant facial features (e.g., shape) from those based on facial behaviours (e.g., expressions).
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7
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Twele AC, Mondloch CJ. The dimensions underlying first impressions of older adult faces are similar, but not identical, for young and older adult perceivers. Br J Psychol 2022; 113:1009-1032. [PMID: 35531976 DOI: 10.1111/bjop.12568] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2021] [Accepted: 04/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
First impressions based on facial cues have the potential to influence how older adults (OAs), a vulnerable population, are treated by others. The present study used a data-driven approach to examine dimensions underlying first impressions of OAs and whether those dimensions vary by perceiver age. In Experiment 1, young adult (YA) and OA participants provided unconstrained, written descriptions in response to OA faces. From these descriptors, 18 trait categories were identified that were similar, but not identical, across age groups. In Experiment 2, YA and OA participants rated OA faces on the trait words identified for their age group in Experiment 1. In separate principal components analyses, dimensions of sternness and confidence emerged for both groups. In Experiment 3, YA and OA participants rated these same faces on new words encompassing traits, emotion cues, and other appearance cues. Correlations between these ratings and factor scores showed that sternness is analogous to approachability for both age groups. Confidence is analogous to competence for both age groups and related to perceived age/health/attractiveness. Confidence was related to shyness for YAs but dominance for OAs. The current research has implications for a lifespan perspective on first impressions and informs functional accounts.
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8
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Pireddu S, Bongiorno R, Ryan MK, Rubini M, Menegatti M. The deficit bias: Candidate gender differences in the relative importance of facial stereotypic qualities to leadership hiring. BRITISH JOURNAL OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 2021; 61:644-671. [PMID: 34553397 PMCID: PMC9293180 DOI: 10.1111/bjso.12501] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2020] [Revised: 08/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Recent findings highlight two facets of the two fundamental stereotype content dimensions of agency (i.e., 'dominance' and 'competence') and communality (i.e., 'morality' and 'sociability'; e.g., Abele et al., 2016) with implications for understanding gender inequality in the workplace (e.g., Prati et al., 2019). Extending this research and contributing to the facial first impressions literature, we examined how these facets of agency and communality when inferred from White men's and women's faces, along with attractiveness, influence their leadership suitability. In three studies in the United Kingdom (total N = 424), using student and working samples and two managerial descriptions, we found an unexpected pattern of results, supported by an internal meta-analysis: attractiveness and competence were the most important predictors of hirability for all candidates. For women, dominance was the next most important predictor; for men, morality and sociability were more important than dominance. Moreover, morality and sociability were more important in evaluating men than women, while dominance was more important in evaluating women than men. Findings are discussed in terms of a 'deficit bias', whereby the qualities women and men are considered to lack - dominance for women, morality, and sociability for men - may be given more weight when evaluating their leadership suitability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Pireddu
- Department of Psychology 'Renzo Canestrari', Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna, Italy
| | | | - Michelle K Ryan
- School of Psychology, University of Exeter, UK.,Faculty of Economic and Business, University of Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Monica Rubini
- Department of Psychology 'Renzo Canestrari', Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna, Italy
| | - Michela Menegatti
- Department of Psychology 'Renzo Canestrari', Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna, Italy
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9
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Cook R, Over H. Why is the literature on first impressions so focused on White faces? ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2021; 8:211146. [PMID: 34567592 PMCID: PMC8456137 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.211146] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2021] [Accepted: 09/01/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
We spontaneously attribute to strangers a wide variety of character traits based on their facial appearance. While these first impressions have little or no basis in reality, they exert a strong influence over our behaviour. Cognitive scientists have revealed a great deal about first impressions from faces including their factor structure, the cues on which they are based, the neurocognitive mechanisms responsible, and their developmental trajectory. In this field, authors frequently strive to remove as much ethnic variability from stimulus sets as possible. Typically, this convention means that participants are asked to judge the likely traits of White faces only. In the present article, we consider four possible reasons for the lack of facial diversity in this literature and find that it is unjustified. Next, we illustrate how the focus on White faces has undermined scientific efforts to understand first impressions from faces and argue that it reinforces socially regressive ideas about 'race' and status. We go on to articulate our concern that opportunities may be lost to leverage the knowledge derived from the study of first impressions against the dire consequences of prejudice and discrimination. Finally, we highlight some promising developments in the field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard Cook
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HX, UK
| | - Harriet Over
- Department of Psychology, University of York, Heslington, York YO10 5DD, UK
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10
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Lin C, Keles U, Adolphs R. Four dimensions characterize attributions from faces using a representative set of English trait words. Nat Commun 2021; 12:5168. [PMID: 34453054 PMCID: PMC8397784 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-25500-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2020] [Accepted: 08/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
People readily (but often inaccurately) attribute traits to others based on faces. While the details of attributions depend on the language available to describe social traits, psychological theories argue that two or three dimensions (such as valence and dominance) summarize social trait attributions from faces. However, prior work has used only a small number of trait words (12 to 18), limiting conclusions to date. In two large-scale, preregistered studies we ask participants to rate 100 faces (obtained from existing face stimuli sets), using a list of 100 English trait words that we derived using deep neural network analysis of words that have been used by other participants in prior studies to describe faces. In study 1 we find that these attributions are best described by four psychological dimensions, which we interpret as “warmth”, “competence”, “femininity”, and “youth”. In study 2 we partially reproduce these four dimensions using the same stimuli among additional participant raters from multiple regions around the world, in both aggregated and individual-level data. These results provide a comprehensive characterization of trait attributions from faces, although we note our conclusions are limited by the scope of our study (in particular we note only white faces and English trait words were included). People form impressions about others from seeing their faces, and use many words to describe those impressions. Here, using ratings of 100 representatively sampled white adult faces on a large set of traits, the authors show that trait impressions from faces can be summarized by four psychological dimensions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chujun Lin
- Division of the Humanities and Social Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA.
| | - Umit Keles
- Division of the Humanities and Social Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | - Ralph Adolphs
- Division of the Humanities and Social Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA.,Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
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11
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Hareli S, Vider E, Hanoch Y. The Influence of Facial Dominance on Perceptions of Risk-Taking Preferences. BASIC AND APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 2021. [DOI: 10.1080/01973533.2021.1929988] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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12
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Menegatti M, Pireddu S, Crocetti E, Moscatelli S, Rubini M. The Ginevra de' Benci Effect: Competence, Morality, and Attractiveness Inferred From Faces Predict Hiring Decisions for Women. Front Psychol 2021; 12:658424. [PMID: 34054661 PMCID: PMC8155713 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.658424] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2021] [Accepted: 03/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The present study examined the role of morality, competence, and attractiveness as perceived from faces in predicting hiring decisions for men and women. Results showed that for both female and male applicants, facial competence significantly predicted the hiring decision directly and indirectly, through the mediation of the overall impression. Decisions concerning female applicants were, however, significantly predicted by multiple dimensions-that is, facial morality, facial competence, and attractiveness-with the mediation of the overall impression. Facial competence was the only significant predictor of impression and, in turn, hiring decision about men. These findings resonate the motto Virtutem forma decorat, "Beauty adorns virtue," painted by Leonardo da Vinci on the reverse side of the portrait of Ginevra de' Benci, and suggest that women's chances of getting a job are less than those of men whenever they do not show a moral and competent and attractive face.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michela Menegatti
- Department of Psychology, Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
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13
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Thierry SM, Mondloch CJ. First impressions of child faces: Facial trustworthiness influences adults' interpretations of children's behavior in ambiguous situations. J Exp Child Psychol 2021; 208:105153. [PMID: 33905972 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2021.105153] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2020] [Revised: 02/04/2021] [Accepted: 03/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Despite the profound behavioral consequences that first impressions of trustworthiness have on adult populations, few studies have examined how adults' first impressions of trustworthiness influence behavioral outcomes for children. Using a novel task design, we examined adults' perceptions of children's behavior in ambiguous situations. After a brief presentation of a child's face (high trust or low trust), participants viewed the child's face embedded within an ambiguous scene involving two children (Scene Task) or read a vignette about a misbehavior done by that child (Misbehavior Task). In the Scene Task, participants described what they believed to be happening in each scene; in the Misbehavior Task, participants indicated whether the behavior was done on purpose or by accident. In both tasks, participants also rated the behavior of the target child and indicated whether that child would be a good friend. In Experiment 1, young adults (n = 61) and older adults (n = 57) viewed unaltered face images. In Experiment 2, young adults (N = 59) completed the same tasks while viewing images of child faces morphed toward high-trust and low-trust averages. In both experiments, ambiguous scenes and misbehaviors were interpreted more positively when the target child had a high-trust face versus a low-trust face, with comparable patterns of results for the two age groups. Collectively, our results demonstrate that a child's facial trustworthiness biases how adults interpret children's behavior-a heuristic that may have lasting behavioral consequences for children through a self-fulfilling prophecy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophia M Thierry
- Department of Psychology, Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario L2S 3A1, Canada
| | - Catherine J Mondloch
- Department of Psychology, Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario L2S 3A1, Canada.
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14
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Thierry SM, Twele AC, Mondloch CJ. Mandatory First Impressions: Happy Expressions Increase Trustworthiness Ratings of Subsequent Neutral Images. Perception 2021; 50:103-115. [PMID: 33560933 DOI: 10.1177/0301006620987205] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
First impressions of traits are formed rapidly and nonconsciously, suggesting an automatic process. We examined whether first impressions of trustworthiness are mandatory, another component of automaticity in face processing. In Experiment 1a, participants rated faces displaying subtle happy, subtle angry, and neutral expressions on trustworthiness. Happy faces were rated as more trustworthy than neutral faces; angry faces were rated as less trustworthy. In Experiment 1b, participants learned eight identities, half showing subtle happy and half showing subtle angry expressions. They then rated neutral images of these same identities (plus four novel neutral faces) on trustworthiness. Multilevel modeling analyses showed that identities previously shown with subtle expressions of happiness were rated as more trustworthy than novel identities. There was no effect of previously seen subtle angry expressions on ratings of trustworthiness. Mandatory first impressions based on subtle facial expressions were also reflected in two ratings designed to assess real-world outcomes. Participants indicated that they were more likely to vote for identities that had posed happy expressions and more likely to loan them money. These findings demonstrate that first impressions of trustworthiness based on previously seen subtle happy, but not angry, expressions are mandatory and are likely to have behavioral consequences.
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15
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Li Y, Jiao X, Liu Y, Tse CS, Dong Y. Age differences in facial trustworthiness judgement based on multiple facial cues. Br J Psychol 2020; 112:474-492. [PMID: 32940352 DOI: 10.1111/bjop.12472] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2019] [Revised: 07/06/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Multiple facial cues such as facial expression and face gender simultaneously influence facial trustworthiness judgement in adults. The current work was to examine the effect of multiple facial cues on trustworthiness judgement across age groups. Eight-, 10-year-olds, and adults detect trustworthiness from happy and neutral adult faces (female and male faces) in Experiment 1. Experiment 2 included both adult and child faces wearing happy, angry, and neutral expressions. Nine-, 11-, 13-year-olds, and adults had to rate facial trustworthiness with a 7-point Likert scale. The results of Experiments 1 and 2 revealed that facial expression and face gender independently affected facial trustworthiness judgement in children aged 10 and below but simultaneously affected judgement in children aged 11 and above, adolescents, and adults. There was no own-age bias in children and adults. The results showed that children younger than 10 could not process multiple facial cues in the same manner as in older children and adults when judging trustworthiness. The current findings provide evidence for the stable-feature account, but not for the own-age bias account or the expertise account.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yongna Li
- Department of Psychology, Renmin University of China, Beijing, China
| | - Xinyue Jiao
- Department of Psychology, Renmin University of China, Beijing, China
| | - Yi Liu
- Department of Psychology, Renmin University of China, Beijing, China.,Department of Experimental and Applied Psychology, Vrije University Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Chi-Shing Tse
- Department of Educational Psychology and Centre for Learning Sciences and Technologies, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, China
| | - Yan Dong
- Department of Psychology, Renmin University of China, Beijing, China
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16
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Reply to Cook and Over: Social learning and evolutionary mechanisms are not mutually exclusive. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2020; 117:16114-16115. [PMID: 32665448 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2009587117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
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17
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Koch A, Imhoff R, Unkelbach C, Nicolas G, Fiske S, Terache J, Carrier A, Yzerbyt V. Groups' warmth is a personal matter: Understanding consensus on stereotype dimensions reconciles adversarial models of social evaluation. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jesp.2020.103995] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
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18
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Burton N, Burton M, Rigby D, Sutherland CAM, Rhodes G. Best-worst scaling improves measurement of first impressions. Cogn Res Princ Implic 2019; 4:36. [PMID: 31549257 PMCID: PMC6757072 DOI: 10.1186/s41235-019-0183-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2018] [Accepted: 07/08/2019] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
A common goal in psychological research is the measurement of subjective impressions, such as first impressions of faces. These impressions are commonly measured using Likert ratings. Although these ratings are simple to administer, they are associated with response issues that can limit reliability. Here we examine best-worst scaling (BWS), a forced-choice method, as a potential alternative to Likert ratings for measuring participants' facial first impressions. We find that at the group level, BWS scores correlated almost perfectly with Likert scores, indicating that the two methods measure the same impressions. However, at the individual participant level BWS outperforms Likert ratings, both in terms of ability to predict preferences in a third task, and in terms of test-retest reliability. These benefits highlight the power of BWS, particularly for use in individual differences research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nichola Burton
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, School of Psychological Science, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Hwy, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia.
| | - Michael Burton
- School of Agriculture and Environment, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia
| | - Dan Rigby
- Economics, School of Social Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
| | - Clare A M Sutherland
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, School of Psychological Science, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Hwy, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia
| | - Gillian Rhodes
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, School of Psychological Science, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Hwy, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia
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19
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Mileva M, Young AW, Kramer RS, Burton AM. Understanding facial impressions between and within identities. Cognition 2019; 190:184-198. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2019.04.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2018] [Revised: 04/24/2019] [Accepted: 04/25/2019] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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20
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Brinkman L, Dotsch R, Zondergeld J, Koevoets MGJC, Aarts H, van Haren NEM. Visualizing mental representations in schizophrenia patients: A reverse correlation approach. SCHIZOPHRENIA RESEARCH-COGNITION 2019; 17:100138. [PMID: 31008060 PMCID: PMC6454059 DOI: 10.1016/j.scog.2019.100138] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2018] [Revised: 03/11/2019] [Accepted: 03/13/2019] [Indexed: 12/04/2022]
Abstract
Schizophrenia patients have difficulties recognizing emotional states from faces, in particular those with negative valence, with severe consequences for daily life. What do these patients see in their minds eye, when they think of a face expressing a particular emotion or trait? The content of such mental representations can shed light into the nature of their deficits, but are usually inaccessible. For the first time, we explored the applicability of reverse correlation, which has been successfully used to visualize mental representations in healthy populations, to visualize mental representations in schizophrenia patients. We investigated mental representations of trustworthy faces, a primary dimension of social face evaluation that is highly correlated with valence. Patients (n = 23) and healthy controls (n = 34) classified images of noise-distorted faces as ‘trustworthy’, ‘untrustworthy’ or ‘neutral’. We visualized their mental representations of these concepts by averaging the noise patterns based on their classifications. These visualizations were then rated on trustworthiness by an independent sample of participants. Patients were able to perform the reverse correlation task, with response times and biases similar to those of healthy controls, and the obtained images vividly reflected the respective constructs of interest. However, there were no significant differences between the ratings of the visualizations of patients and controls. Conclusion: These novel findings provide a proof of principle that the reverse correlation technique can be applied to investigate mental representations in schizophrenia patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Loek Brinkman
- department of Psychology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Ron Dotsch
- department of Psychology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Jelmer Zondergeld
- department of Psychology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Martijn G J C Koevoets
- University Medical Centre Utrecht Brain Centre, dept of Psychiatry, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Henk Aarts
- department of Psychology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Neeltje E M van Haren
- University Medical Centre Utrecht Brain Centre, dept of Psychiatry, Utrecht, The Netherlands.,Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychology, Erasmus Medical Centre, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
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21
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Abstract
Reverse correlation is an influential psychophysical paradigm that uses a participant’s responses to randomly varying images to build a classification image (CI), which is commonly interpreted as a visualization of the participant’s mental representation. It is unclear, however, how to statistically quantify the amount of signal present in CIs, which limits the interpretability of these images. In this article, we propose a novel metric, infoVal, which assesses informational value relative to a resampled random distribution and can be interpreted like a z score. In the first part, we define the infoVal metric and show, through simulations, that it adheres to typical Type I error rates under various task conditions (internal validity). In the second part, we show that the metric correlates with markers of data quality in empirical reverse-correlation data, such as the subjective recognizability, objective discriminability, and test–retest reliability of the CIs (convergent validity). In the final part, we demonstrate how the infoVal metric can be used to compare the informational value of reverse-correlation datasets, by comparing data acquired online with data acquired in a controlled lab environment. We recommend a new standard of good practice in which researchers assess the infoVal scores of reverse-correlation data in order to ensure that they do not read signal in CIs where no signal is present. The infoVal metric is implemented in the open-source rcicr R package, to facilitate its adoption.
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22
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Sutherland CAM, Rhodes G, Burton NS, Young AW. Do facial first impressions reflect a shared social reality? Br J Psychol 2019; 111:215-232. [PMID: 30924928 DOI: 10.1111/bjop.12390] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2018] [Revised: 02/08/2019] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Influential facial impression models have repeatedly shown that trustworthiness, youthful-attractiveness, and dominance dimensions subserve a wide variety of first impressions formed from strangers' faces, suggestive of a shared social reality. However, these models are built from impressions aggregated across observers. Critically, recent work has now shown substantial inter-observer differences in facial impressions, raising the important question of whether these dimensional models based on aggregated group data are meaningful at the individual observer level. We addressed this question with a novel case series approach, using factor analyses of ratings of twelve different traits to build individual models of facial impressions for different observers. Strikingly, three dimensions of trustworthiness, youthful/attractiveness, and competence/dominance appeared across the majority of these individual observer models, demonstrating that the dimensional approach is indeed meaningful at the individual level. Nonetheless, we also found differences in the stability of the competence/dominance dimension across observers. Taken together, results suggest that individual differences in impressions arise in the context of a largely common structure that supports a shared social reality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clare A M Sutherland
- Department of Psychology, University of York, UK.,School of Psychological Science, ARC Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Gillian Rhodes
- School of Psychological Science, ARC Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Nichola S Burton
- School of Psychological Science, ARC Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Andrew W Young
- Department of Psychology, University of York, UK.,School of Psychological Science, ARC Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia
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23
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Oliveira M, Garcia-Marques T, Dotsch R, Garcia-Marques L. Dominance and competence face to face: Dissociations obtained with a reverse correlation approach. EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 2019. [DOI: 10.1002/ejsp.2569] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Manuel Oliveira
- William James Center for Research; ISPA-Instituto Universitário; Lisbon Portugal
| | | | - Ron Dotsch
- Utrecht University; Utrecht The Netherlands
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24
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Freeman JB, Stolier RM, Brooks JA, Stillerman BS. The neural representational geometry of social perception. Curr Opin Psychol 2018; 24:83-91. [PMID: 30388494 PMCID: PMC6377247 DOI: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2018.10.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2018] [Revised: 09/26/2018] [Accepted: 10/02/2018] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
An emerging focus on the geometry of representational structures is advancing a variety of areas in social perception, including social categorization, emotion perception, and trait impressions. Here, we review recent studies adopting a representational geometry approach, and argue that important advances in social perception can be gained by triangulating on the structure of representations via three levels of analysis: neuroimaging, behavioral measures, and computational modeling. Among other uses, this approach permits broad and comprehensive tests of how bottom-up facial features and visual processes as well as top-down social cognitive factors and conceptual processes shape perceptions of social categories, emotion, and personality traits. Although such work is only in its infancy, a focus on corroborating representational geometry across modalities is allowing researchers to use multiple levels of analysis to constrain theoretical models in social perception. This approach holds promise to further our understanding of the multiply determined nature of social perception and its neural basis.
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25
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South Palomares JK, Young AW. Facial and self-report questionnaire measures capture different aspects of romantic partner preferences. Br J Psychol 2018; 110:549-575. [PMID: 30270430 DOI: 10.1111/bjop.12347] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2018] [Revised: 08/02/2018] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Romantic relationship researchers often use self-report measures of partner preferences based on verbal questionnaires. These questionnaires show that partner preferences involve an evaluation in terms of underlying factors of vitality-attractiveness, status-resources, and warmth-trustworthiness. However, when people first encounter a potential partner, they can usually derive a wealth of impressions from their face, and little is known about the relationship between verbal self-reports and impressions derived from faces. We conducted four studies investigating potential parallels and differences between facial impressions and verbal self-reports. Study 1 showed that when evaluating highly variable everyday face images in a context that does not require considering them as potential partners, participants can reliably perceive the traits and factors that are related to partner preferences. However, despite being capable of these nuanced evaluations, Study 2 found that when asked to evaluate images of faces as potential romantic partners, participants' preferences become dominated by attractiveness-related concerns. Study 3 confirmed this dominance of facial attractiveness using morphed face-like images. Study 4 showed that attractiveness dominates partner preferences for faces even when task instructions imply that warmth-trustworthiness or status-resources should be of primary importance. In contrast to verbal questionnaire measures of partner preferences, evaluations of faces focus heavily on attractiveness, whereas questionnaire self-reports tend on average to prioritize warmth-trustworthiness over attractiveness. Evaluations of faces and verbal self-report measures therefore capture different aspects of partner preferences.
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26
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Louvet E, Cambon L, Milhabet I, Rohmer O. The relationship between social status and the components of agency. The Journal of Social Psychology 2018; 159:30-45. [PMID: 29461926 DOI: 10.1080/00224545.2018.1441795] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Building on the two fundamental dimensions of social judgment distinguishing communion from agency, the purpose of the present work was to show that the strength of the relationship between social status and agency depends on specific components at issue: assertiveness, competence, and effort. Four experimental studies were conducted using two complementary paradigms. In Studies 1 and 2, we manipulated social status, and participants had to rate the target on competence, assertiveness, and effort. In Studies 3 and 4, we reversed the design. Results consistently showed that social status was primarily related to assertiveness, somewhat related to competence, and only slightly related to effort. The present research provides a better understanding of how the dimensions of social judgment are used to explain differences in social status.
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27
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Abstract
The fact that the face is a source of diverse social signals allows us to use face and person perception as a model system for asking important psychological questions about how our brains are organised. A key issue concerns whether we rely primarily on some form of generic representation of the common physical source of these social signals (the face) to interpret them, or instead create multiple representations by assigning different aspects of the task to different specialist components. Variants of the specialist components hypothesis have formed the dominant theoretical perspective on face perception for more than three decades, but despite this dominance of formally and informally expressed theories, the underlying principles and extent of any division of labour remain uncertain. Here, I discuss three important sources of constraint: first, the evolved structure of the brain; second, the need to optimise responses to different everyday tasks; and third, the statistical structure of faces in the perceiver's environment. I show how these constraints interact to determine the underlying functional organisation of face and person perception.
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28
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Wilson JP, Young SG, Rule NO, Hugenberg K. Configural processing and social judgments: Face inversion particularly disrupts inferences of human-relevant traits. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jesp.2017.07.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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29
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South Palomares JK, Sutherland CA, Young AW. Facial first impressions and partner preference models: Comparable or distinct underlying structures? Br J Psychol 2017; 109:538-563. [DOI: 10.1111/bjop.12286] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2017] [Revised: 11/24/2017] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer K. South Palomares
- Department of Psychology University of York Heslington UK
- Department of Education University of York Heslington UK
| | - Clare A.M. Sutherland
- Department of Psychology University of York Heslington UK
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders School of Psychology University of Western Australia Crawley Western Australia Australia
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30
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Sutherland CAM, Liu X, Zhang L, Chu Y, Oldmeadow JA, Young AW. Facial First Impressions Across Culture: Data-Driven Modeling of Chinese and British Perceivers' Unconstrained Facial Impressions. PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY BULLETIN 2017; 44:521-537. [PMID: 29226785 DOI: 10.1177/0146167217744194] [Citation(s) in RCA: 69] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
People form first impressions from facial appearance rapidly, and these impressions can have considerable social and economic consequences. Three dimensions can explain Western perceivers' impressions of Caucasian faces: approachability, youthful-attractiveness, and dominance. Impressions along these dimensions are theorized to be based on adaptive cues to threat detection or sexual selection, making it likely that they are universal. We tested whether the same dimensions of facial impressions emerge across culture by building data-driven models of first impressions of Asian and Caucasian faces derived from Chinese and British perceivers' unconstrained judgments. We then cross-validated the dimensions with computer-generated average images. We found strong evidence for common approachability and youthful-attractiveness dimensions across perceiver and face race, with some evidence of a third dimension akin to capability. The models explained ~75% of the variance in facial impressions. In general, the findings demonstrate substantial cross-cultural agreement in facial impressions, especially on the most salient dimensions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clare A M Sutherland
- 1 Department of Psychological Science, University of York, UK.,2 ARC Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, Department of Psychological Science, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Australia
| | - Xizi Liu
- 1 Department of Psychological Science, University of York, UK
| | - Lingshan Zhang
- 1 Department of Psychological Science, University of York, UK
| | - Yingtung Chu
- 1 Department of Psychological Science, University of York, UK
| | - Julian A Oldmeadow
- 3 Department of Psychology, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Andrew W Young
- 1 Department of Psychological Science, University of York, UK
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31
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Brinkman L, Todorov A, Dotsch R. Visualising mental representations: A primer on noise-based reverse correlation in social psychology. EUROPEAN REVIEW OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 2017. [DOI: 10.1080/10463283.2017.1381469] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- L. Brinkman
- Department of Psychology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - A. Todorov
- Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, USA
| | - R. Dotsch
- Department of Psychology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
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32
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Suzuki A, Tsukamoto S, Takahashi Y. Faces Tell Everything in a Just and Biologically Determined World: Lay Theories Behind Face Reading. SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PERSONALITY SCIENCE 2017. [DOI: 10.1177/1948550617734616] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
The present research investigated an often presumed but rarely assessed construct named the physiognomic belief—a generic belief that various traits can be inferred from faces. Studies in Japan and the United States have demonstrated that this belief can be measured reliably and invariantly across cultures and that those having stronger beliefs make more extreme trait inferences from faces. Of note, in both countries, the physiognomic belief is positively associated with a biologically deterministic view of personality traits and a belief in a just world. These findings suggest two types of naive justifications for the physiognomic belief: faces and traits should be related because they are both manifestations of biological essences and because the world is an orderly place wherein people get faces they deserve. This highlights an understudied role of folk concepts involving faces and traits in the popularity of face-based trait inference among laypeople.
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Affiliation(s)
- Atsunobu Suzuki
- Department of Cognitive and Psychological Sciences, Graduate School of Informatics, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan
| | - Saori Tsukamoto
- Division of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Aichi Gakuin University, Nisshin, Aichi, Japan
| | - Yusuke Takahashi
- Hakubi Center for Advanced Research, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
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