Face gender and stereotypicality influence facial trait evaluation: Counter‐stereotypical female faces are negatively evaluated

Abstract

The facial first impressions literature has focused on trait dimensions, with less research on how social categories (like gender) may influence first impressions of faces. Yet, social psychological studies have shown the importance of categories like gender in the evaluation of behaviour. We investigated whether face gender affects the positive or negative evaluation of faces in terms of first impressions. In Study 1, we manipulated facial gender stereotypicality, and in Study 2, facial trustworthiness or dominance, and examined the valence of resulting spontaneous descriptions of male and female faces. For both male and female participants, counter-stereotypical (masculine or dominant looking), female faces were perceived more negatively than facially stereotypical male or female faces. In Study 3, we examined how facial dominance and trustworthiness affected rated valence across 1,000 male and female ambient face images, and replicated the finding that dominance is more negatively evaluated for female faces. In Study 4, the same effect was found with short stimulus presentations. These findings integrate the facial first impressions literature with evaluative differences based on social categories.

A Dynamic Structure of Social Trait Space

“…In turn, this means that the two principal dimensions ("T" and "D") may shift due to integration of other representational spaces. Thus, here, their slightly negative relationship in judgments for female targets, as recently observed [4], arises due to the linear combination of a weak relationship in facial features with a strong negative relationship from gender stereotypes.…”

“…For instance, females are more positively evaluated when their personalities are submissive rather than dominant, due to stereotypical expectancies that women need protection and coddling (i.e., 'benevolent sexism'). Accordingly, trustworthiness judgments are more negatively related to perceived dominance in female compared to male faces [4]. Similarly, when faces of older adults are evaluated, facial dominance is considerably less tethered to trustworthiness [5], as stereotypes of physical frailty buffer against negative implications of appearing dominant and hostile.…”

“…For example, this could capture the overlap in which facial metrics (e.g., brow width) correlate with both warmth and power judgments. Second, the stereotypically negative association between warmth and power for women [4] can also be measured, reflected in a negative relationship between warmth and power in the stereotype similarity-matrix. For example, this could capture the extent to which people believe warmth and power personality traits correlate for women.…”

The neuropsychology of first impressions: Evidence from Huntington's disease

“…Decisions about a person's trustworthiness or dominance based on their face are of course of low validity, though many researchers take seriously the possibility that there may be an underlying 'kernel of truth' (Bruce & Young, 2012 This approach creates images that capture a range of everyday cues to the appropriate trait, and has been validated in previous studies (Mattavelli, et al, 2012;Sutherland et al, 2013;Sutherland, Young, Mootz, & Oldmeadow, 2015;Vernon, Sutherland, Young, & Hartley, 2014). Figure 1a and 1b about here, please…”

“…From ratings of the perceived trustworthiness of these 1,000 face photographs established in previous studies (Santos & Young, 2005;Santos & Young, 2008;Santos & Young, 2011;Sutherland, et al, 2013;Sutherland, et al, 2015) the 15 male faces with lowest rated trustworthiness and the 15 male faces with highest rated trustworthiness were selected, subject to constraints that the photographs included no spectacles, were sufficiently close to frontal view that both eyes were visible, showed no beards or moustaches, and that there were no more than two faces with hats in each set. These constraints were introduced only to allow the creation of relatively sharp averaged images.…”