Who judges a book by its cover?: Belief in physiognomy and reliance on trustworthiness impressions from faces

Autor: Jaeger, Bastian, Evans, Anthony, Stel, M., Beest, Ilja van
Přispěvatelé: Organizational Psychology
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2020
Předmět:
Zdroj: Jaeger, B, Evans, A, Stel, M & Beest, I V 2020 ' Who judges a book by its cover? Belief in physiognomy and reliance on trustworthiness impressions from faces ' . https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/8dq4x
DOI: 10.31234/osf.io/8dq4x
Popis: People often rely on a person’s facial appearance when judging their trustworthiness, even when more diagnostic information is available. This can lead to worse decision outcomes and appearance-based discrimination. In three studies, we examine whether lay beliefs in physiognomy—the idea that facial features is indicative of a person’s character—can explain overreliance on trustworthiness impressions from faces. We find widespread endorsement of physiognomic beliefs in a representative sample of the Dutch population (Study 1, n = 2,624). Crucially, people with stronger physiognomic belief rely more on facial impressions when making trust decisions (Study 2, n = 224). They are also more confident in their ability to detect corrupt politicians based on facial photographs, even though this increased confidence is not associated with superior judgment accuracy (Study 3, n = 406). In sum, our studies show that physiognomic beliefs are widespread and related to overreliance on trustworthiness impressions from faces.
Databáze: OpenAIRE