Physiognomy: one of human basic instincts
“I have yet to meet a man as fond of high moral conduct as he is of outward appearances.”
By Confucious, China's most famous philosopher, and political theorist, 551-479 BC
We are all well aware that appearance is overrated, but most of us make decisions subconsciously based upon physiognomy, judging the appearance of a person or an object, without reference to his/her or its underlying characteristics. The prettiest girl at high school receives a large number of prom invitations, even though few boys know about her personality. Some Porsche fans prefer the car’s distinctive look to its momentum. No matter how hard people try to make informed decisions through gathering substantial information, it is undeniable that human basic instincts are beyond rationality sometimes.
The meaning of physiognomy can be traced back to its Greek roots. “Physis” means body or nature, and “gnomon” means judge or interpreter. Physiognomy is an anatomy term for a person's general physical appearance and shape, particularly the person’s face. It also refers to a subfield of psychology that studies the judgment of a person or an object's outer appearance to provide insights into their character or personality. There are abundant observation and thorough research done on physiognomy. Malcolm Gladwell, the best-selling author of the book “Blink,” presents interesting cases in the book about “adaptive unconscious” behaviors driven by physiognomy. One of his illuminating studies is that CEOs of Fortune 500 companies on average are three inches taller than American men whose average height is around 5 feet 9 inches (not to mention majority of them are Caucasians). Gladwell suggests that although there is no “deliberate prejudice” inside the board room, people naturally see a positive correlation between leadership ability and physical stature. If you are curious about his finding on the average height of big companies’ CEOs, read about “Why do we love tall men?” at http://gladwell.com/blink/blink_excerpt2.html
With 2008 presidential election approaching, social and political scientists began to discover what factors influence Americans’ choice for our next president. Physiognomy is among the determinants of getting elected. Richard Conniff, a writer for New York Times, Smithsonian, The Atlantic and National Geographic, recently published the article “Facial Discrimination”, which can be found at http://conniff.blogs.nytimes.com. Conniff discussed how facial stereotypes may increase Mitt Romney’s chance of winning the presidential election for Romney’s handsome and mature look. Historically, some citizens voted for candidates with attractive physical appearance, regardless of preached political strategies. Nowadays, we can easily view candidates’ activities on CNN and YouTube to ‘reinforce’ our basic instinct of physiognomy. Is this for better or for worse? It will probably take another four years to find out.
By Confucious, China's most famous philosopher, and political theorist, 551-479 BC
We are all well aware that appearance is overrated, but most of us make decisions subconsciously based upon physiognomy, judging the appearance of a person or an object, without reference to his/her or its underlying characteristics. The prettiest girl at high school receives a large number of prom invitations, even though few boys know about her personality. Some Porsche fans prefer the car’s distinctive look to its momentum. No matter how hard people try to make informed decisions through gathering substantial information, it is undeniable that human basic instincts are beyond rationality sometimes.
The meaning of physiognomy can be traced back to its Greek roots. “Physis” means body or nature, and “gnomon” means judge or interpreter. Physiognomy is an anatomy term for a person's general physical appearance and shape, particularly the person’s face. It also refers to a subfield of psychology that studies the judgment of a person or an object's outer appearance to provide insights into their character or personality. There are abundant observation and thorough research done on physiognomy. Malcolm Gladwell, the best-selling author of the book “Blink,” presents interesting cases in the book about “adaptive unconscious” behaviors driven by physiognomy. One of his illuminating studies is that CEOs of Fortune 500 companies on average are three inches taller than American men whose average height is around 5 feet 9 inches (not to mention majority of them are Caucasians). Gladwell suggests that although there is no “deliberate prejudice” inside the board room, people naturally see a positive correlation between leadership ability and physical stature. If you are curious about his finding on the average height of big companies’ CEOs, read about “Why do we love tall men?” at http://gladwell.com/blink/blink_excerpt2.html
With 2008 presidential election approaching, social and political scientists began to discover what factors influence Americans’ choice for our next president. Physiognomy is among the determinants of getting elected. Richard Conniff, a writer for New York Times, Smithsonian, The Atlantic and National Geographic, recently published the article “Facial Discrimination”, which can be found at http://conniff.blogs.nytimes.com. Conniff discussed how facial stereotypes may increase Mitt Romney’s chance of winning the presidential election for Romney’s handsome and mature look. Historically, some citizens voted for candidates with attractive physical appearance, regardless of preached political strategies. Nowadays, we can easily view candidates’ activities on CNN and YouTube to ‘reinforce’ our basic instinct of physiognomy. Is this for better or for worse? It will probably take another four years to find out.
Labels: conscious, Malcolm Gladwell, Mental health, physiognomy, presidential election, psychology, unconscious
posted by Moogger | 脉革 at
8:53 PM
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