title: Age similarities in recognizing threat from faces and diagnostic cues.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Previous research indicates that younger adults (YA) can identify men's tendency to be aggressive based merely on their neutral expression faces. We compared older adults (OA) and YA accuracy and investigated contributing facial cues.
  
  
  METHODS
  In Study 1, YA and OA rated the aggressiveness of young men depicted in facial photographs in a control, distraction, or accuracy motivation condition. In Study 2, YA and OA rated how angry, attractive, masculine, and babyfaced the men looked in addition to rating their aggressiveness. These measures plus measured facial width-to-height ratio (FWHR) were used to examine cues to aggressiveness.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Accuracy coefficients, calculated by correlating rated aggressiveness with the men's previously measured actual aggressiveness, were significant and equal for OA and YA. Accuracy was not moderated by distraction or accuracy motivation, suggesting automatic processing. A greater FWHR, lower attractiveness, and higher masculinity independently influenced rated aggressiveness by both age groups and also were valid cues to actual aggressiveness.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Despite previous evidence for positivity biases in OA, they can be just as accurate as YA when it comes to discerning actual differences in the aggressiveness of young men.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts. jboshyan@brandeis.edu.
authors.forename: Jasmine
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Boshyan
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Leslie A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Zebrowitz
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Robert G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Franklin
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Cheryl M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: McCormick
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan.
authors.forename: Justin M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Carré
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology*; D003463:Cues; D005145:Face / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D005149:Facial Expression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual / Q000502:physiology*; D012938:Social Perception; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Accuracy; Aging; Attractiveness; Facial masculinity; Facial width-to-height ratio; Trait impressions.