Response to Bonnefon et al.: Limited ‘kernels of truth’ in facial inferences

Abstract

In a recent letter [ 1 Bonnefon J.F. et al. Face-ism and kernels of truth in facial inferences. Trends Cogn. Sci. 2015; 19: 421-422 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF Scopus (32) Google Scholar ] Bonnefon and colleagues commented on an article that we published in this journal [ 2 Olivola C.Y. et al. Social attributions from faces bias human choices. Trends Cogn. Sci. 2014; 18: 566-570 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (124) Google Scholar ]. We thank Bonnefon and colleagues for the opportunity to address the issue of the accuracy of character inferences from faces, which we have discussed extensively elsewhere [ 3 Olivola C.Y. Todorov A. Fooled by first impressions? Re-examining the diagnostic value of appearance-based inferences. J. Exp. Soc. Psychol. 2010; 46: 315-324 Crossref Scopus (192) Google Scholar , 4 Todorov A. Porter J. Misleading first impressions: different for different images of the same person. Psychol. Sci. 2014; 25: 1404-1417 Crossref PubMed Scopus (99) Google Scholar , 5 Todorov A. et al. Social attributions from faces: determinants, consequences, accuracy, and functional significance. Annu. Rev. Psychol. 2015; 66: 519-545 Crossref PubMed Scopus (468) Google Scholar ]. Part of our argument that such inferences are harmful relies on the assumption that these inferences are generally inaccurate. These authors question this assumption, arguing that the ‘evidence remains that people have some minimal capacity to detect trustworthiness from facial features.’