Children as young as five decide if people are 'mean or nice' based on their ...

Kids DO judge a book by its cover: Children as young as five decide if people are 'mean or nice' based on their faces alone, study finds How we perceive appearances influences everything from personal relationships to jury decisions and elections  We start analyzing faces from a young age to make character assessments New Harvard University research reveals that by age five, we think we know what 'mean or nice' people look like - and treat them differently 

By Natalie Rahhal Deputy Health Editor For Dailymail.com

Published: 14:01 BST, 18 April 2019 | Updated: 14:01 BST, 18 April 2019

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Children as young as five are judging adults based solely on your facial features, a new study reveals.

Whether we want to admit it or not, as adults we are constantly using physical appearance to make character assessments of one another.

And those snap judgements shape the way we treat people.

A new study from Harvard University reveals that we’re not only making quick, random judgements by age five, but have created a mental stereotype for what we think ‘mean’ and ‘nice’ people look like.

In September of 1960, Americans got to see their presidential candidates go toe-to-toe in the first-ever televised presidential election debate.

Richard Nixon was only four years older than his opponent, John F Kennedy, but they cut quite different figures.

Kennedy’s expression was soft and hopeful next to Nixon’s low, furrowed brow. Legs crossed, Kennedy looked relaxed and poised; Nixon looked stiff and uncomfortable with a hand splayed on one thigh, legs slightly akimbo.

There was no official winner or loser of the debate, but in the court of public opinion, Kennedy was the clear winner.

And when he won the election shortly thereafter, many said he had television to

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