title: Inferring character from faces: a developmental study.
abstract: Human adults attribute character traits to faces readily and with high consensus. In two experiments investigating the development of face-to-trait inference, adults and children ages 3 through 10 attributed trustworthiness, dominance, and competence to pairs of faces. In Experiment 1, the attributions of 3- to 4-year-olds converged with those of adults, and 5- to 6-year-olds' attributions were at adult levels of consistency. Children ages 3 and above consistently attributed the basic mean/nice evaluation not only to faces varying in trustworthiness (Experiment 1) but also to faces varying in dominance and competence (Experiment 2). This research suggests that the predisposition to judge others using scant facial information appears in adultlike forms early in childhood and does not require prolonged social experience.
authors.affiliation: 1Harvard University.
authors.forename: Emily J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Cogsdill
authors.forename: Alexander T
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Todorov
authors.forename: Elizabeth S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Spelke
authors.forename: Mahzarin R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Banaji
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002605:Character; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology; D005145:Face; D005149:Facial Expression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016743:Mental Competency / Q000523:psychology; D008875:Middle Aged; D012938:Social Perception; D035502:Trust / Q000523:psychology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: cognitive development; open data; open materials; physical appearance; social cognition; social perception