When you use this multimedia exhibit…you’ll be asked whether you’d be prepared to post on a job application with an attached photo that you found dropped in the street.
Adults who have slightly larger than usual eyes and mouths tend to look more child-like (or neotenous).
Because some people look more child-like, you may feel a stronger urge (at face value) to help them.
You might be surprised.
Experiments were conducted in Kenya and the United States of America, where written job applications were dropped in the street.
The applications had photographs attached of a fictional job applicant and a stamped, addressed envelope.
Some photographs were digitally altered so the person’s eyes and mouth were made smaller, larger, or kept normal-size.
Surprisingly, the applications with ‘baby faced’ photos (with larger eyes and mouth) had a higher rate of return than the other job applications, meaning that people were more likely to post the found job applications when the attached photos were more ‘baby faced’.
It showed that even when allowing for gender and ethnicity, the ‘immaturity’ of the applicant’s face influenced whether people felt a stronger urge to help and post the found job application (or not).
Current research is also indicating that the ‘baby faced’ qualities of defendants in criminal court cases can influence the jury’s decision, or the severity of sentences given by judges.