Wednesday 29 May 2019

Seeing disfigured faces prompts negative brain and behavior responses

People with attractive faces are often seen as more trustworthy, socially competent, better adjusted, and more capable in school and work. The correlation of attractiveness and positive character traits leads to a "beautiful is good" stereotype. However, little has been understood about the behavioral and neural responses to those with facial abnormalities, such as scars, skin cancers, birthmarks, and other disfigurements. A new study led by Penn Medicine researchers, which published today in Scientific Reports, uncovered an automatic "disfigured is bad" bias that also exists in contrast to "beautiful is good."

* This article was originally published here