Perceiver’s Agreeableness & Extraversion were uniquely associated with liking targets; targets who expressed positive emotions, looked relaxed, were physically attractive, & looked healthy & energetic, were the most liked

Who likes whom? The interaction between perceiver personality and target look. Jan Erik Lönnqvist, Ville-Juhani Ilmarinen, Markku Verkasalo. Journal of Research in Personality, Volume 90, February 2021, 104044. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2020.104044

Highlights

• We investigated determinants of liking at zero-acquaintance.

• Perceivers (N = 385) viewed portrait photographs of Targets (N = 146)

• Different perceivers were differently influenced by appearance cues.

• Targets who displayed non-Duchenne (fake) smiles were generally rated less favorably.

• Those high in N or C, but not those low in A, especially disliked fake smiles.

Abstract: We investigated determinants of liking at zero-acquaintance, focusing on individual differences in perceivers’ reactions to appearance cues. Perceivers (N = 385) viewed portrait photographs of Targets (N = 146). Perceiver’s Agreeableness and Extraversion were uniquely associated with liking targets. Targets who expressed positive emotions, looked relaxed, were physically attractive, and looked healthy and energetic, were the most liked. There were substantial individual differences in how Perceivers were influenced by appearance cues. For instance, Perceivers generally rated targets who displayed non-Duchenne (fake) smiles less favorably than targets who did not smile or targets who displayed Duchenne (authentic) smiles. However, non-Duchenne smiles elicited especially negative ratings from Perceivers high in Neuroticism or Conscientiousness, but not from Perceivers low in Agreeableness.

Keywords First impressionsZero-acquaintanceAttractivenessSmilingRelationship effects