Tests

Can you judge personality by someone’s face? There are certain signs that are widely regarded as infallible indications of character. For example, someone who does not hold your gaze when you speak to them is regarded as shifty. Interestingly, however, the Chinese regard looking straight into someone’s face as rude and see it as a sign that you do not trust the other person: they believe that you are looking for lies.

People whose eyes are set close together are also somewhat suspect but, on the other hand we speak of people having a ‘frank, open face’ as though the possession of widely set eyes was in itself an indication of honesty. Beards are also regarded by some as expressing some sort of character defect. The former British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, was noted for her aversion to beards and those who wanted political advancement had to resign themselves to being clean-shaven.

Look at those wide-set eyes, the open face, and that expression, could it not be thought of as stern but kindly? Is there anything in that face that would really make you think of this man as a ruthless killer? Unfortunately, our judgments are too often based on rather silly prejudices. Social psychologist found that human have difficulties in learning because they were born with two important characters: preferences and bias.