Learn what you can discover about a person’s personality just by looking at their face. And is face reading an art, a science, or a pseudoscience?
June 6, 2024 Table of ContentsThousands of participants 1 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-65358-6 submitted images of their faces alongside a personality test. The result? Random people could accurately guess certain personality traits, suggesting we can intuitively read faces based on their features. In this article, we’ll go over a few different ways to read a look. Some are backed by science, others less so.
Face reading, also known as physiognomy, interprets an individual’s facial features to gain insights into their personality, emotions, and potential future experiences.
Many believe we can understand a person by looking at their face. One survey 2 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S019188690700164X?via%3Dihub of undergraduates in the 1970s found that 90% of students thought the front was a valid guide to character. Another study 2 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S019188690700164X?via%3Dihub in 2000 saw the number to be about 75%.
We can’t help but make assumptions about people because of their faces. For example, people assume adults with “baby faces 3 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4020290/ ” are more innocent and trustworthy.
Further research 4 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3130383/ suggests that specific faces look good to us because they are familiar, they match our attractiveness levels, and we perceive the other person’s hormone levels and fertility.
Several cultures have been practicing models of face-reading for centuries. However, traditional face-reading practices fall under the pseudoscience 5 https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/pseudo-science/ category, meaning the claims don’t pass the scientific method. We’ll still explore these methods in this article, and you can be the judge of what you think of them.
There are also modern approaches to face reading that have more scientific credibility. Face reading has also become more salient in recent years because of advances in AI technology 6 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/366020114_Face_Reading_with_AI_Artificial_Intelligence around understanding facial expressions.
If you like the idea of face reading, then you might also be intrigued by the power of reading body language. Check out the link below, where Vanessa Van Edwards breaks down everything you need about charismatic communication.
Control and leverage the tiny signals you’re sending – from your stance and facial expressions to your word choice and vocal tone – to improve your personal and professional relationships.
Through various scientific studies, we can make educated guesses on what certain facial features tell us about a person.
None of these are 100% accurate all the time, but rather patterns that tend to emerge over many people.
So, because someone might have a feature on the list below, it doesn’t guarantee they’ll possess the related personality trait.
Facial Symmetry
Several studies 2 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S019188690700164X?via%3Dihub tried to map face symmetry 7 https://youtu.be/9qph9XUYaOo onto the Big 5 personality test.
Here’s what they found.
(It should be noted that multiple studies confirmed the link between face symmetry and extroversion, though there were mixed results on linking asymmetrical faces with openness and agreeableness).
Male faces with lots of testosterone
One study 8 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1090513813000275 measured the ratio of width to height on male faces, and here’s what they found:
Wide faces = aggression and status-striving.
The researchers found that a large width-to-height ratio on male faces correlated with aggressive behavior and a strong desire to pursue status, whereas oblong faces correlated the opposite.
Researchers assumed that this link was a reflection of testosterone levels.
Researchers 9 https://www.livescience.com/41373-science-assesses-sexiest-man-alive.html have also found that when males have high levels of testosterone, it shows up in their faces in different ways. On the other hand, high testosterone in males is linked to several different personality traits 10 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0092656614000269#:~:text=High%20testosterone%20was%20associated%20with,mediated%20by%20attachment%2Drelated%20avoidance. .
Males with high testosterone tend to have:
Males with these features tend to:
Female faces with lots of estrogen
When females have high estrogen levels, it also shows up in their faces differently and is linked with several personality traits.
Females with high estrogen tend to have:
Females with these features tend to be:
Reading microexpressions to understand someone’s emotions
Another modern and scientifically backed approach to reading a face is through reading microexpressions.
The idea is that whenever we experience an emotion, we leak out a tiny glimpse of what we’re feeling. These tiny expressions come out independently, and we can’t control them. They last as short as half a second.
Psychologist Paul Ekman 13 https://www.paulekman.com/resources/universal-facial-expressions/ traveled to different countries across the globe and found 7 emotions that all humans seem to express. The emotions are:
Each of these seven emotions has a distinct microexpression.
So, if you see someone tighten their lips, lower their eyebrows, and create a crease between them, you can assume that they just experienced anger.
To get a sense of how each of these emotions manifests in the face, check out this short, info-packed video:
Or, here’s a written guide on the science of face-reading microexpressions. And as a bonus, here’s how to interpret microexpressions when people wear face masks.
Now, let’s look at some face-reading techniques from the Chinese belief system. Bear in mind these are not scientifically backed.
Facial shape and structure
In Chinese face reading, the overall shape of the face holds great significance.
Eyes
The eyes are considered the windows to the soul in Chinese face reading. They provide valuable clues about a person’s emotions, intelligence, and vitality. The eyes’ size, shape, and placement are all considered.
Nose
The nose is prominent in Chinese face reading, symbolizing wealth, career prospects, and overall fortune. Various aspects of the nose, such as its length, width, and shape of the nostrils, are analyzed to conclude a person’s financial success and social standing.
Mouth and lips
The mouth and lips are crucial indicators of a person’s personality and communication style in Chinese face reading. The lips’ shape, size, and color are examined to discern information about one’s emotional nature, verbal prowess, and relationship dynamics.
Even though face reading is an interesting practice, there are many issues and limitations.
Traditional forms of face reading (like Chinese, Vedic, and Astrological face reading) have been around for centuries but generally lack empirical evidence and are typically dismissed by the scientific community as pseudoscience.
One study 14 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1948550617734616 suggests that people who believe in face reading also tend to have a biologically deterministic view of personality and believe in a just world. In other words, they think that “faces and traits should be related because they are both manifestations of biological essences and because the world is an orderly place wherein people get faces they deserve.”
Face reading is practiced in many different cultures.
Chinese face reading spans thousands of years and relates to traditional Chinese medicine, where different parts of the face are linked to different organs.
In India, Vedic face reading dates back to the ancient Indian scriptures known as the Vedas. These texts ground many spiritual practices and philosophies in India, including yoga, Ayurveda, and Vedic astrology.
Ancient Greeks 15 https://blogs.getty.edu/iris/physiognomy-the-beautiful-pseudoscience/#:~:text=Physiognomy%20has%20its%20roots%20in,and%20round%20faces%20signaled%20courage. practiced face-reading in the West to judge people’s character. As far back as 500 BCE, Pythagoras (yes, the guy who made up the triangle theory you probably learned in middle school) was known to take on or reject students based on how intelligent their faces looked.
Face reading is coming back into the mainstream because AI researchers are attempting to create AI that can discern human personalities based on images. One group 16 https://medium.com/@blaisea/physiognomys-new-clothes-f2d4b59fdd6a is trying to develop AI that can distinguish between the faces of people who have committed crimes and those who haven’t. They’ve run some tests, but nothing that has been scientifically validated.
Face reading is interpreting various facial features to gain insights into a person’s character, emotions, or potential. The art of face reading is a tradition rooted in multiple cultures and philosophies, ranging from ancient Chinese thought to modern psychology.
How does face reading work?Face reading analyzes specific facial features, such as the shape and size of the eyes, nose, lips, and other elements, to conclude an individual’s qualities or tendencies.
What are the key facial features that face readers analyze?The key facial features that face readers analyze typically include the eyes, nose, lips, cheeks, forehead, and overall facial shape (including profile). These features are considered to be indicative of certain personality traits, emotions, or potential.
Can face reading accurately reveal someone’s personality traits?Face reading claims to reveal someone’s personality traits by interpreting their facial features, but the accuracy of these interpretations is widely debated. Scientific evidence supporting the reliability of face reading to predict personality traits is scant accurately.
Is face reading a scientific practice or a pseudoscience?Face reading is generally considered a pseudoscience by the scientific community because it lacks empirical evidence and rigorous testing to substantiate its claims. While it may offer cultural or anecdotal insights, it is not grounded in systematic, evidence-based research.
What are the different cultural and historical perspectives on face reading?Different cultural and historical perspectives on face reading include ancient Chinese physiognomy, Vedic Mukha Prakriti in India, and various Western interpretations. Each tradition has its own set of principles and methods for interpreting facial features.
Can face reading be used in everyday life to understand better and connect with others?Face reading can be used in everyday life to attempt to understand better and connect with others, although its efficacy is debatable. While some people find it useful for personal insights or entertainment, empirical evidence is needed to be more reliable as a scientific tool for understanding human behavior.
Here are some key highlights on the topic of face reading:
If you want to get better at reading people, here’s a 101 guide to decoding body language that you might find helpful.
