A new study finds that a person’s name can shape their facial features over time.
- Using human perception tests and machine learning, Israeli scientists have found that adults’ faces can match their first names more accurately than chance.
- This effect is not found in children’s faces, suggesting that face-name congruence develops as people age and is not present from birth.
- The “self-fulfilling prophecy” studied by the researchers highlights how social expectations can subtly shape physical appearance.
“Our first name is a social label that is associated with us from the beginning of life,” according to researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Israel). In a recent study, they looked at a “self-fulfilling prophecy”, which highlights how social expectations can subtly shape physical appearance. “Based on the face-name matching effect, which demonstrates an ability to match adults’ names to their faces, we hypothesized that individuals would resemble their social stereotype in adulthood, but not in childhood,” can be read in the works published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
A person’s face would evolve to match their first name
To test this theory, the team asked children and adults to match the faces and names of children and adults. According to the results, the participants were able to accurately match the adults’ faces to their names beyond chance levels. However, when it came to the children’s faces and names, the volunteers were unable to make accurate associations. “This divergence signifies a developmental process by which individuals acquire face-name congruence as they grow.”
In addition to this experiment, the authors used machine learning algorithms to process facial image data. They found that the facial features of adults with the same first name were more similar to each other than to those of adults with different first names. This facial similarity based on first name was not observed in children. “Furthermore, the face-name matching effect was evident for adults, but not for children’s faces artificially aged to look like adults,” scientists have clarified.
A “self-fulfilling prophecy” influenced by social factors
According to them, these data suggest that the characteristics associated with stereotypes are not necessarily innate but can develop through this self-fulfilling prophecy, which thus highlights the profound impact of social factors. Further research is needed to fully understand the mechanisms behind this face-name matching effect and its broader implications.
