“Don’t judge a book by its cover” is a saying most of us have heard before. It keeps us from passing judgment and making assumptions. While making assumptions is something we should try to avoid, there is some truth to the impressions others leave on us.
A study suggests that looking at someone’s face can help determine their trustworthiness. Thirty people judged 90 business school students as having a trustworthy face or not. The main part of the study involved the students pairing up and playing a card game. One person would pull a card and could either lie or tell the truth when telling their partner if it was high or low card. If they lied and their partner believed them, they earned 20 points. If their partner didn’t believe them, they received no points. Their partner received 10 points when they believed a truthful person and lost 20 points when they believed a lie. Whoever had the most points would win a gift card.
The study found that the students who were judged as looking trustworthy were more likely to be truthful. Those whose faces were perceived as untrustworthy lied.
You may not realize the role your face plays when you’re at work or meeting people for the first time. Although you can’t change the structure of your face to make a better impression, you can alter your body language to create a more trustworthy appearance such as having an inviting smile, good posture, keeping eye contact and not fidgeting. You can apply this in your everyday life with coworkers, interviews and meeting new people!
Written by Camille Elliott