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Age differences in facial trustworthiness judgement based on multiple facial cues
Yongna Li1, Xinyue Jiao1, Yi Liu1,2
1Department of Psychology, Renmin University of China, Beijing, China.
British Journal of Psychology (London, England : 1953)
|September 17, 2020
Summary
Children under 10 process facial trustworthiness differently than older individuals. Facial expression and gender cues are processed independently by younger children but simultaneously by older children and adults.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Social Cognition
- Facial Perception
Background:
- Facial cues like expression and gender influence adult trustworthiness judgments.
- Understanding how children integrate multiple facial cues for trustworthiness is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of multiple facial cues on trustworthiness judgments across different age groups.
- To determine developmental differences in processing facial expression and gender for trustworthiness.
Main Methods:
- Experiment 1: Assessed trustworthiness judgments of happy/neutral adult faces (male/female) in 8-year-olds, 10-year-olds, and adults.
- Experiment 2: Assessed trustworthiness judgments of adult/child faces (happy, angry, neutral) in 9-year-olds, 11-year-olds, 13-year-olds, and adults using a 7-point Likert scale.
Main Results:
- Facial expression and gender independently influenced trustworthiness judgments in children 10 and under.
- Simultaneous influence of expression and gender emerged in children 11 and older, adolescents, and adults.
- No own-age bias was observed in any age group.
- Younger children (<10) demonstrated different multi-cue processing for trustworthiness compared to older individuals.
Conclusions:
- Children younger than 10 exhibit a developmental lag in integrating multiple facial cues for trustworthiness assessment.
- Findings support the stable-feature account of facial trustworthiness perception.
- Evidence does not support the own-age bias or expertise accounts in this context.
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