When we meet someone for the first time, we usually form an opinion based on their looks, since getting to know their personality takes time. Even in situations where clear information about personality is available, our instinct to judge by appearance often wins out. For example, studies show that defendants with a harmonious appearance often receive lighter sentences, or landlords with a better look can ask for higher rent.
Unfortunately, snap judgments based on looks are often off the mark. Most people believe they can accurately assess someone’s personality from their appearance, but that’s rarely the case.
Are We Really Reading the Signs Right?
Dr. Bastian Jaeger from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam explored this in a study. It turns out that the face’s appearance matters most when we try to guess personality traits—much more than actual behavior.
When forming an opinion about someone, we focus on three things: morality, competence, and social skills. In other words, we want to know how trustworthy, intelligent, and sociable they are.
Research shows people believe social skills are the easiest to judge from a face. They try to predict how pleasant, friendly, and approachable someone is just by looking.
In a simulated job interview, participants picked candidates they thought were friendly and likable, because those traits fit the imagined role. Most chose based on appearance alone. It’s easy to imagine this happens in real life, where looks alone can decide who seems fit for a job.
So, Why Do We Think This Way?
Social skills relate to how people express their emotions and respond to others’. We tend to believe that emotional expression shows up in outward appearance, and that judging social traits is easy because we just look for emotional cues on the face.
We think we can instantly read how enthusiastic, friendly, and open people are just by looking at their faces.
But we often rely only on appearances and tend to make biased judgments. We easily assume that regular features and a nice smile mean a pleasant, socially skilled, friendly person—when in reality, the character could be completely different. These wrong assumptions can lead to poor decisions about people. So, it’s worth taking time to get to know someone better instead of labeling them based solely on looks.
