Wrinkles are neither beautiful nor nice: The effect of facial wrinkles on person perception and interpersonal closeness

Abstract

With age, we develop facial wrinkles, which change the appearance of the face making it less attractive. Winkles and folds also “mimic” facial expressions, such that older neutral faces appear more emotional. Both processes can influence first impressions negatively. We obtained ratings of attractiveness, closeness, and emotional expressivity as well as first impressions from 353 participants, recruited from Prolific, for avatars with and without facial wrinkles. Older appearing, wrinkled faces were judged as less attractive and less favorably on traits related to pleasantness and trustworthiness, they were perceived as showing more negative emotions and participants rated themselves as less close. The effects on first impressions and perceived closeness were mediated by attractiveness and perceived negative emotions. These findings suggest that in initial encounters older people may often be perceived as less pleasant for no other reason than the wrinkles in their face and the judgments of attractiveness and emotionality associated with them.

Keywords

• Person perception
• Wrinkles
• Facial aging