Applications of the Physiognomic Approach

The practice of attributing ability, character, and other traits to people based on the physical appearance of their faces goes back millenia. The applications of physiognomy range from ancient methods for understanding people and predicting their futures to relatively modern employment practices. Physiognomy has historically played important, if circumscribed, roles in social transactions, not merely grist for chats over coffee. Besides the formal systems discussed below, people have a seemingly irresistible urge to make informal judgments about people based on their facial features. It is important to note that none of these applications has any scientific evidence to support it and none uses any of the scientific evidence and theory discussed on the Science page as a basis for its practice.

Phrenology

A pseudo-science related to physiognomy is Phrenology. The phrenologist claims that specific areas of the cranium reflect certain personality and character traits. By examining these areas of the head for features such as size and shape, an expert can infer hidden attributes of individuals. This approach developed in the early 19th century, based on the discovery that areas of the cerebral cortex under the skull were specialized and related to specific kinds of activities. Thus, the skull area over each area takes on certain forms matching the abilities of the brain underneath it. Unfortunately for this theory, the early ideas of specialization of the brain are seriously flawed, and the assumption that specialized areas have anything to do with shapes of the cranium is false. Nevertheless, this idea of phrenology became very popular, and many experts on phrenology published volumes describing the applications of this technique. Numerous followers promoted the fad and supplied their services to an eager public, usually for a fee. None of their claimed expertise have any basis in fact, and the subject seems little more than a humorous relict today. Most people looking back can shrug off this phenomenon as an obsolete fad, but it is a good example of how a bogus program wrapped in an appropriate jargon and presented elegantly by authoritative promoter not only can defraud the unwary but also can mask a pervasive ignorance. Some phrenology examples are presented on the phrenology pages.

Chinese Face Reading

Physiognomy associates any feature of the face and head with personal characteristics, and as a practice, it has a long history in Western and Eastern cultures. European physiognomists prospered from the Middle Ages until the critiques of empirical science blunted its unsubstantiated claims. It still attracts attention as a curiosity and books and popular articles retain an interest. Examples of these physiognomic techniques are presented on the physiognomy practice pages. Some traditional physiognomists, such as the Chinese face readers, insist on a much stronger relation between facial appearance and character than do scientists or western physiognomists. They posit a virtual identity between facial and psychological characters, such that if one is changed, a change in the other will follow. Thus, the life of a person is not determined by the original natural facial appearance, because changing the face will change the destiny. The Chinese approach to face reading was popularized in the United States by such proponents as David Marr, a student of a Chinese master. The method he describes uses rather more complex ideas about facial features than that of the Western physiognomist. For example, Marr describes the relationship between a number of facial features, their sizes and positions, and certain personality traits.

Merton Method for Employers

Holmes W. Merton invented the Merton Method in the late 19th and early 20th century to match a person's character to a suitable job. Merton specialized in matching personal characteristics to vocations, and he invented a unique set of traits that he claimed are relevant to job performance and satisfaction. He divided the face into dozens of different areas, each area reflecting one or more of his traits, thus matching a face to a job. Many large corporations used this method in in the first half of the 20th century to make employment and job assignment decisions. The notion of vocational apptitude persists in job counselling professionals, and although few subscribe to the detailed relationships described in the Merton Method, the use of more generic facial characteristics (such as the babyface verses the square-jawed, tough-guy face) is probably still applied, though perhaps less formally. Another name associated with this method is Margaret Waring Buck, a student of Merton's and popularizer of his method in the second half of the 20th century. Some practitioners of this bogus technique may still today apply this approach to unsuspecting victims in certain human resources departments.

Caricature of the criminal thug with small, beady , close set eyes, large jaw and puffy cheeks, bent nose, unshaven with threatening expression.

Stereotypes of Police

Analysis of physiognomic characteristics has been employed in the criminal justice system. Some paid legal consultants offer advice to trial lawyers about their clients, prospective jurors, and witnesses based on their facial characteristics. They know that jurors respond to the faces of the defendant and the witnesses, so they try to optimize the favorableness of the impressions jurors are likely to form (such consultants are most often used by the defense). As an example of the effect that the face has on juror deliberations, consider that research shows that a babyfaced person is less likely to be convicted of an intentional crime and more likely to be convicted of a negligent crime. Some consultants also claim to have insight into the proclivities and characteristics of prospective jurors based on their faces (and other sources). An old face reading tradition in law enforcement circles that persists today is that you can tell a criminal from his or her face. Surveys of policemen indicate that even today, many believe they can detect the criminal by examining their face. The practice of using formal training methods for associating particular facial characteristics with criminal personality has, it is believed, died out in the United States but may still be encouraged elsewhere.

Acting

Another area in which physiognomy is used, though typically in an informal way, is the selection of actors to fill roles. For example, pedantic women, evil or virtuous men, and incompetent or stupid characters are often portrayed by actors who "look the part" though makeup can often compensate for discrepancies between actual and desired appearance. Character actors often spend their professional lives performing only limited roles that match their facial appearance.

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