The Face of a Cheater

This comes as no surprise - people make a lot of judgments about others based on their appearance, and in particular, we pay a lot of attention to other people's faces.

But, can we tell who is more likely to cheat, simply by looking at their face?

Perhaps so.

A study published this month by Daniel Kruger in the journal of Personal Relationships, shows that people consistently judge more masculine-looking versions of a male face as someone who is more likely to:

• commit infidelity
• make a pass at someone's else girlfriend
• be promiscuous

More masculine-looking faces (e.g., wider jaw, more pronounced brow, square chin, etc.) are due to higher levels of testosterone during development. And other research indicates that higher levels of testosterone are linked to promiscuity and infidelity.

Taken together, there may be some truth behind the idea that our public face reveals something about our private behavior.

Or think of it this way: If you were a guy, who would you want to have around your girlfriend... the second or fifth guy pictured above? That is, the more masculine- or feminine-looking male?

Anyway, if your interested seeing how people respond to faces, the following site may be of interest: Face Research