14 DAY TRIAL // Scientists have recently published the results of a new investigation, detailing how to recognize which men are worthy of trust, and which are more likely to deceive. According to the investigators, it would appear that the width of a man's face, and more precisely his cheekbones, is a clear indicator of just how much you can put your faith in him. Details of this study appear in the latest issue of the respected scientific journal Psychological Science, LiveScience reports.
Scottish researchers at the University of St. Andrews, led by expert Michael Stirrat, showed that, in a computerized game, men with broader faces were more likely to exploit other participants for their immediate, personal monetary gain. What was remarkable is that the other players appeared to be expecting this behavior, which the researchers were surprised to learn. The investigation revolved only around males, so the findings do not necessarily apply to women. The study is the latest in a series which seeks to prove that facial configurations are a clear indicator of personality, at least in men.
Some researchers have been proposing for a long time that factors such as the placement of the eyes, the width of the cheekbones, and other such factors, could be used as factors to figure out a certain individual's general personality. Results obtained in this field thus far show that the level of introversion or extroversion, the conscientiousness, and the trustworthiness level of men could be assessed roughly by looking at these features. In an experiment, the researchers manipulated the same face to look broader in one instance, and narrower in another. Out of 285 participants, about 165 said that they found that narrower face a lot more trustworthy, based only on a single look at it.
“The effect is not huge, but there is a significant bias for trusting narrow male faces. And we are biased in the right direction,” Stirrat says of these results. However, he warns that more research is needed before the findings are taken for granted in the real-world. He adds that “it is difficult to generalize to real life,” even if the computerized game led straight to this conclusion. The researcher also explains that people who feel trusted themselves are a lot more likely than others to behave in a trustworthy manner of their own accord.