Smile for the Camera!

Why should appearance matter? Isn't performance more important? Perhaps these two things are more closely related than we had imagined. A pair of psychologists from Tufts University asked some undergraduates to look at black and white photographs of CEOs of major companies, and predict how successful the companies were based on the photographs of the leaders. The students didn't recognize the photos, but still predicted the most successful companies by the perceived leadership, dominance, and maturity of the executives. Interestingly enough, the perceived likability and trustworthiness of the individuals was not a predictor of company profits. The study appears in the February 2008 issue of Psychological Science.