【慢速英语】How You Look in Pictures Tells a Lot About You

 

How You Look in Pictures Tells a Lot About You 

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VOICE ONE:

Many people have learned as children that first impressions are important. Parents and other adults often say that people judge you by the way you look.

Now, American and British researchers have confirmed that judgments based only on how someone looks are important. They found that appearance tells a lot about your personality -- the traits or qualities that make you the person that you are.

The researchers included Laura Naumann of Sonoma State University in California, and Simine Vazire of Washington University in Saint Louis, Missouri. They were joined by Sam Gosling of the University of Texas at Austin and Peter J. Rentfrow of Britain's Cambridge University. The results of their study will be published next month in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.

VOICE TWO:

We will call the subjects in the study, the judges. That is because they judged the personality of people they had never met. The judges examined pictures of one hundred twenty-three people. The people in the photographs had been told how to stand. They looked into the cameras with a neutral facial expression. The same people also were photographed the way they themselves wanted to stand. Those who wanted to smile could smile.

Then the judges attempted to decide what the people were like. The researchers compared the judges' opinions with the way the people who were photographed rated themselves. Three people who knew those in the photographs well also provided information about their personality and behavior.

VOICE ONE:

The judges looked for ten traits in the people in the pictures. The qualities included extroversion, or interest in other people and one's environment. Another important trait was self-esteem: Does the person feel good about himself or herself?

The judges also looked for signs of likeability, openness and agreeability. Other traits considered in the study were loneliness, and religious and political beliefs. Other considerations were emotional control and conscientiousness -- the quality of being guided by a sense of right and wrong.

VOICE TWO:

The researchers said the judges could identify some personality traits even when people were pictured in controlled positions. They could recognize traits like extroversion and self-esteem. But it was hard for the judges to decide about most other traits under the controlled conditions.

When the people smiled and stood looking natural and energetic, however, judging their personalities was easy. Then the judges' choices were correct for nine of the ten personality traits.

Researcher Laura Nauman noted that we live in a time of social media, and personal photographs are everywhere. She says it is important to understand how appearance communicates personality. If you want people to see you as warm and friendly, she says, just smile.

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VOICE ONE:

This SCIENCE IN THE NEWS was written by June Simms, Jerilyn Watson and Caty Weaver. Our producer was Brianna Blake. I'm Bob Doughty.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Barbara Klein. Join us again next week for more news about science in Special English on the Voice of America.