title: Asymmetry in perception of the sides of the human face.
abstract: The objective of this research was to determine if systematic differences occur in the way people ascribe meaning to right and left sides of the human face. Twenty-two faces, bilaterally symmetrical, were constructed from 11 photographs. These left- and right-constructed faces were rated 1 wk. apart by 26 raters on nine bipolar adjective scales selected for the evaluative, potency, and activity dimensions of the semantic differential (Osgood, 1961). Multivariate F tests indicated that on seven of the nine bipolar scales the left- and right-sided faces received significantly different ratings. Left facial constructions were rated as healthier, stronger, harder, more active, more excitable, and in the direction of bad on the good-bad scale. Right facial constructions were rated more sickly, weaker, more feminine, softer, more passive, calmer, and in the good direction on the good-bad scale.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005145:Face; D005260:Female; D005364:Field Dependence-Independence; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010551:Personality; D012659:Semantic Differential; D012938:Social Perception; D014796:Visual Perception