Personality Judgments Based on Physical Appearance

• Published in: Personality & social psychology bulletin Vol. 35; no. 12; pp. 1661 - 1671
• Main Authors: Naumann, Laura P., Vazire, Simine, Rentfrow, Peter J., Gosling, Samuel D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01-12-2009; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Adolescent; Appearance; Court decisions; Cues; Extraversion; Facial Expression; Facial expressions; Female; Humans; Impressions; Judgment; Judgments; Male; Personal appearance; Personality; Personality Assessment; Personality traits; Photography; Physical appearance; Posture; Religiosity; Self esteem; Social Desirability; Texas; Young Adult; Texas; accuracy; facial expression; person perception; appearance; personality
• ISSN: 0146-1672; 1552-7433
• DOI: 10.1177/0146167209346309

Despite the crucial role of physical appearance in forming first impressions, little research has examined the accuracy of personality impressions based on appearance alone. This study examined the accuracy of observers’ impressions on 10 personality traits based on full-body photographs using criterion measures based on self and peer reports. When targets’ posture and expression were constrained (standardized condition), observers’ judgments were accurate for extraversion, self-esteem, and religiosity. When targets were photographed with a spontaneous pose and facial expression (spontaneous condition), observers’ judgments were accurate for almost all of the traits examined. Lens model analyses demonstrated that both static cues (e.g., clothing style) and dynamic cues (e.g., facial expression, posture) offered valuable personality-relevant information. These results suggest that personality is manifested through both static and expressive channels of appearance, and observers use this information to form accurate judgments for a variety of traits.