Found this interesting page today about the perception of emotions by reading facial features. This is from a press release by some group called the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthamology, whatever that is. Here’s the tagline,
Are angry women more like men?
Now off the top of my head I could answer that in any number of ways but essentially the answer would be ‘NO’. The release continues,
Study shows smiles and scowls provide cues for gender identification
Really? Are you sure?
In two studies, researchers asked subjects to identify the sex of a series of faces. In the first study, androgynous faces with lowered eyebrows and tight lips (angry expressions) were more likely to be identified as male, and faces with smiles and raised eyebrows (expressions of happiness and fear) were often labeled feminine.
The second study used male and female faces wearing expressions of happiness, anger, sadness, fear or a neutral expression. Overall, subjects were able to identify male faces more quickly than female faces, and female faces that expressed anger took the longest to identify.
It wasn’t too long ago in human history that the ability to identify an outsider’s sex and emotional intent could be the determining factor in survival. Congratulations to these scientists, you’ve just proved evo-psych correct again.
Hess said that the same cues that make a face appear male – a high forehead, a square jaw and thicker eyebrows – have been linked to perceptions of dominance. Likewise, features that make a face appear female – a rounded, baby face with large eyes – have been linked to perceptions of the individual being approachable and warm.
“This difference in how the emotions and social traits of the two sexes are perceived could have significant implications for social interactions in a number of settings. Our research demonstrates that equivalent levels of anger are perceived as more intense when shown by men rather than women, and happiness as more intense when shown by women rather than men. It also suggests that it is less likely for men to be perceived as warm and caring and for women to be perceived as dominant.”
Gee, you think? Who’s more dangerous when provoked, men or women? Saint Darwin of the Galapagos has been proven correct again. We should all bow our heads and thank Darwin on this Sesquicentennial of the book Origin of Species.
