Face Off
by There are people that we meet and we trust straight away and more often than not it’s because of their face and physical appearance. These people are more likely to have similar features to our own.
Do we trust people more if they look like ourselves?
Do we find people that look like ourselves more attractive or do opposites attract?
There are people that we meet and we trust straight away and more often than not it’s because of their face and physical appearance. These people are more likely to have similar features to our own.
In studies done by Lisa DeBruine from the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, using computer graphics to manipulate faces so they looked more or less similar to the participants and their families or not.
In the following experiments the participants had to decide if they would trust a person to make important decisions about money or not. The findings were that they made easier decisions based on how similar the person looked to themselves. If they looked similar they trusted them, if they were not so similar they found it more difficult to trust.
The findings of this experiment were that they trusted the other person 50% if their looks were un-similar to their own but when the faces were manipulated by the computer to look like their own the trust went up to 73%.
Image via Wikipedia
The next experiment they used to determine face facts was to also show the participants the faces again marking down the trustworthiness and also the physical attraction they felt towards them. The subjects found the trustworthy less attractive than the untrustworthy.
This finding was puzzling, as it seemed to contradict other studies that show that to find a perfect mate we normally go for someone who looks like ourselves.
Lisa DeBruine then pushed further to find out what these results really meant. She had the help from Anthony Little, a psychologist who basically said that who we go for as a partner is determined by our opposite sex Mother or Father. A woman who has a dark haired, tall Father will most likely go for a man of a similar make up. Also if you were born to young parents you are more likely to go for a young face and if born to old parents you are more likely to go for an older looking face.
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Post CommentLoveDoctor
On November 20, 2009 at 3:13 am
Wow! Those men are hot-ties! Interesting studies about similar appearances and trust issues.
johnnydod
On November 20, 2009 at 3:28 am
interesting
ken bultman
On November 20, 2009 at 3:34 am
Fascinating. It accounts for some things. Well, maybe not.
drelayaraja
On November 20, 2009 at 3:38 am
Very interesting article. You have done a wonderful analysis. Well done.
Prometheus Ridley Scott
On November 20, 2009 at 4:28 am
Good article. I find that quite a few women tend to go or are at least attracted originally for the bad boy as it is a challenge to them to change and trust. They are “exciting”… Then plump for the steady and average guy with more in common as they get older as they are older and wiser to the drama with the bad boy. Maybe that is me but laws of attraction are varying along with who people trust…great article as always. Very interesting.
Katien
On November 20, 2009 at 5:32 am
Interesting experiment, although I couldn’t possibly say that I was able to trust someone from looking at a photo, I’d just be guessing.
jimbob1
On November 20, 2009 at 10:52 am
Miss L – Yet another in a long-list of very interesting, thought-provoking, well-researched subjects…is trust built on appearances? Frienships maybe and trust grows from there. Maybe we need to be like the Americans and their slogan on the currency “In God We Trust” (all others pay cash…)
Peter Cimino
On November 20, 2009 at 1:18 pm
Wow.. I never thought of that…I mean people that look similar to us. People we are attracted to makes sense. Very good article.
Hansika
On November 21, 2009 at 2:36 am
wonderful…thanks for the share
PhoenixRox
On November 21, 2009 at 3:04 am
This is a very interesting article. Where do you find info like this? It’s really great stuff. Ohh and those guys are hot! lol
Frances Lawrence
On November 21, 2009 at 9:00 am
This was a very interesting article, I wonder if any other research has achieved similar results?
Tanya Wallace
On November 21, 2009 at 5:29 pm
Very fasianting work Lilly! I had seen a documentry on this subject before but you did a fabulous job of writing it adding some very interesting facts that were not even in the documentry. Brilliant work by all standards!! For a minute there I have to admit I was too busy staring at the pic you added to read anything.lol just kidding.
Jane Jane
On November 21, 2009 at 11:03 pm
interesting post and good ideas here.
deep blue
On November 22, 2009 at 8:52 am
A real painstaking work here. At least no educational issues on the sticky subject (kidding). Great post my friend.xx
Geomorphosis
On November 22, 2009 at 9:32 am
Interesting article as usual. Well done.
STEVE666
On November 23, 2009 at 11:47 am
Good article. On that basis, I wouldn’t trust anybody who looked like me—I know what I’m like, so therefore I’d run a mile.