[Nfbf-l] How Faces Drive First Impressions, and how can we tell what we look like being Blind?

Sat Aug 16 21:53:27 UTC 2014

I think that it was your blindness, because people really don't want to hire 
blind individuals, because we are considered a high risk.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Alan Dicey via Nfbf-l" <nfbf-l at nfbnet.org>
To: <Undisclosed-Recipient:;>
Sent: Saturday, August 16, 2014 3:35 PM
Subject: [Nfbf-l] How Faces Drive First Impressions,and how can we tell what 
we look like being Blind?


> How Faces Drive First Impressions
> I have no idea what my face now looks like, as I have not seen it  for 10 
> years or more.
> And can I trust anyone to tell me if I look like a monster or a handsome 
> gentleman.
> Did this play a role in the rejection of my last job application, I mean 
> when I went to the interview?
> They seemed very interested with my resume, my background, the 
> application, and my conversations over the telephone were all so positive, 
> but when I arrived to there offices for the interview, well 5 seconds into 
> it, I realized these 2 ladies from the Marriott  Call Center Human 
> Resources Department, were not interested in me at all.
> I had dressed very, very, nicely, my wife sees to that, neat clean 
> pressed, matching shirt and pants, and I wore practically brand new shoes. 
> Nice hair cut, clean shaven,  Well, I would have hired me!
> I think this is an extremely worrying trend.  What do others think?  While 
> the article content is essentially visual, in the form of flash player 
> photo collages.  There is enough by way of description in the article 
> itself to give us, as blind people, enough real information.  Personally, 
> I find it worrying because of the manufactured/untruthful/false 
> impressions advertisers and spin doctors can already create.  We are 
> already influenced by the fashion industry in our choice of clothing and 
> even body shape.  How long will it be, do you think, before people are 
> pressured in to getting a reconstructed face?  Burns victims and those who 
> have been disfigured in an accident of some sort I can understand.  But I 
> have always shunned the idea of plastic surgery for vanity's sake .  Or am 
> I being to narrow minded? Read on and comment if you wish.
> With Best Regards,
> God Bless,
> Alan
> Plantation, Florida
>
> How facial features drive our first impressions
> By Jonathan Webb
> Science reporter, BBC News
> elderly face Approachable? Intelligent? People's responses to 1,000 
> photographs were used to build the model
> Whether it's a curled lip or a keen cheekbone, we all make quick social 
> judgements based on strangers' faces.
>
> Now scientists have modelled the specific physical attributes that 
> underpin our first impressions.
>
> Small changes in the dimensions of a face can make it appear more 
> trustworthy, dominant or attractive.
>
> The results, published in the journal PNAS, could help film animators or 
> anyone looking to create an instant impression on a social network.
>
> Dr Tom Hartley, a neuroscientist at the University of York and the study's 
> senior author, said the work added mathematical detail to a well-known 
> phenomenon.
>
> "If people are forming these first impressions, just based on looking at 
> somebody's face, what is it about the image of the face that's giving that 
> impression - can we measure it exactly?"
>
> Three key dimensions of a first impression
> Approachability: how likely is this person to help (or hinder) me?
> Dominance: how capable is this person of carrying out those intentions?
> Attractiveness: is this person young and good looking - a potential 
> romantic partner?
>
> Positive first impressions are especially important in a world dominated 
> by social media, from LinkedIn to Tinder.
>
> Dr Hartley sees the commercial potential in applying his numerical model 
> to the photos people use to present themselves online. "It's obviously 
> potentially very useful," he told the BBC.
>
> To make the calculations, each of 1,000 face photos from the internet was 
> shown to at least six different people, who gave it a score for 16 
> different social traits, like trustworthiness or intelligence.
>
> Overall, these scores boil down to three main characteristics: whether a 
> face is (a) approachable, (b) dominant, and (c) attractive.
>
> Cartoon faces based on the new mathematical model, sliding along 3 scales: 
> approachability, dominance and attractiveness
>
> By measuring the physical attributes of all 1,000 faces and putting them 
> together with those scores, Dr Hartley and his team built a mathematical 
> model of how the dimensions of a face produce those three impressions.
>
> The next step was to get the computer to extrapolate. Using their new 
> model, the team produced cartoon versions of the most (and least) 
> approachable, dominant and attractive faces - as well as all the 
> possibilities in between.
>
> Example faces Six faces and their computerised approximations, including 
> study author Dr Tom Hartley (second from left)
> John Humphrys The same treatment given to the Today programme's John 
> Jumphrys
> "
> Start Quote
> You could use these kind of numbers to decide when is a good time to take 
> a photograph, or to choose the photograph that's really optimal in putting 
> forward the best possible impression"
> End Quote
> Dr Tom Hartley
>
> University of York
>
> Finally, and most importantly, these cartoon results could be tested. When 
> the researchers quizzed more participants about their impressions of the 
> artificial, cartoon faces, the ratings matched. People said that the 
> computer's cartoon prediction of an approachable face was, indeed, 
> approachable - and so on.
>
> So has all this work revealed humanity's ultimate trustworthy jawline, or 
> the most assertive shape for eyebrows? Dr Hartley is cautious.
>
> "Lots of the features of the face tend to vary together," he explained. 
> "So it's very difficult for us to pin down with certainty that a given 
> feature of the face is contributing to a certain social impression."
>
> There are some obvious trends however - including the tendency for 
> masculine faces to be perceived as dominant, or for a broadly smiling face 
> to seem more approachable and trustworthy.
>
> This points to a potentially worrying implication: brief facial 
> expressions can make a big difference to how we are received by strangers.
>
> "It might be problematic if we're forming these kind of judgements based 
> on these rather fleeting impressions," Dr Hartley said, "particularly in 
> today's world where we only might see one picture of a face, on social 
> media, and have to form our impression based on that."
>
> Cartoon faces A mathematical model produced cartoon faces based on how 
> people rated various facial dimensions
> On the other hand, the findings could help people put their best face 
> forward.
>
> "It might be very useful for organisations who are interested in people's 
> faces," said Dr Hartley.
>
> "
> Start Quote
> [Being] approachable is tied to smiling expressions and unapproachable to 
> frowning or angry expressions, while dominance is tied to masculine 
> features"
> End Quote
> Dr Anthony Little
>
> University of Stirling
>
> That might include interests as diverse as photographers, Facebook and 
> Pixar.
>
> "You would be able to use these kind of numbers to decide when is a good 
> time to take a photograph, or maybe to choose the photograph that's really 
> optimal in putting forward the best possible impression - and you might 
> want to put forward different kinds of social impressions in different 
> situations."
>
> Animators, on the other hand, "have to give life, and give some social 
> meaning, to the faces of their characters just by changing small things," 
> Dr Hartley said.
>
> "What we're doing is trying to put that on a scientific footing. It's been 
> fascinating to find out more about it."
>
> Dr Anthony Little, a reader in psychology at the University of Stirling, 
> said the findings point to something "simple and important" about the way 
> physical attributes guide our social responses.
>
> Silly face Impressions included attractiveness and trustworthiness - 
> potential mate or used car salesman?
> "The results highlight that the way we see other people may be in 
> relatively simple terms, as approachable/unapproachable and 
> dominant/submissive," said Dr Little, whose own research on faces and 
> psychology includes using a website to crowd-source ratings.
>
> "Each of these two factors looks to be tied to specific face features. So, 
> approachable is tied to smiling expressions and unapproachable to frowning 
> or angry expressions, while dominance is tied to masculine features.
>
> "The third factor, youthful-attractiveness, appears less distinct."
>
> This is because of interplay between attractiveness and the other two 
> factors, Dr Little explained.
>
> http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-28512781#
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Nfbf-l mailing list
> Nfbf-l at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbf-l_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for 
> Nfbf-l:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfbf-l_nfbnet.org/redroosterroberts1%40gmail.com
>