Faces, Spaces and Face Spaces: Studies on Facial Appearance Evaluation

Abstract

In today's society, perceptions of facial appearance have become an integral part of social life, influencing a wide range of decisions, from trivial everyday choices to important and seemingly well-considered judgments. However, to what extent can "face" affect people is yet to be decided. Past research proposed two branches of interpretation on perception of facial images, as one argued the potency of faces while another stressed the importance of environment. This article is intended to evaluate the validity of studies from both perspectives by examining the level of intervention (how much the environmental factors were controlled) and racial identities of the selected facial image. In summary, the studies that supported "facial appearance" has more rigid control and used more racially ambiguous image and thus yield higher validity. In future research, it is recommended that researchers choose pictures from pools with higher racial diversity and include more rigid protocol in research design; incorporating 3D modelling can also improve the external validity because of more preciseness in controlling of facial features.