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4/2/2017 3 Things Your Face Tells The World | Psychology Today

Vinita Mehta Ph.D., Ed.M.


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Research reveals the ways our faces betray who we are. Like 20

Posted Mar 31, 2017

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The face is a picture of the mind with the eyes as its interpreter, Marcus Tullius Cicero the ancient
Roman orator, statesman and writer once said. Though he wasn't a social scientist, research that would
be published thousands of years after he lived would nevertheless support his statement. With a smile or
a frown, our faces can effortlessly communicate to others how we're feeling. But recent studies have
found that the human face can also convey essential characteristics that make us who we are. Here are
just three things our faces can tell the world:

Aggression: Can a person's face reveal if they are aggressive? Yesif you're maleaccording to
research. Studies have found that the ratio of facial width-to-height (i.e., how narrow or wide the face is)
is associated with aggression. Take a study in which participants viewed photographs of men wearing
neutral expression for 1200 milliseconds, and whose behavioral aggressiveness had been assessed.
Participants were then asked to estimate the inclination of these photographed men to be aggressive.
What did the researchers find? The participants' estimates correlated not only with the facial width-to-
height ratio in both the photographs of the men, but also their actual aggressive behavior. These results
were replicated in a follow up study in which participants were exposed to the photographs of these men,
but for only a mere 39 milliseconds. These findings support the notion that facial width-to-height ratio
may be an advertisement of aggressiveness, and is consistent with research demonstrating that higher
levels of testosterone (https://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/testosterone) are related to both wider
faces and dominant behavior in men.

Sexual Orientation: Can you tell whether a person is gay from their facial structure? Remarkably, a
handful of studies have found that certain facial features are associated with sexual orientation. Consider
a study that looked at this relationship in a novel way. Investigators recruited straight and gay men and
women at a Canadian university campus as well as Canadian Pride and sexuality
(https://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/sex) events, took their photographs, and from these images
computed their facial metrics using a sophisticated facial modelling program. The results were striking: A

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/head-games/201703/3-things-your-face-tells-the-world 1/6
4/2/2017 3 Things Your Face Tells The World | Psychology Today

person's facial structure differed depending on their sexual orientation. Gay and straight women differed
in 17 out of 63 facial features, while gay and straight men differed in 11 out of 63 facial features. There
were also some significant differences between the sexes. Gay women had noses that were more turned
up (as they are also more turned up in straight men), mouths that were more puckered, smaller
foreheads, and slightly more masculine face shapes than straight women. Gay men had cheeks that
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bulged out more, shorter noses (as they are also more short in straight women), and foreheads that were
more tilted back than those of the straight men. The authors argue that understanding
(https://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/empathy) what gives rise to these differences in facial structure
might also lead to a deeper understanding of the development of sexual orientation.

Personality (https://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/personality): Is your personality written on your


face? Indeed, research has found associations between facial features and personality. One facinating
study looked at this relationship by using the widely known Big Five personality model (which includes
Openness, Conscientiousness (https://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/conscientiousness),
Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism (https://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/neuroticism))
and 3D images of faces of 834 Han Chinese volunteers, and examined the statistical links between
them. What did the results reveal? In men, the factors of Agreeableness and Conscientiousness were
significantly correlated with certain facial characteristics. Those who were higher on Agreeableness had
eyebrows that appeared to be lifted up and smaller forehead spans (i.e., the distance between the
eyebrows and the hairline). By contrast, lower levels of Agreeableness were associated with the
opposite, that is, a jaw and eyebrows that were sunken. Similarly, higher levels of Conscientiousness
were correlated with lifted eyes and laterally extended eyebrows, as well as with eyes that were
opened wider. These faces also had a withdrawing upper lip and tightened jaw muscles, with visible
tension around the mouth. This is in contrast to the apparently relaxed face associated with low levels of
Conscientiousness, with brows and eyes that naturally drooped due to gravity as well as relaxed
muscles around mouth. The authors note that those who showed lower levels of Agreeableness and
Conscientiousness were similar in that both faces showed a sense of relaxation and indifference.

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For women, Extraversion was the only significant factor that correlated with facial structure. Higher levels
of Extraversion were related to more protruding nose and lips, a recessive chin and masseter muscles
(the jaw muscles used in chewing). By contrast, the face of those with lower Extraversion levels showed
the reverse pattern, in which the area around the nose appeared to press against the face. These
findings suggest that perhaps psychological traits canto some degreebe read on a person's face,
though more studies would be needed to understand this phenomenon.

Find Vinita Mehta's other Psychology Today posts here (https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/head-


games).

Connect with her at drvinitamehta.com and on Twitter (https://twitter.com/VinitaMehta2) and Pinterest


(https://www.pinterest.com/drvinitamehta/).

Vinita Mehta, Ph.D. is a licensed clinical psychologist in Washington, D.C., and an expert on
relationships, managing anxiety (https://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/anxiety)and stress
(https://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/stress), and building health
(https://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/health) and resilience
(https://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/resilience). She provides speaking engagements for your
organization and psychotherapy (https://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/therapy) for adults. She has
successfully worked with individuals struggling with depression
(https://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/depression), anxiety, and life transitions, and recovery from
trauma (https://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/trauma) and abuse. She is also the author of the
forthcoming book, Paleo Love (https://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/relationships): How Our Stone
Age Bodies Complicate Modern Relationships.

References

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/head-games/201703/3-things-your-face-tells-the-world 3/6

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