Abstract
Where do stereotypes come from? The orthodox view is that they are culturally transmitted. Here we propose an alternative account based on perceptual, rather than cultural, transmission of the stereotype that males are more intelligent than females. Specifically, we tested the novel predictions that (1) perceived facial dominance signals intelligence and (2) dominance in faces overrides the cultural stereotype linking gender and intelligence. Dominance in faces is an evolutionarily salient signal, supporting inferences about physical and social power. If dominance also signals intelligence, then more dominant faces should be judged as smarter than less dominant faces, regardless of gender. In Experiment 1, adults (N = 55) rated computer-generated faces according to gender and various traits (e.g., dominance, attractiveness, and trustworthiness). More dominant faces were judged as smarter than less dominant faces and, crucially, the relation between gender and intelligence (i.e., males as smarter) was fully mediated by dominance. Moreover, the mediation effect was specific to dominance, as no other trait qualified as a significant mediator. In Experiment 2, we gave 6- to 10-year-olds (N = 60) a two-alternative forced-choice task where they judged which of two faces was smarter. Face pairs either differed in dominance (not gender), gender (not dominance), or both dominance and gender (i.e., female faces were more dominant than male faces). Although children judged more dominant faces as smarter, they did not judge male and female faces as differentially intelligent. Moreover, they judged more dominant female faces as smarter than less dominant male faces. These effects contrasted with judgments of niceness. Taken together, our findings suggest a specific role for facial dominance in signaling intelligence, which appears to supersede the cultural stereotype of men as more intelligent than women.