Social class perception is driven by stereotype-related facial features.

Area of Science:

• Social Psychology
• Perception Science
• Computer Vision

Background:

• Social class significantly impacts life experiences and is often judged based on facial appearance.
• Facial impressions of social class are linked to stereotypes about competence, warmth, and trustworthiness.
• The specific facial features driving these judgments and their relationship to stereotypes remain unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify the specific three-dimensional facial features that influence social class judgments.
• To compare facial features associated with social class judgments to those linked to stereotype judgments (competence, warmth, dominance, trustworthiness).
• To understand how facial cues contribute to biased perceptions of social class and associated traits.

Main Methods:

• Employed a perception-based, data-driven approach to model facial features.
• Utilized data-reduction analysis and machine learning techniques.
• Tested perceptions using White Western participants and face stimuli.

Main Results:

• Social class judgments are driven by a unique set of facial features.
• Faces perceived as lower class (vs. higher class) were wider, shorter, flatter, with downturned mouths and darker, cooler complexions.
• These features mirrored those associated with perceived incompetence, coldness, and untrustworthiness.

Conclusions:

• Specific facial features underlie the connection between social class perceptions and stereotype-related traits.
• Findings illuminate the causal links between stereotype knowledge and social class judgments.
• Results have implications for social perception theories and interventions against biased perception and social inequality.