Woman faces that appeared as attractive drive imitation more; in contrast, the facial attractiveness of men had no significant influence on imitation

The influence of facial attractiveness and personal characteristics on imitation. Jie Shen et al. The Journal of Social Psychology, Mar 30 2022. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224545.2022.2052002

Abstract: Imitation plays a crucial role in learning and communication, although a little is known whether individuals imitate each other based on particular personality traits. Facial features and personal characteristics are the major components of personal impressions. This study adopted the color paradigm to explore the effect of the two factors on imitation. Experiment 1 examined the effect of facial attractiveness and face gender on imitation. The results showed that woman who appeared attractive drove imitation more than woman who did not. However, men who appeared attractive and unattractive differed insignificantly. Experiment 2 investigated the effect of facial attractiveness and personal characteristics on imitation. The results of Experiment 1 were verified, stating that positive personal characteristics drove imitation more than negative personal characteristics. The study found that facial attractiveness still affected imitation when characteristics information appeared. Regarding negative personal characteristics, individuals who appeared attractive drove imitation more than individuals who did not. The results indicate that imitation is automated, influenced not only by face types but also by personal characteristics.

Keywords: Facial attractivenesspersonal characteristicsimitationcolor paradigm