Male Faces Research Articles

Are Boards Sensitive to CEO Masculinity? The Effect of CEO Facial and Vocal Masculinity on CEO Dismissal

AbstractDrawing on evolutionary psychology theorizing, this paper examines how chief executive officer (CEO) facial and vocal masculinity – as evolved biases shaping peoples' perceptions of an individual's leadership ability – influence boards' dismissal decisions. Specifically, we theorize that boards are likely to perceive CEO facial and vocal masculinity as costly to the firm, as they signal aggression, dominance, and risk‐taking – traits that are only valued in the narrow context of conflict. Based on this reasoning, we argue that CEO facial and vocal masculinity will be positively related to CEO dismissal. Further, we develop contingency arguments which suggest that CEO facial and vocal masculinity will interact with analysts' evaluation of firm performance to jointly influence CEO dismissal. We test and find support for our predictions using a panel dataset of CEOs from S&P 1500 firms.

Explicit and Implicit Preference for Symmetry Across Object Categories

Symmetry affects aesthetic judgements, and it has been extensively studied at least for faces and abstract objects. We examined the role of bilateral symmetry on aesthetic judgements across different types of stimuli. It is important to test if symmetry is equally effective in the context of objects expected to be symmetrical, e.g., faces, and objects that are almost never symmetrical, e.g., landscapes. We used the following categories: angular shapes, smooth shapes, landscapes, flowers, female faces, and male faces. We selected these image categories considering their differing degrees of curvature, familiarity to the viewer, and tendency to be perceived as ensembles, as opposed to standalone objects. We also included blobs, manipulating landscapes into blurry tessellated patterns featuring patches of color, to remove familiarity while preserving the appearance of ensembles. For each item in these categories, images were modified to obtain perfect bilateral symmetry. We collected both explicit ratings and implicit measures of symmetry preference. For landscapes, there was a clear preference for the non-symmetrical (original) version. We observed a dissociation between explicit and implicit measures. Implicit measures demonstrated positive associations for all categories.

Are masculine faces “natural” for all men?: an experimental study about predictors of Chinese young adults’ attitudes towards trans men

ABSTRACT Researchers have increasingly paid attention to prejudice against trans people and its predictors. However, few studies have explored if potential predictors may interact to affect people’s attitudes towards trans people. In this experimental study, we examined the impacts of participant-related factors (i.e. gender and prior contact experience with gender or sexual minorities), target-related variables (i.e. gender identity and facial appearance), and their interactions on Chinese young adults’ attitudes towards trans men. We recruited 172 Chinese young adults to rate images of men with different gender identity labels (i.e. cisgender or trans men) and facial appearances (i.e. feminine or masculine). Results showed that a three-way interaction existed among targets’ gender identity labels, targets’ facial appearances, and participants’ genders. Overall, female participants were less likely than men to show more negative attitudes towards trans men than cisgender men. Participants showed more positive attitudes towards masculine-appearing trans men than feminine trans men. The current findings implied that people favoured trans men’s masculine faces, which match the roles of their gender identities.

Experimental Manipulation of the Bilateral Posterior Parietal Cortex Strengthens Associative Memory in Healthy Participants: A Continuous Theta-burst Stimulation.

To test whether targeting left and right posterior parietal cortex (PPC) with continuous theta-burst stimulation (cTBS) in healthy adults would strengthen associative memory (AM) performance. This study consisted of two experiments (a behavioral experiment and a formal experiment during each of the two experimental sessions). In Experiment 1, 18 adults (one male, age = 22.83 ± 3.92 years) were included in the behavioral phase and 18 adults (seven males, age = 40.11 ± 12.27 years) in the stimulation phase. There were 120 neutral facial images paired with 120 two-character nouns and then divided into six test versions (10 male faces and 10 female faces paired with 20 different nouns were considered as one version). In the behavioral experiment, participants were tested by six-version tests to assess memory materials, and in the formal experiment, participants' face-word AM performance was measured by certified tests based on a cued recall paradigm. Furthermore, 30 adults (seven males, age = 20.97 ± 1.85 years) and 15 adults (five males, age = 22.27 ± 1.29 years) participated in Experiment 2, respectively. Stimuli and procedure were the same as in Experiment 1, but the AM test was based on a forced-choice paradigm. Experiment 1 did not yield anticipated outcomes; Experiment 2 showed that cTBS of left and right PPC strengthened the AM performance compared with the control condition. In conclusion, cTBS to left and right PPC improved AM in healthy adults, which provided further experimental evidence for strengthening AM by cTBS.

Challenges library and information science (LIS) postgraduate students encounter in research topic selection

This study examines research topic selection among LIS postgraduate students in Tanzania. A quantitative approach was used to collect the data, and purposive sampling was used to recruit a total of 105 respondents. Key findings showed that research topic selection is influenced by how extensively the topic has been researched, postgraduates’ personal interests and whether the topic has been previously researched by a student. Insufficient research knowledge, little global LIS research exposure and insufficient supervisory leading roles affect research topic selection. Findings showed male and doctorate postgraduate students face more challenges in LIS research topic selection. The study concludes that LIS postgraduates’ research topic selection is challenging due to insufficient research methodology training and foundations. The study suggests research methodology training for supervisors and students, revising LIS curricula and appropriate research guidance to LIS postgraduates would be important in addressing the challenges found. The study also recommends the establishment of an LIS national repository centre with research content accessible to all students.

Investigating Potential Interactive Effects Between Limbal Rings and Facial Attractiveness

AbstractLimbal rings are dark bands in the eyes that circle the iris. Previous research suggests that the presence of limbal rings augments perceptions of male faces as healthy and attractive, particularly among female perceivers. Nonetheless, a degree of heterogeneity exists in attractiveness effects across different stimulus sets. One possibility of this discrepancy could be previously undetected differences in attractiveness across different social targets that impede a clearer understanding for the signal value of limbal rings. Namely, it could be possible that the attractiveness advantage of faces with limbal rings is most apparent among highly attractive stimuli. This study sought to reconcile this discrepancy by developing a novel stimulus set that systematically varies the attractiveness of social targets in addition to the presence of limbal rings in male faces. Women evaluated these targets based on perceptions of their health and attractiveness. Although limbal rings continued to augment perceptions of health in male faces, no differences emerged in the attractiveness of faces with and without limbal rings.

The face pareidolia illusion drives a happy face advantage that is dependent on perceived gender.

The happy face advantage, the faster recognition of happy than of negative, angry or fearful, emotional expressions, has been reliably found and is modulated by social category cues, such as perceived gender, that is, is larger on female than on male faces. In this study, we tested whether this pattern of results is unique to human faces by investigating whether ambient examples of face pareidolia can also evoke a happy face advantage that is dependent on perceived gender. "Face pareidolia" describes the illusion of facial structure on inanimate objects, such as a tree trunk or a piece of burnt toast. While it has been shown that these illusory faces have expressions that can be recognized by participants, it is unknown whether they drive the same behavioral biases as real facial expressions. Thus, we measured the speed and accuracy with which the expressions of illusory faces that are perceived as female or male are recognized as happy or angry. We found a robust happy face advantage for illusory faces that were rated as more feminine in appearance. Concomitantly, we also found a robust angry face advantage for illusory faces that were rated as more masculine in appearance. Taken together, these findings demonstrate that illusory faces confer the same behavioral advantages as human faces. They also suggest that both perceived emotion and perceived gender are powerful socioevaluative dimensions that are extracted from visual stimuli that merely resemble human faces. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Emotional scenes as context in emotional expression recognition: The role of emotion or valence match.

Emotion recognition is influenced by contextual information such as social category cues or background scenes. However, past studies yielded mixed findings regarding whether broad valence or specific emotion matches drive context effects and how multiple sources of contextual information may influence emotion recognition. To address these questions, participants were asked to categorize expressions on male and female faces posing happiness and anger and happiness and fear on pleasant and fearful backgrounds (Experiment 1, conducted in 2019), fearful and disgusted expressions on fear and disgust eliciting backgrounds (Experiment 2, conducted in 2022), and fearful and sad expressions on fear and sadness eliciting backgrounds (Experiment 3, conducted in 2022). In Experiment 1 (where stimuli varied in valence), a broad valence match effect was observed. Faster recognition of happiness than fear and anger was more pronounced in pleasant compared to fearful scenes. In Experiments 2 and 3 (where stimuli were negative in valence), specific emotion match effects were observed. Faster recognition occurred when expression and background were emotionally congruent. In Experiments 1 and 3, poser sex independently moderated emotional expression recognition speed. These results suggest that the effect of emotional scenes on facial emotion recognition is mediated by a match in valence when broad valence is task-relevant. Specific emotion matches drive context effects when participants categorize expressions of a single valence. Looking at the influence of background contexts and poser sex together suggests that these two sources of contextual information have an independent rather than an interactive influence on emotional expression recognition speed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

The Mediating Role of School Adaptation in the Impact of Adolescent Victimization from Bullying on Mental Health: A Gender Differences Perspective.

The primary aim of this study is to investigate the mediating role of school adaptation in the impact of adolescent bullying victimization on mental health, as well as the gender differences therein. These findings offer a novel perspective for parents and educators, aiding bullied adolescents in managing and addressing mental health concerns. The primary data source for this study was the 2020/2021 Adolescent Health Theme Database from the China Population Health Data Center (PHDA). The research sample consisted of high school students from 16 cities in Shandong Province. Descriptive statistics, reliability and validity testing, structural equation modeling, as well as mediation analysis and multiple group analysis were conducted using SPSS 26.0 and AMOS 26.0. School adaptation serves as a mediating variable between adolescent bullying and mental health. The model fit indices are as follows: GFI=0.946, AGFI=0.922, RMSEA=0.070, NFI=0.978, IFI=0.979, CFI=0.97. Even when considering gender, the model still demonstrates good fit. School bullying has significant negative effects on the mental health of both male and female victims (p<0.05). For female victims, the mitigating effect of school adaptation on mental health is slightly lower than that for males (-2.256). Regarding cyberbullying, male victims face a greater threat to mental health (-3.234), with a impact of -0.109 from cyberbullying on male mental health and -0.065 from school bullying on female mental health. The school is found to mediate between school bullying, cyberbullying, and mental health. Schools may play a greater role in improving female mental health than male mental health. The impact of campus bullying on female mental health is greater than that of cyberbullying, whereas the opposite is true for males. Enhancing adolescents' school adaptation levels helps mitigate the adverse effects of school and cyberbullying on adolescent mental health.

Silent Struggles: Exploring the Effects of Anxiety and Depression on Higher Level Students

The purpose of the current study was to explore the effects of anxiety and depression on higher level students. The research was descriptive in nature, and to achieve the objectives of the study, a sample of three thousand four hundred and eighty higher level students was selected using stratified sampling technique. The data analysis statistics included both descriptive and inferential analysis. The findings reveal that anxiety and depression have a significant effect on university students, leading to poor academic performance. Moreover, males face higher levels of anxiety and depression as compared to females. This study recommends that teachers and parents should try to identify or understand if their child is going through any sort of mental discord. Teachers should act as role models for students to promote the importance of a content and calm mind and explain to them the importance of mental health.

Monkeys Predict US Elections.

How people vote often defies rational explanation. Physical traits sometimes sway voters more than policies do-but why? Here we show that rhesus macaques, who have no knowledge about political candidates or their policies, implicitly predict the outcomes of U.S. gubernatorial and senatorial elections based solely on visual features. Given a pair of candidate photos, monkeys spent more time looking at the loser than the winner, and this gaze bias predicted not only binary election outcomes but also the candidates' vote share. Analysis of facial features revealed candidates with more masculine faces were more likely to win an election, and vote share was a linear function of jaw prominence. Our findings endorse the idea that voters spontaneously respond to evolutionarily conserved visual cues to physical prowess and that voting behavior is shaped, in part, by ancestral adaptations shared with nonhuman primates.

Gender-related stigma toward individuals with a history of sexual or physical violence in childhood

BackgroundStigma is a key barrier to disclosing traumatic experiences of violence in childhood with adverse consequences for help-seeking behaviour. Disclosing behavior differs by gender and the form of violence experienced. However, there is a lack of comprehensive studies that address societal perceptions of males and females with a history of sexual or physical violence in childhood. Therefore, our aim is to focus on the impact of gender on the perception of individuals who experienced sexual or physical violence in childhood.MethodsWe conducted a study on a representative sample of the German general population in terms of age and gender. Participants were randomly assigned to brief case vignettes addressing sexual or physical violence in childhood. Analyses base on a sample of n = 659 individuals (50.1% female). Stigma was assessed through examining respondents’ readiness to address specific traumas in conversation and respondents’ attitudes toward the individuals in the vignettes. Mann–Whitney U tests were applied to check for differences between female and male victims and survivors as well as female and male respondents.ResultsOur results reveal that male victims and survivors face higher negative stereotypes (harm, unpredictability) and evoke communication barriers more often when compared to female victims and survivors, especially in male respondents. Sexual violence is associated with more distinct gender differences than physical violence.ConclusionsFindings reflect greater stigma toward male victims and survivors of sexual violence than female ones. Men had a greater tendency to stigmatize – especially toward their same-gender peers. Socially ingrained gender roles may act as a basis for different communication cultures and the notion of victim-perpetrator constellations in which males are not envisaged as victims.

Is emotion perception altered by gaze direction, gender appearance, and gender identity of the perceived face?

The purpose of the present study was to examine how gaze and emotion processing may change due to differences in gender appearance and gender identity of the perceived face. We manipulated gender appearance (male or female), gender identity (cisgender or transgender), gaze direction (direct or averted), and expressed emotions (anger, fear, or neutral) of face models in an emotion rating task. We replicate several previous findings, including a direct gaze advantage, an emotion effect, and an interaction between gaze direction and expressed emotion. In line with previous findings on the influence of facial morphology for face processing, we found that male faces were more quickly and intensely perceived for displays of anger, while female faces were more quickly and intensely perceived for displays of fear. Of key interest, gender identity influenced face perception for different emotion expressions and gaze directions for ratings and reaction times in a variety of ways. For example, transgender male faces were seen as angrier and less fearful than cisgender male faces, while the opposite effect occurred for female faces. These results suggest that face perception is systematically shaped by morphological differences as well as more abstract social constructs related to gender identity. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Natural History, Phenotype Spectrum and Clinical Outcomes of Desmin (DES)-Associated Cardiomyopathy.

Pathogenic/likely pathogenic (P/LP) desmin (DES) variants cause heterogeneous cardiomyopathy and/or skeletal myopathy phenotypes. Limited data suggest a high incidence of major adverse cardiac events (MACE), including cardiac conduction disease (CCD), sustained ventricular arrhythmias (VA), and heart failure (HF) events (HF hospitalization, LVAD/cardiac transplant, HF-related death), in patients with P/LP DES variants. However, pleiotropic presentation and small cohort sizes have limited clinical phenotype and outcome characterization. We aimed to describe the natural history, phenotype spectrum, familial penetrance and outcomes in patients with P/LP DES variants through a systematic review and individual patient data meta-analysis using published reports. We searched Medline (PubMed) and Embase for studies that evaluated cardiac phenotypes in patients with P/LP DES variants. Cardiomyopathy diagnosis or occurrence of MACE were considered evidence of cardiac involvement/penetrance. Lifetime event-free survival from CCD, sustained VA, HF events, and composite MACE was assessed. Out of 4,212 screened publications, 71 met the inclusion criteria. A total of 230 patients were included (52.6% male, 52.2% probands, median age: 31 years [22.0; 42.8] at first evaluation, median follow-up: 3 years [0; 11.0]). Overall, 124 (53.9%) patients were diagnosed with cardiomyopathy, predominantly dilated cardiomyopathy (14.8%), followed by restrictive cardiomyopathy (13.5%), whereas other forms were less common: arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (7.0%), hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (6.1%), arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (5.2%), and other forms (7.4%). Overall, 132 (57.4%) patients developed MACE, with 96 [41.7%] having CCD, 36 [15.7%] sustained VA, and 43 [18.7%] HF events. Familial penetrance of cardiac disease was 63.6% among relatives with P/LP DES variants. Male sex was associated with increased risk of sustained VA (HR 2.28, p=0.02) and HF events (HR 2.45, p=0.008). DES cardiomyopathy exhibits heterogeneous phenotypes and distinct natural history, characterized by high familial penetrance and substantial MACE burden. Male patients face higher risk of sustained VA events.

Revealing the dual impact of VOCs on recycled rubber workers: Health risk and odor perception

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) pose potential hazards to human health and contribute significantly to odor pollution. This study examined VOC emissions from a representative recycled rubber industry, evaluating the occupational health risks for frontline workers in various workshops. Variables such as gender and workshop-specific concentration variations were considered using Monte Carlo simulation methods. Employees in the five production workshops and office areas face noncarcinogenic health risks with hazard indices (HIs) greater than 1, with the rubber compounding phase presenting the highest risk. Acetaldehyde is identified as the primary noncarcinogenic health risk substance, with hazard quotient (HQ) values exceeding 1 in all workshops. Carcinogenic health risks vary by area, with the highest risks found in compounding and refining workshops. Formaldehyde poses the greatest risk in rubber grinding workshops and offices, with cumulative weights exceeding unacceptable levels of M80.58 % and W77.56 % in grinding and M94.98 % and W92.24 % in the office. Male workers face 4–7 % greater noncarcinogenic VOC health risks than females and 5–14 % greater carcinogenic risks from individual VOCs, increasing their susceptibility to health risks caused by VOCs. Additionally, our analysis of odor identification and intensity classification revealed that 53 VOCs are capable of causing odor pollution, with several substances reaching odor levels of 2 or higher. The predominant perceived odors, as reflected in the odor wheel, include categories such as "solvent/aromatic" and "sweet/fruit," with aldehydes being the primary odor-causing substances. In summary, emissions of VOCs from rubber industrial processes not only pose substantial health risks to workers but also contribute significantly to odor pollution. Consequently, enterprises must prioritize optimizing workplace conditions to ensure the occupational health and well-being of their employees.

Moral Faces: How Spontaneous Ideological Inferences from Facial Cues Influence Moral Judgments

This research demonstrates that individuals make moral judgments based on ideological inferences from facial cues. Using racially homogeneous male faces, four studies showed that individuals infer ideological beliefs—and thus group membership (in- versus out-group)—from a novel face and that the fit between the inferred social identity and the perceiver’s own social identity leads to judgments of moral superiority. Further evidence shows that a salient social identity moderates moral evaluation. These results reflect the automaticity of social categorization, which contributes to moral judgments of a person.

Who Shall Succeed? The Effects of Board of Directors’ Facial Masculinity on CEO Successors

Who Shall Succeed? The Effects of Board of Directors’ Facial Masculinity on CEO Successors

Incomplete Faces Do but Masked Faces Do Not Affect Mind Perception.

The human face plays a critical role in how we perceive the minds of others. The current research across two studies explored whether face masks also impact mind perception, with the expectation that they lead to lower attributions of agency and experience to individuals, making them seem less mentally capable due to their association with reduced facial expression perception and impaired communication. In the first study, participants' ratings of masked and unmasked faces for agency and experience did not yield significant differences, suggesting that wearing a face mask does not affect the perception of the mind. To explore whether these findings applied when the lower face was cropped instead of masked, results of the second study showed that removing the lower face led to decreased agency ratings, but similar to the first study, there were no changes in experience ratings. Altogether, our results showed that wearing face masks does not reduce the perception of mental capacity. Moreover, female faces received higher ratings for both agency and experience compared to male faces. The complex relationship between face masks, gender, and mind perception warrants further exploration.

The living conditions of foreign workers: a field study in Erbil city.

The Kurdistan Region is in the stage of economic development in various sectors, and sometimes economic development requires labor. Allowing and bringing foreign labor depends partly on how much the local labor fulfills the needs of the Kurdistan Region, bringing foreign workers sometimes is discussed as critical by the authorities, despite the lack of employment and local labor, but it is allowed to bring foreign labor, foreign workers have a number of social dimensions, which may affect their living conditions. This study aims to determine the living conditions of foreign workers in Erbil. The research method is quantitative method through the use of questionnaire tool, (381) foreign workers in male and female gender were taken as the study’s sample. Then analyzing the data with the use of the program (SPSS), we came to the conclusion that foreign workers in Erbil feel comfortable and safe, cultural differences have not become a problem and obstacle in front of them regarding religion and food, and they quickly adapt to the culture of Kurdistan Region. Foreign workers are more likely to have no social security and have been asked for inappropriate work, The male faces more social, psychological, healthy, economical, and legal problems than the female. Finally, some suggestion and recommendation have been presented to the related parties and the researches that will be done after this research.

Red Backgrounds Enhance Dominance in Human Faces and Shapes.

Red color signals dominance in both animals and humans. This study investigated whether a red background color influences the perception of dominance in human faces and geometric shapes. The facial stimuli consisted of computer-generated faces, quantitatively morphed into nine levels of dominance, ranging from less dominant to more dominant. This included East-Asian female faces in Experiment 1 and male faces in Experiment 2. The face stimuli were presented against three background colors: red, green, and gray. Participants were instructed to categorize the faces as either obedient or dominant by pressing the corresponding labeled keys. The results showed that faces were more likely to be perceived as dominant when presented against a red background than against green or gray backgrounds, for both female and male faces. Additionally, two questionnaire surveys showed that the perception of dominance also increased for shapes presented against a red background. However the effect of red diminished in the absence of the actual perception of the color red. These results suggest that the perception of dominance in both human faces and objects is enhanced by the presence of red, possibly due to evolutionary factors related to the perception of red.