ArticlePloS one2020
Do I trust you when you smile? Effects of sex and emotional expression on facial trustworthiness appraisal.
Article in PloS one, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 24 citations in OpenAlex.
- The effect of orthodontic treatment on smile attractiveness: a systematic review.Progress in orthodontics · 2023Pooled it
- AI-generated faces are becoming more trustworthy.Journal of vision · 2026Article
- Intimacy in close relationships and borderline personality features: the importance of traumatic childhood experiences, rejection sensitivity, and first-impression social judgments for attachment security.Borderline personality disorder and emotion dysregulation · 2026Article
- Facial shape and self-perceived personality traits in young adults.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Founder smiles increase investor trust and funding.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Individualized models of social judgments and context-dependent representations.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Smiling doctor, satisfied patient-the impact of facial expressions on doctor-patient interactions.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Article
- Trustworthiness judgments and Borderline Personality Disorder: an experimental study on the interplay of happiness and trustworthiness appraisals and the effects of wearing face masks during the Covid-19 pandemic in Germany.Borderline personality disorder and emotion dysregulation · 2022Article
- Article
- Trustworthiness appraisals of faces wearing a surgical mask during the Covid-19 pandemic in Germany: An experimental study.PloS one · 2021Article
- Evaluating smile aesthetic satisfaction and related smile characteristics in dental students.Journal of oral biology and craniofacial researchArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundTrust is a prerequisite for successful social relations. People tend to form a first impression of people's trustworthiness based on their facial appearance. The sex of the judging person and its congruency with the sex of the judged people influence these appraisals. Moreover, trustworthiness and happiness share some facial features, which has led to studies investigating the interplay between both social judgments. Studies revealed high correlation in judging happiness and trustworthiness across different facial identities. However, studies are missing that investigate whether this relationship exists on a within-subject level and whether in-group biases such as the congruency between the sex of the judging and judged individual influence this relationship. In the present study, we addressed these questions.
methodsData were collected in an online-survey in two separate samples (N = 30, German sample, N = 107 Dutch sample). Subjects assessed the intensity of happiness and trustworthiness expressed in neutral and calm facial expression of the same characters (50% males, 50% females). Statistical analyses comprised rm-Anova designs based on rating scores and estimates of within-subject associations between both judgments.
resultsOur findings replicate high correlations between happiness and trustworthiness ratings across facial identities based on average scores across participants. However, the strength of this association was strongly dependent on the methodological approach and inter-subject variability was high. Our data revealed an in-group advantage for trustworthiness in women. Moreover, the faces' sex and emotional expressions differentially influenced the within-subject correlation between both judgments in men and women.
conclusionOur findings replicate previous studies on the association between happiness and trustworthiness judgments. We extend our understanding of the link between both social judgments by uncovering that within-subject variability is high and influenced by sex and the availability and appraisal of positive emotional facial cues.
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