Facial appearance affects science communication

Abstract

First impressions based on facial appearance predict many important social outcomes. We investigated whether such impressions also influence the communication of scientific findings to lay audiences, a process that shapes public beliefs, opinion, and policy. First, we investigated the traits that engender interest in a scientist's work, and those that create the impression of a "good scientist" who does high-quality research. Apparent competence and morality were positively related to both interest and quality judgments, whereas attractiveness boosted interest but decreased perceived quality. Next, we had members of the public choose real science news stories to read or watch and found that people were more likely to choose items that were paired with "interesting-looking" scientists, especially when selecting video-based communications. Finally, we had people read real science news items and found that the research was judged to be of higher quality when paired with researchers who look like "good scientists." Our findings offer insights into the social psychology of science, and indicate a source of bias in the dissemination of scientific findings to broader society.

Keywords: impression formation; science communication; social cognition.

Fig. 1.

Regression coefficients for studies 1 and 2, and pooled across studies. All predictors were standardized. Error bars show 95% confidence intervals; coefficients with CIs that exclude zero are highlighted in black. P_Age, participant age; P_Female, participant gender; and P_Sci, participant science engagement.

Fig. 2.

(Top) (Left) The choice data from study 3 and (Right) the interest ratings from study 4. (Bottom) The corresponding regression coefficients. All predictors were standardized (prior to computing interaction terms). Error bars show 95% confidence intervals; coefficients with CIs that exclude zero are highlighted in black. Fem, female scientist; Int, intercept; Phys, physics news item; Vid, video format.

Fig. 3.

(Top) The mean quality ratings from (Left) study 5 and (Right) study 6. (Bottom) The corresponding regression coefficients. All predictors were standardized (prior to computing interaction terms). Error bars show 95% Wald confidence intervals; coefficients with CIs that exclude zero are highlighted in black. HiFace, researcher looks like a good scientist.