Can you spot a face to trust? Scientists say women are easier to read

Can you spot a face to trust? Scientists say women are easier to read

By DAVID DERBYSHIRE
Last updated at 12:45 AM on 12th February 2009

Sometimes you just don't like the look of someone.

And although that doesn't sound like a rational way of analysing character, scientists believe it may actually work.

Research shows that almost three-quarters of us can spot particular personality traits in a woman's face.




Type cast: The composite photographs volunteers were asked to assess

When 6,500 volunteers were shown a series of faces rated as lucky, religious, humorous or trustworthy, about 70 per cent correctly identified a lucky female face, 73 per cent correctly spotted a religious female face and 54 per cent identified a trustworthy female face.

Only a humorous face was not spotted.

But with men's faces, it was a different story. Volunteers were no better at spotting funny, trustworthy and religious faces than if they had taken a wild guess.

And when it came to spotting a lucky man, only 22 per cent got the answer right.

For the experiment, almost 1,000 New Scientist readers were asked to submit photographs of themselves and rate how the four traits applied to their personality.

Researchers identified groups at the extremes of each trait and 'blended' their photographs using a computer programme to create average faces, before showing them to volunteers.

Researcher Dr Rob Jenkins, a psychologist at Glasgow University, believes genetics may explain how our personalities are reflected in our faces.

'We know that genes shape the brain and how it works and that they also shape our appearance. It's possible that the same genes might shape both things.

'But there's also a social angle. It could be that people come to behave in a way that fits their appearance.'

For instance, someone born with a face regarded as 'honest' by others, may, over time, begin to see themselves the same way.

However, the scientists can't work out why women are so much easier to read than men.

'It's possibly that female faces are more informative and expressive in some way than male ones,' said fellow researcher Professor Richard Wiseman, of Hertfordshire University.

'They may be more open and tend to wear their hearts on their sleeve so it becomes easier to read their personality.

'What is interesting is there was no difference between the male and female observers in reading people's faces.

'So men and women are just the same as each other in assessing character from facial cues.

'But there could be other things going on. It could also be that the men who sent us their portraits were less insightful when rating their personalities or less honest.

'Or perhaps the women were more thoughtful when selecting the photographs.'

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1142582/Can-spot-face-trust--Scientists-say-women-easier-read.html