Moral Disgust Skin Deep

A study suggests our reactions to immorality and physical repugnance may be more similar than we think, because both elicit the same expression of disgust.

Subjects were asked to sip awful-tasting beverages. They made similar faces when shown photos of dirty toilets, etc. Subjects were then treated unfairly - e.g. given $1 while a partner got $9 - again exhibiting the same expressions of disgust.

Scientists conclude that aversion to bad behavior and bad food may have evolved from a primitive defense mechanism that nowadays protects us from both insult and injury.

Worth The Face Time

A study suggests that we often select leaders based on appearance.

Photos of the winner and runner up from a 2002 French election were shown to people in Switzerland who didn't know either candidate. Most participants thought the winner was the most competent of the 2. Then, 600+ children played a game involving a computer-simulated boat trip and asked which said they preferred the actual winner to captain the ship.

CEO's Face = Company Fortune

Research shows that public perception of CEOs faces matched the companies fortune.

Undergrads rated faces of 50 CEOs from the highest and lowest ranked Fortune 1000 companies on competence, maturity, trustworthiness, etc. Amazingly, students’ impressions coincided with company profits. The more powerful the CEO appeared, the more successful the corporation. The study does not indicate if profitable companies promote people who look like leaders or if successful CEOs grow into the look.