Facial Stereotyping Drives Judgments of Perceptually Ambiguous Social Groups

When seeing a face, people form judgments of perceptually ambiguous social categories (PASCs), for example, gun-owners, gay people, or alcoholics. Previous research has assumed that PASC judgments arise from the statistical learning of facial features in social encounters. We propose, instead, that perceivers associate facial features with traits (e.g., extroverted) and then infer PASC membership via learned stereotype associations with those traits. Across three studies, we show that when any PASC is more stereotypically associated with a trait (e.g., alcoholics = extroverted), perceivers are more likely to infer PASC membership from faces conveying that trait (Study 1). Furthermore, we demonstrate that individual differences in trait–PASC stereotypes predict face-based judgments of PASC membership (Study 2) and have a causal role in these judgments (Study 3). Together, our findings imply that people can form any number of PASC judgments from facial appearance alone by drawing on their learned social–conceptual associations.

CEO beauty and management guidance

PurposeThe authors study whether CEO beauty influences management guidance.Design/methodology/approachThe authors calculate an attractiveness score based on facial symmetry and perform regression analyses to examine the relation between CEO beauty and management guidance.FindingsThe authors find that attractive CEOs are more likely to issue voluntary management earnings guidance. After controlling for this appearance-based self-selection, the authors document that management forecasts provided by attractive CEOs are more optimistic yet less precise. Consistent with this result, the authors find that analysts' consensus forecast error following management forecasts made by attractive CEOs is larger than such error following management forecasts made by unattractive CEOs. The authors further find that the perceived credibility of management forecasts by attractive CEOs is not different from that by unattractive CEOs.Originality/valueThese findings suggest that attractive CEOs are more active but less skillful in issuing management forecasts. This adds to the emerging accounting literature on the relation between facial appearance and information delivery.

Naturalistic Face Learning in Infants and Adults

Everyday face recognition presents a difficult challenge because faces vary naturally in appearance as a result of changes in lighting, expression, viewing angle, and hairstyle. We know little about how humans develop the ability to learn faces despite natural facial variability. In the current study, we provide the first examination of attentional mechanisms underlying adults’ and infants’ learning of naturally varying faces. Adults ( n = 48) and 6- to 12-month-old infants ( n = 48) viewed videos of models reading a storybook; the facial appearance of these models was either high or low in variability. Participants then viewed the learned face paired with a novel face. Infants showed adultlike prioritization of face over nonface regions; both age groups fixated the face region more in the high- than low-variability condition. Overall, however, infants showed less ability to resist contextual distractions during learning, which potentially contributed to their lack of discrimination between the learned and novel faces. Mechanisms underlying face learning across natural variability are discussed.

Chronic Beneficial Effect of Makeup Therapy on Cognitive Function of Dementia and Facial Appearance Analyzed by Artificial Intelligence Software

Background: Makeup greatly impacts normal social lives but can also be a non-pharmacological form of therapy for dementia. Objective: To evaluate the therapeutic effect of makeup therapy. Methods: We carried out a prospective interventional study on female nursing home residents with dementia, focusing on the chronic therapeutic effect of makeup therapy. Thirty-four patients who received either only skin care (control group, n = 16) or skin care plus makeup therapy (makeup therapy group, n = 18) once every 2 weeks for 3 months were assessed. Results: Three months of makeup therapy significantly improved the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score compared with control patients ( * p < 0.05). Artificial intelligence (AI) software revealed that the appearance of age decreased significantly in the makeup group compared with the control, especially among patients without depression ( * p < 0.05). Furthermore, a larger AI happiness score was significantly correlated with a greater improvement of ADL in the makeup therapy group (r = 0.43, * p < 0.05). Conclusion: Makeup therapy had a chronic beneficial effect on the cognitive function of female dementia patients, while the chronic effect of makeup therapy on facial appearance was successfully detected by the present AI software.

Management of New Born with Harlequin Ichthyosis: A Rare Disease Condition

Harlequin ichthyosis is the most severe form of non-bullous ichthyosis, which is unusual in newborns and is usually marked by deadly excessive keratinization of the skin. Ichthyosis is a family of genetic skin disorders, characterized by dry, thickened, scaly skin with severe morbidity and mortality. The term “harlequin” derives from the facial appearance and the triangular and diamond-shaped pattern of the scaly skin. It occurs in about 1 in 300,000 births and has no known sex predilection. The disorder affects the skin in utero causing thick, horny, armory-like plates that cover the skin with contraction abnormalities of the eyes, ears, mouth and appendages. There is no specific guideline to manage the newborn of harlequin ichthyosis, in that nursing care is most important in the initial phase. There are required multi-disciplinary teams to take care of harlequin ichthyosis.

Assessment of Patient Satisfaction With Appearance, Psychological Well-Being, and Aging Appraisal After Upper Blepharoplasty: A Multicenter Prospective Cohort Study

Background To determine the success of an upper blepharoplasty, a popular cosmetic procedure, it is essential to measure outcomes from the patient perspective, these often outweigh objective outcomes. Objectives This study aimed to assess patient-reported satisfaction with facial appearance, psychological well-being, and aging appraisal after upper blepharoplasty with validated questionnaires. Methods This prospective cohort study included upper blepharoplasty patients from eight outpatient clinics. Patient-reported satisfaction was assessed using the FACE-Q at intake, six and twelve months postoperative. Results 2134 patients were included. High satisfaction with outcome and decision to undergo treatment were measured six months postoperative. Large improvements in FACE-Q scores (range, 0 - 100) between intake and six months postoperative were seen for satisfaction with appearance (mean, effect size; eyes +48, 2.6; upper eyelids +48, 3.1; facial appearance overall +26, 1.4), psychological well-being (+11, 0.56) and aging appraisal (+22, 1.0). Patients reported to appear 3.3 years younger (SD, ±5.2) postblepharoplasty. No clinically relevant changes were seen between six and twelve months. Additionally, improvements in appearance were not dependent on their intake scores, whereas improvements in psychological well-being and aging appraisal were smaller in patients with higher intake scores. Satisfaction with treatment outcome was strongly correlated with appearance satisfaction but not with aging appraisal. Conclusions Significant improvements in patient satisfaction regarding appearance, psychological well-being, and aging appraisal can be seen 6 months after blepharoplasty, and outcomes remain stable up to 12 months postoperative. These data may be used to inform patients and clinicians and improve the overall quality of care.