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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
agricultural and biological sciences
"Cars have their own faces": Cross-cultural ratings of car shapes in biological (stereotypical) terms
Evolution and Human Behavior, Volume 33, No. 2, Year 2012
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Description
It was recently shown that Austrians associate car front geometry with traits in a way that could be related to face shape geometry mapping to those same overall suites of traits. Yet, possible confounding effects of familiarity with the car models, media coverage and entertainment could not be ruled out. In order to address this, the current study uses a cross-cultural comparison. Adult subjects in two countries (Austria and Ethiopia, n=129) were asked to rate person characteristics of 46 standardized front views of automobiles on various trait scales. These two countries differ substantially with regard to their experience with car models and brands, as well as car marketing and media coverage. Geometric morphometrics was then used to assess the shape information underlying trait attribution. Car shapes for perceived maturity, maleness and dominance were highly similar in both countries, with patterns comparable to shape changes during facial growth in humans: Relative sizes of the forehead and windshield decrease with age/growth, eyes and headlights both become more slit-like, noses and grilles bigger, lips and air-intakes are wider. Austrian participants further attributed various degrees of some interpersonal attitudes and emotions, whereas neither Austrians nor Ethiopians congruently ascribed personalities. Morphological correlates of personal characteristics are discussed, as are person perception and its overgeneralization to inanimate objects. Cross-cultural similarities and differences are addressed, as well as implications for car styling, follow-up studies on driving and pedestrian behavior, and fundamental dimensions in inference from (human) faces. © 2012 Elsevier Inc.
Authors & Co-Authors
Windhager, Sonja
Austria, Vienna
Universität Wien
Austria, Vienna
Efs Unternehmensberatung Gesmbh
Bookstein, Fred L.
Austria, Vienna
Universität Wien
United States, Seattle
University of Washington
Grammer, Karl
Austria, Vienna
Universität Wien
Oberzaucher, Elisabeth
Austria, Vienna
Universität Wien
Said, Hasen
Ethiopia, Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa University
Slice, Dennis E.
United States, Tallahassee
Florida State University
Thorstensen, Truls
Austria, Vienna
Efs Unternehmensberatung Gesmbh
Schaefer, Katrin
Austria, Vienna
Universität Wien
Statistics
Citations: 37
Authors: 8
Affiliations: 5
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2011.06.003
ISSN:
10905138
Research Areas
Environmental
Health System And Policy
Study Design
Cohort Study
Study Locations
Ethiopia