013 Baby-Face Bias
A tendency to see things with baby-faced features as having the personality characteristics of babies.
• People and things with round features, large eyes, small noses, high foreheads, short chins, and light hair and skin are perceived to be more naïve, helpless, and honest than those with mature features.
• Large round heads and eyes appear to be the strongest facial cues contributing to the bias.
• The bias applies to all anthropomorphic things, including people, animals, and cartoon characters, and products such as bottles, appliances, and vehicles.
• Consider the baby-face bias in the design of characters or products when facelike features are prominent. In advertising, use mature-faced people when conveying expertise and authority; use baby-faced people when conveying innocence and honesty.
See Also Anthropomorphism • Contour Bias • Face-ism Ratio Mimicry • Savanna Preference
