Written by / First Psychology Writers
Editor / Tommy
We often hear the following judgments:
"This man doesn't look good. ”
When it comes to recognizing people through their appearance, we have to talk about physiognomy.
Face reading is the study of a person's facial features to reveal their behavioral habits.
China has a long history of physiognomy, which is recorded as early as the Book of Rites, such as:
A person with a dignified face and a spacious hall is usually regarded as a blessed person, trustworthy, and more likely to achieve greater success.
And people with twinkling eyes and cunning faces are often suspicious.
1. Western phrenology
In the West, there is a similar view called "phrenology". Earlier scientists such as Gall and Spozm argued that
The shape of the skull is related to a person's character and the good or evil of their actions.
They believe that if the skull is protruding, it means that the lower brain is well developed, which means that it has a high ability;
Conversely, a depression in the skull may indicate underdevelopment and weakness of the lower part of the brain.
Spozm further proposed 27 important faculties, such as, etc.,
He believed that each function had a specific location and characteristics in the skull.
However, a large number of subsequent scientific studies have shown that there is no scientific basis for these ideas in phrenology, and there is no direct link between the shape of the skull and personality behavior.
2. Personality assessment experiments
In the 70s of the 20th century, psychologists in the United States conducted an experiment.
The research team recruited 84 non-psychology college student volunteers from the Internet who did not know each other.
In the experiment, they were asked to sit in pairs and observe each other for about 20 minutes, after which each person evaluated each other's personality traits.
The results of the experiment showed that most volunteers were able to accurately identify at least three of the five personality dimensions.
This shows that people can infer the personality of others by looking at their appearance to a certain extent.
3. Violent tendency experiments
In the book "Face Reading for Psychologists" by psychologist Paul Ekman, a classic experiment on physiognomy and behavior is presented.
Researchers have studied the faces of 90 ice hockey players and their foul behavior during games.
The study found that athletes with wider faces (i.e., wider cheekbones) were more likely to be punished by referees during the competition because they showed a more pronounced tendency to violence and had a greater range of movements than other athletes.
Further research found that people with wider faces had higher concentrations of certain hormones in their bodies, which not only affected their facial structure but also enhanced their aggression.
The results of these experiments seem to support a scientific basis for judging a person's behavior by their physical appearance.
4. Artificial Intelligence Algorithms: Facial Features of Criminals
In the context of the rapid development of artificial intelligence technology today, ancient physiognomy has been innovatively developed through modern technology.
In 2016, Professor Wu Xiaolin from Shanghai Jiao Tong University explored the possibility of using artificial intelligence algorithms to identify the common facial features of potential criminals in his published research paper, "Automatic Criminality Probabilistic Inference Based on Facial Images".
In this study, Prof. Wu used four algorithms: logistic regression (LR), k-nearest neighbor (KNN), support vector machine (SVM), and convolutional neural network (CNN) to conduct an in-depth analysis of 1,856 facial photos.
The results of the study show that there are indeed significant differences in the facial structure of criminals and ordinary people.
From these differences, Professor Wu has identified three key facial features: interpupillary distance, mouth, and philtrum.
Studies have shown that offenders have a smaller interpupillary distance, i.e., a closer distance between their eyes, than the general population.
Whereas, in the average person, the distance between the eyes is usually wider.
In addition, criminals usually have small mouths and the corners of their mouths tend to be raised.
In contrast, the corners of the mouth are usually upwards in the expressionless state of the average person.
The philtrum of the offender is also more prominent, showing a clear bilinear character, which is usually not evident in the philtrum of the average person.
Although Professor Wu's research has made some breakthroughs, it has also been questioned by many scholars.
Critics argue that such research may unconsciously classify people according to their physical appearance, contributing to a "trend that not only lacks scientific rigor, but can also lead to discrimination and misunderstanding in society."
At the same time, the sample size is less than 2000, which is statistically insufficient to constitute a "large sample" study, which makes the representativeness and accuracy of the experimental results problematic.
However, this research has undoubtedly attracted a lot of attention in the academic community, and it has promoted the application of facial recognition technology in the field of criminal psychology to a certain extent, providing us with a new perspective to identify the good and bad personalities of others.
Of course, we must also recognize that a person's qualities are influenced by a variety of factors, and we cannot evaluate a person holistically based on facial features alone.
Traditional Chinese proverbs remind us that a person's outward expression can reflect their inner state.
If someone appears relaxed and cheerful between their eyebrows, it usually indicates that they are acting honestly;
And those who look uncertain may not be honest enough in some way;
People who have a sad expression for a long time may have a more negative attitude towards life.
Therefore, when evaluating a person, we should take into account his or her physiognomy, demeanor, and other non-verbal behaviors.
The End -
The First Psychological Writing Group | A group of young people who like to look up at the stars
Keywords in this article: physical characteristics, psychology
The picture comes from the Internet, please contact for infringement
WeChat public account: First Psychology