Research Reveals Wealth Can Be Seen From Face

Illustration of rich men (Photo: Freepik/jcomp)

JAKARTA - Is it possible for someone to guess whether you are rich or not just by looking at your face? Recent research published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology provides the answer.

The research conducted by a team from the University of Toronto found that the difference in the level of well-being and socio-economic status of a person can be reflected in their facial expressions, until when the face shows no emotion.

R. Thora Bjornsdottir, a graduate student at the University of Toronto as well as one of the research writers, explained that the relationship between happiness and economic conditions is actually not new.

"The relationship between welfare and social class has been proven in previous studies," Bjornsdottir told CNBC Make It.

"We show that the difference in welfare is also reflected in people's faces," he added.

In this study, Bjornsdottir and co-author, professor of psychology Nicholas O. Rule involved students to see black and white photos of 160 people, consisting of 80 men and 80 white women.

Half of them are high-income individuals (more than 150 thousand US dollars per year or Rp2.4 billion) and are classified as high-end.

Meanwhile, the remaining low-income (less than US$35 thousand per year or Rp580 million) is categorized as a working class.

The results were quite surprising. The participants were able to guess correctly the socio-economic status of the people in the photo as much as 68 percent, much higher than just guessing randomly.

"I didn't expect the effect to be that strong, given the difference is so subtle. That's the most surprising part for me," Rule told The Cut.

The participants were not given any signs of what they should pay attention to and most were not aware of how to guess correctly.

"If we ask why they can judge like that, they don't know," Bjornsdottir said in an interview with the University of Toronto.

"They didn't realize what signal they were using," he added.

When the researchers explored further, they found parts of the eyes and mouth played an important role. Looking only at that part, participants can still guess quite accurately, but looking at the whole face still gives the best results.

According to Bjornsdottir, this is likely to happen because a person's emotional patterns are gradually embedded in their faces.

Repetitive muscle movements due to certain emotional conditions. For example, frequent stress or happiness can leave small changes to the facial structure that is not realized.

"Over time, our faces will permanently reflect our life experiences. Even when we feel we are not expressing anything, those emotional remnants remain visible," said Rule.

Interestingly, this effect only appears on the face with a neutral expression. When the photo shows a happy expression, participants can no longer guess a person's level of wealth accurately.

This research also shows how a quick assessment based on faces can have a real impact in the world of work.

In further experiments, students were asked to guess who from the photos was more likely to be accepted to work as accountants. As a result, they often choose people from the upper class.

"Persepsi tentang kelas sosial berdasarkan wajah dapat memiliki konsekuensi besar di kemudian hari," tulis para peneliti.

People often talk about the circle of poverty and things like this can be one of the causes. Rule said.

This study gives a new view that the human face is not just a physical identity, but also a reflection of life.

Happiness, stress, calm, and the burden of life that we experience can leave a subtle imprint on our faces, something others can recognize without realizing it.

Perhaps this is the reason why the old saying goes, 'face is a reflection of the heart.' Now, science seems to agree if the face is a reflection of the contents of the wallet.