Chin up mate! Key to appearing honest and trustworthy is to look at someone with a level head while tilting your chin up or down can make you appear aloof or domineering
- Researchers took photos of 24 people head on and chin tilted up and down
- Slight changes to the appearance of the eyebrows and mouth alter perception
- Best way to appear honest is to not look up or down on another person
A subtle shift in head position can dramatically alter how trustworthy someone appears, according to a new study.
A slight shift in chin position downwards can give mixed messages but conveys an image of being domineering.
Shifting the head the other way and sticking the chin up and out slightly gives an appearance of being aloof.
The ideal head position to appear honest is to look at someone straight-on with a level head, not tilted up or down.
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A slight shift in chin position down can give mixed messages but conveys an image of being domineering. Shifting the head the other way and sticking the chin up and out slightly gives an appearance of being aloof
Researchers at the University of St Andrews asked 67 people to assess photographs of 24 faces.
Each of the 24 people who were being scrutinised had three photos each, one for each head position.
Professor David Perrett, from the School of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of St Andrews, said: ‘It is interesting just how profoundly posture affects our appearance and others perception of us.
‘If we want to look honest and not too domineering, then we should avoid both looking down and looking up to others.’
Head rotation down makes the mouth curve upwards, looking more like a smile, but also lowers the apparent height of the eyebrows making the expression look hostile.
Rotating the head up has the opposite effect, making the mouth curve down and appear stern but the eyebrows look more positive.
Previous research carried out in this field focused on why different people look approachable or competent as opposed to the importance of head posture.
Associate Professor Dongyu Zhang from Dalian University reveals how the researchers assessed the impact of head tilt on perception.
Pictured left, head down position, centre flat orientation of the head and right, chin up position. The slight tilt of the head can dramatically impact how someone is perceived
Dr Zhang said: ‘We took photographs of 24 faces posing with different head tilts, 20 degrees up, down or level, while maintaining eye gaze at the camera.
‘Sixty-seven observers rated the character of the person depicted in each photo.
‘Judgements were then related to the apparent emotion and to the shape of facial features.’
The researchers found human vision is poor at realising the true 3D shape of the head.
When the head is rotated the face appears wider and the emotion looks sterner to others, despite the features remaining the same shape.
Face cues to negative emotion take priority over cues to positive emotion if both change, so rotating the head up or down makes the face look more hostile.
The research was published in the journal Perception.