How trait impressions of faces shape subsequent mental state inferences

Chujun Lin (), Umit Keles, Mark A. Thornton and Ralph Adolphs
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Chujun Lin: University of California, San Diego
Umit Keles: California Institute of Technology
Mark A. Thornton: Dartmouth College
Ralph Adolphs: California Institute of Technology

Nature Human Behaviour, 2025, vol. 9, issue 1, 208-226

Abstract: Abstract People form impressions of one another in a split second from faces. However, people also infer others’ momentary mental states on the basis of context—for example, one might infer that somebody feels encouraged from the fact that they are receiving constructive feedback. How do trait judgements of faces influence these context-based mental state inferences? In this Registered Report, we asked participants to infer the mental states of unfamiliar people, identified by their neutral faces, under specific contexts. To increase generalizability, we representatively sampled all stimuli from inclusive sets using computational methods. We tested four hypotheses: that trait impressions of faces (1) are correlated with subsequent mental state inferences in a range of contexts, (2) alter the dimensional space that underlies mental state inferences, (3) are associated with specific mental state dimensions in this space and (4) causally influence mental state inferences. We found evidence in support of all hypotheses.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1038/s41562-024-02059-4

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