Twele Anita C, Mondloch Catherine J
Brock University, St. Catharines, ON, Canada.
Br J Psychol. 2022 Nov;113(4):1009-1032. doi: 10.1111/bjop.12568. Epub 2022 May 9.
First impressions based on facial cues have the potential to influence how older adults (OAs), a vulnerable population, are treated by others. The present study used a data-driven approach to examine dimensions underlying first impressions of OAs and whether those dimensions vary by perceiver age. In Experiment 1, young adult (YA) and OA participants provided unconstrained, written descriptions in response to OA faces. From these descriptors, 18 trait categories were identified that were similar, but not identical, across age groups. In Experiment 2, YA and OA participants rated OA faces on the trait words identified for their age group in Experiment 1. In separate principal components analyses, dimensions of sternness and confidence emerged for both groups. In Experiment 3, YA and OA participants rated these same faces on new words encompassing traits, emotion cues, and other appearance cues. Correlations between these ratings and factor scores showed that sternness is analogous to approachability for both age groups. Confidence is analogous to competence for both age groups and related to perceived age/health/attractiveness. Confidence was related to shyness for YAs but dominance for OAs. The current research has implications for a lifespan perspective on first impressions and informs functional accounts.
基于面部线索形成的第一印象有可能影响老年人（一个弱势群体）被他人对待的方式。本研究采用数据驱动的方法来探究对老年人第一印象背后的维度，以及这些维度是否因感知者年龄而异。在实验1中，年轻成年人（YA）和老年参与者针对老年面孔提供了无限制的书面描述。从这些描述词中，确定了18个特质类别，这些类别在不同年龄组中相似但不完全相同。在实验2中，年轻成年人和老年参与者根据在实验1中为其年龄组确定的特质词对面孔进行评分。在单独的主成分分析中，两组都出现了严厉和自信的维度。在实验3中，年轻成年人和老年参与者根据包含特质、情感线索和其他外貌线索的新词对相同的面孔进行评分。这些评分与因子得分之间的相关性表明，对于两个年龄组来说，严厉类似于可接近性。对于两个年龄组来说，自信类似于能力，并且与感知到的年龄/健康/吸引力相关。自信与年轻成年人的害羞相关，但与老年人的主导性相关。当前的研究对第一印象的毕生视角具有启示意义，并为功能性解释提供了依据。
