Social judgments of facial deformity

The purpose of this study was to examine age- and gender-related personality and ability judgments associated with facial deformity. Four age groups (range = 8 to 16 years) were shown either photographically corrected versions of children with congenital facial clefts or uncorrected versions. Subjects' ratings of photographs of children with facial deformity were consistently negative. Neither age nor gender of subject were significantly related to judgments of facial deformity. Pictures of girls with facial deformities were judged more negatively than pictures of boys. The implications of these findings for future research were discussed.