Social class is a powerful hierarchy that determines many privileges and disadvantages in society. Research shows that people are quick to form impressions of other people’s social class standing, which can have important consequences – but what specifically drives these impressions, and their relationship to judgements of harmful or advantageous stereotypes, has remained unknown.
A new study – led by the University of Glasgow and published in the APA Journal of Experimental Psychology: General – used a perception-based, data-driven method to identify the specific 3D facial features that drive perceptions of social class standing and show how these relate to other stereotype-related judgements.
Led by a team of researchers at the University’s School of Psychology and Neuroscience, the research focused on the question of what makes someone appear to be of a higher or lower social class standing (or what makes someone look rich vs. poor), and how these appearances are linked to perceptions of competence, warmth, dominance, and trustworthiness – traits which are stereotypically linked to social class. The study was carried out with White participants from Western cultures, employing a large number of face stimuli.
The results reveal a unique constellation of facial features that underlie judgements of social class. Faces perceived as poor exhibited particular characteristics such as being wider, shorter, and flatter, with downturned mouths and darker, cooler complexions. Each of these facial features also made faces appear more incompetent, cold, or untrustworthy. In contrast, faces perceived as rich were narrower and longer with upturned mouths and lighter, warmer complexions – features which corresponded to those associated with perceptions of competence, warmth, and trustworthiness.
Corresponding author Dr R. Thora Bjornsdottir (now Lecturer at the University of Stirling) said: “People who are perceived to be of high or low social class standing are also often judged as having advantageous or unfavourable traits, respectively. Such judgements are formed even just from facial appearance, and this can have substantial downstream consequences, including disadvantaging those who are perceived to be of lower social class standing.
“In our study, by revealing the facial features that underlie these subjective judgements, we provide new insights into what makes someone look rich or poor and show how these judgements relate to positive and negative stereotypes (such as competence vs. incompetence). The results suggest that social class stereotypes explain the link between facial appearance and judgements of individuals’ social class standing. This highlights that the stereotypes we hold are consequential for how we perceive others – they bias our perceptions. Our impressions of other people can then lead to particular advantages or disadvantages for them.”
Prof Rachael E. Jack, Professor of Computational Social Cognition, added: “Our research demonstrates how specific facial attributes play a pivotal role in connecting social class perceptions with related stereotypes. These findings are not only valuable for advancing our understanding of central social perception theories, but could also help with future interventions designed to interrupt biased perceptions.”
The study, ‘Social Class Perception Is Driven by Stereotype-Related Facial Features,’ is published in APA Journal of Experimental Psychology: General. The study was funded by the European Research Council (ERC), the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), Wellcome Trust, and Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).
Enquiries: ali.howard@glasgow.ac.uk or elizabeth.mcmeekin@glasgow.ac.uk
First published: 25 January 2024
FAQs
The results reveal a unique constellation of facial features that underlie judgements of social class. Faces perceived as poor exhibited particular characteristics such as being wider, shorter, and flatter, with downturned mouths and darker, cooler complexions.
What facial features are linked to stereotypes and social class perception? ›
The findings indicate that wider, shorter, and flatter faces with downturned mouths and cooler, darker complexions are perceived as belonging to individuals of lower social class, while the opposite set of features is attributed to those of higher social class.
What facial features determine social class? ›
Analysis of the resulting face models showed that social class perception is driven by a specific combination of facial features—faces judged as rich are narrower and longer with protruding features and upturned mouths, and lighter, warmer complexions than those judged as poor.
How do facial features determine class? ›
People with wider, shorter and flatter faces are more likely to be perceived as poor, a study has found. The research, led by academics from the University of Glasgow, discovered that judgments of social class were driven by a “unique constellation of facial features”.
What is the social perception of faces? ›
Face perception is one of the most important aspects of social cognition. We use information transmitted from the face when we reason about other people and try to understand what may be on their minds. Face recognition is a critical skill that develops early and supports our social abilities.
What are examples of stereotype perception? ›
Stereotypes are beliefs about the characteristics, attributes, and behaviors of members of certain groups. "Blacks are athletic," "Asians are smart," "Jews are materialistic," and "Southerners are racist" all qualify as examples of stereotypes.
What is stereotype in social perception? ›
In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group.
What is social class and its features? ›
Sociology is the study of human societies, the processes that preserve and change them, and the interactions between them. The term ''social class'' refers to people who possess similar status based on characteristics such as education, wealth, work, income, family, race, and ethnicity.
What are the 3 methods used to identify social class? ›
Sociologists typically use three methods to determine social class: The objective method measures and analyzes “hard” facts. The subjective method asks people what they think of themselves. The reputational method asks what people think of others.
What 4 characteristics are the most important in describing one's social class? ›
Most sociologists define social class as a grouping based on similar social factors like wealth, income, education, and occupation. These factors affect how much power and prestige a person has.
- FACE.
- EYES.
- NOSE. EARS.
- MOUTH.
- TEETH.
- CHIN.
- HAIR.
Known genetic variants explained only about 14 percent of the differences in faces. An individual's age accounted for 7 percent, sex for 12 percent, and body mass index for about 19 percent of variation, leaving a whopping 48 percent completely unexplained.
How do you describe facial features examples? ›
Words to Describe Various Features
- Oval: rounded, elongated, balanced, symmetrical.
- Round: full, plump, chubby, cherubic.
- Square: angular, defined, strong, masculine.
- Heart: pointy, triangular, wider at the temples, narrow at the chin.
- Diamond: angular, pointed, narrow at the forehead and jaw, wide at the cheekbones.
There are four main components of social perception: observation, attribution, integration, and confirmation. Observations serve as the raw data of social perception—an interplay of three sources: persons, situations, and behavior.
What makes a face unattractive? ›
But what is considered an unattractive facial feature? Facial hair, double chins, uneven facial skin tone, and so on are all considered rather unattractive facial features that both men and women suffer from.
How does attractiveness influence social perception? ›
Research shows that people judge attractive-looking people as having positive personality traits, such as sociability, friendliness, poise, warmth, and good adjustment.
How does physical appearance affect social perception? ›
Our responses are then overgeneralized to normal individuals whose faces resemble those who are unfit. Thus, we perceive unattractive people more negatively than attractive people because unattractive faces show more similarity to the faces of unfit or unhealthy individuals that are adaptive for us to recognize.
What is physical appearance and stereotypes? ›
Physical appearance — For example, women are expected to be thin and graceful, while men are expected to be tall and muscular. Men and women are also expected to dress and groom in ways that are stereotypical to their gender (men wearing pants and short hairstyles, women wearing dresses and make-up.
What is perception of facial features? ›
The perception of facial features is an important part of social cognition. Information gathered from the face helps people understand each other's identity, what they are thinking and feeling, anticipate their actions, recognize their emotions, build connections, and communicate through body language.
What other factors influence our perception of social class? ›
Recognizing these problems, conflict sociologists delineate social class on the basis of several factors, including the ownership of the means of production, the degree of autonomy workers enjoy in their jobs, and whether they supervise other workers or are supervised themselves (Wright, 2000).
