criminal facial features psychology

Criminal Psychology and Investigations .

Prior research has shown that within a racial category, people with more Afrocentric facial features are presumed more likely to have traits that are stereotypic of Black Americans compared with people with less Afrocentric features. Specifically, people with small mouths, curvy upper lips and close-set eyes are more likely to be criminals, according to computer analysis by …

When facial composites were first introduced in the criminal justice system, eyewitnesses would work together with a sketch artist to create a likeness of the intended face. Blair, I. V., Judd, C. M., & Fallman, J. L. (2004). Traditional methods involve witnesses selecting individual facial features, but this process has limitations when witnesses cannot recall an offender’s face in detail. Blaney, R. L. (1977). Physical unattractiveness, deformity, and disfigurement have been associated with evil since antiquity. Galton was the first to use mug shots in this way, but he wasn’t the first to study the face to try and identify the ‘criminal look’.

show pictures of the faces of 32 young Caucasian men in their 20s, without scars, tattoos or excessive facial hair, all in neutral expressions. According to the researchers, the facial features that can accurately predict whether someone is predisposed to criminality: the curve of the lip, the distance between the corners of the inner part of the eye, and the "so-called nose-mouth angle."

The present study investigated whether this form of feature-based stereotyping might be observed in criminal-sentencing decisions. In the Iliad, Homer described the wicked Thersites as possessing thin hair over a "misshapen head," with one blinking eye and a lame leg. One caveat: Scientists at Princeton University say that having facial characteristics that convey trustworthiness could have implications for those who care what effect their faces may have upon a beholder, such as salespeople and criminal defendants. Mix particular versions of these features up in a pot and you have a criminal, apparently. The 2D face evaluation model proposes that two dimensions–trustworthiness and dominance, can capture the spontaneous social judgments that we make about others based on their facial appearance. Physiognomy (from the Greek φύσις physis meaning "nature" and gnomon meaning "judge" or "interpreter") is a practice of assessing a person's character or personality from their outer appearance—especially the face. EvoFIT was inspired by the natural processes of selection and breeding, but considerable work has been necessary for it to yield identifiable images. This branch of psychology includes areas such as victimology, crime scene analysis, and criminodynamics.

The present study drew from the 2D face evaluation model to make predictions about the features of faces that underlie criminal appearance. Facial Features in Criminal Sentencing Irene V. Blair, Charles M. Judd, and Kristine M. Chapleau University of Colorado ABSTRACT—Prior research has shown that within a racial cat-egory, people with more Afrocentric facial features are pre-sumed more likely to have traits that are stereotypic of Black Americans compared with people with less Afrocentric features.