Babyfacedness, sex of face stimulus, and social context in face perception and person evaluation.
This research investigated whether the well-documented babyface stereotypical effects are moderated by sex of face stimuli and social context. 'Medical doctor' and 'political candidate' were selected as two social contexts which differ at the private/public level. An experiment was conducted with 245 adults (M age = 38.5 yr., SD = 8.6, range = 23 to 64). Babyface effects were stronger for the babyfaced female in the political context, but greater for the babyfaced male in the doctor-patient context. Babyfacedness could be a disadvantage to men in political contexts if political sophistication is judged by their facial characteristics. The results of overall impressions are similar to the patterns of the likeability rating. Individual differences (political sophistication and health consciousness) account for little variance in inference-making or impression formation. Implications of the current findings are discussed, as are directions for future research.
Department of Political Economy, National Sun Yat-sen University, No. 70, Lianhai Rd., Gushan District, Kaohsiung City 804, Taiwan. yklee@mail.nsysu.edu.tw
Yu-Kang
YK
Lee
D000328:Adult; D005145:Face; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012737:Sex Factors; D012938:Social Perception; D013240:Stereotyping; D055815:Young Adult