According to Turkish scientists, yes. They claim that people with the so-called dark triad, i.e. the personality traits of narcissism, Machiavellianism and psychopathy, have common features of appearance and facial expression. Specifically, it is stronger supraorbital arches, more pronounced facial symmetry, narrower eyes, direct gaze and only a rare smile. Their expressions are mostly unreadable.
The authors of the research conducted three experiments with people from Turkey and the US who rated photographs of digitally created faces. These images were created by averaging real photographs of people who scored extremely high or low on dark triad traits on personality tests. Participants were able to identify these features fifty to 75 percent of the time based on photographs alone.
“Estimating other people’s personality traits has an evolutionary advantage, for example, it helps us assess the risks or opportunities the other person presents, and it can provide us with cues for how to behave and make decisions in social interactions,” the authors report in a study published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences.
The Dark Triad includes narcissism, excessive egocentricity and the need for admiration, Machiavellianism, the cold and calculating manipulation of others, and psychopathy, impulsive callousness and a tendency to aggressive behavior. People with these traits tend to be emotionally distant, manipulative, and often very good at pretending, especially on first contact.
Experiments also showed that none of the participants could reliably identify the faces of people with psychopathy – despite the fact that people with this disorder often exhibit dark triad traits such as superficial charm, a need for excitement, or the ability to manipulate.
The authors note that the ability to read faces may be an important evolutionary survival mechanism that allows humans to avoid individuals who might be dangerous, insidious, or emotionally unbalanced. While extroverts are usually easily recognized by their friendly expression, relaxed attitude and frequent smiles, on the contrary, people with the dark triad tend to be less approachable, more manipulative and potentially problematic – at work and in relationships.
