Good conduct makes your face attractive: The effect of personality perception on facial attractiveness judgments

Abstract

Human facial attractiveness is related to physical features, such as clear complexion and symmetry. However, it is also known that facial attractiveness judgments are influenced by a wide range of non-physical factors. Here, we examined the effect of the personality information of a target person on facial attractiveness judgments. In Experiment 1, participants read a verbal description of a target person (high or low honesty), followed by the presentation of the target face and facial attractiveness rating. The honest personality increased the rated facial attractiveness, replicating a previous report. This “honesty premium” effect was independent of pre-rated facial attractiveness (Experiment 1), target gender, participant gender, and target clothing (Experiment 2). Experiment 3 found that creative personality did not affect facial attractiveness ratings, while an aggressive personality was suggested to decrease the rated facial attractiveness of male targets. We did not find evidence that participants’ moods caused these effects. The results suggest that the “what is good is beautiful” stereotype is robust and that facial attractiveness is malleable and dependent on various physical and non-physical information.

Citizen Science Review: Bagaimana Kecantikan Dipandang Secara Psikososial?

“…Dalam karakter misalnya, seseorang dinilai cantik, terlepas dari daya tarik wajah, karena memiliki kejujuran tinggi, kreatif, dan suasana hati yang mampu menarik rasa kebahagiaan. Sedangkan pada kasus laki-laki, penelitian menunjukkan, kepribadian agresif menurunkan daya tarik wajah laki-laki (Niimi & Goto, 2023).…”

The Dark Triad in Faces: The Influence of Personality Characteristics and Gender on Perceived Attractiveness

“…In addition to these characteristics that primarily signal the biological qualities of the individual, such as fertility (Jasienska et al, 2006), resistance to pathogens (Møller, 1997), developmental stability (Gangestad, 2022), immune system quality (Jones & Jaeger, 2019), longevity (Reither et al, 2009), as well as mental health (Shackelford & Larsen, 1997), an attractive face is also associated with traits that indicate the presence of desirable personality characteristics in the individual. Research in this field has highlighted the attractiveness of extraversion (Penton-Voak et al, 2006), friendliness (Meier et al, 2010), trustworthiness (Lee et al, 2017), and honesty (Niimi & Goto, 2023).…”