How well can you read a face?
You'll see pictures of two people. As quickly as you can, select the person you think looks more competent (efficient, capable, talented).
0 of the people you chose became a U.S. Senator or Governor.
The faces you just saw were opposing candidates in various U.S. congressional elections between 2000-2004. When hundreds of people were asked to do a longer version of this task, Alexander Todorov at Princeton University found that their answers predicted the winner of the election about 70% of the time.
Here’s why this should worry us: how competent someone looks doesn’t tell you how competent they actually are.
To learn more about this blindspot (and how to outsmart it), watch our video About Face.
Outsmarting Implicit Bias is a project founded by Mahzarin Banaji, devoted to improving decision-making using insights from psychological science. "How well can you read a face?" was created by Olivia Kang, Kirsten Morehouse, Evan Younger, and Mahzarin Banaji, based on research by Alexander Todorov and colleagues (2005). Support for OutsmartinImplicit Biasds comes from PwC, Harvard University, and the Association for Psychological Science.
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About Face