Association for Psychological Science (2009, November 2). Angry Faces: Facial Structure Linked To Aggressive Tendencies, Study. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091031002319.htm
Cell Press (2006, June 7). Do angry men get noticed?. ScienceDaily. Retrieved November 27, 2009, from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/06/060607085104.htm
In class we talked about empirical research proving what qualities an attractive face has, so when I came across these two articles I found them interesting. These articles discuss what an angry face looks like and the link to aggressive behavior and how quickly angry faces are picked out in a crowd.
Research has found that men with a greater width-to-height ratio (WHR) tend to act more aggressively than those with smaller WHR. In a study, volunteers rated photos. Those with a greater WHR were rated as more aggressive. This accurately linked with the actual aggression of those faces in the photos these volunteers were looking at.
With this being said, the second article comes into play. I think those of us from small towns can think of the aggressive, angry guy in the crowd at the ball games that everyone in town and all of the refs in the district know. He is usually the first to pick a fight, verbal or physical, at the bar on a Saturday night as well. From my experience, these guys have always had a pretty good WHR. Even at the store or café, everyone walks lightly unsure of what mood these guys are in. The article points out that this is evolutionary based so danger can be detected. Makes sense to me. Does anyone else have thoughts on this?
If we can gauge attractiveness and aggression by looking at a face, what else do we subconsciously find out just by looking at someone?
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Definitely makes sense. I find myself uncomfortable around anybody that doesn't seem open to a smile. It's a really interesting question though in asking what else we can tell just by looking at someone's face. An interesting thing to consider would be if this has anything to do with the "birds of a feather flock together" idea. Theoretically, if we could tell that somebody else was exhibiting the same self-concept as we do personally, we may be more inclined to make an effort at striking some kind of relationship.
ReplyDeleteI believe this theory to be so true. It is about self preservation. If someone is going to make you feel threatened or insecure you want to stay away from them. Fear is one thing we all like to avoid. Nobody enjoys being nervous or not feeling safe. There is something more to this theory though because we as human beings can sense fear even without our eyes. If you were to ask a blind person to sit down next to someone who was angry, the blind person can sense the ora as well. It would be interesting to do some sort of study to try to find out exactly how we read each other.
ReplyDeleteI guess I never really thought about this, it is very interesting though. It makes sense now that I think back to fights I have witnessed. They usually occur between guys that are larger. I like how the face relates to it as well, with the angry face. Another thing to think about though is guys who are shorter than the rest...they call it short man syndrome, or something like that. I have also seen really small guys pick fights and act really aggressive. And have heard that they do this because they have to compensate for their size. It would be interesting to find a study on this.
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