Children's Perception of Faces of Varied Immaturity

Abstract

This research examined the relationship between facial immaturity and the perception of youthfulness, helplessness, and cuteness. In the first study, college students rated 16 faces for youthfulness. Faces varied within four dimensions (eye position, eye size, nose length, and shape of chin) representing either a mature or immature feature. College students rated faces conserving immature features as more youthful than those without those features. In the second study, three groups of children (5 to 8, 9 to 12, and 13 to 16 years old) rated the same 16 faces with respect to cuteness, helplessness, and youthfulness. Children were similar with respect to their attention to immature features when evaluating faces for youthful qualities, although older children were more sensitive to eye position than younger children when rating faces for youthfulness and helplessness. Older children were more consistent in their attention to immature features when rating faces.