The scientific story of first impressions—and why the snap character judgments we make from faces are irresistible but usually incorrect We make up our minds about others after seeing their faces for a fraction of a second—and these snap judgments predict all kinds of important decisions. For example, politicians who simply look more competent are more likely to win elections. Yet the character judgments we make from faces are as inaccurate as they are irresistible; in most situations, we would guess more accurately if we ignored faces. So why do we put so much stock in these widely shared impressions? What is their purpose if they are completely unreliable? In this book, Alexander Todorov, one of the world's leading researchers on the subject, answers these questions as he tells the story of the modern science of first impressions. Drawing on psychology, cognitive science, neuroscience, computer science, and other fields, this accessible and richly illustrated book describes cutting-edge research and puts it in the context of the history of efforts to read personality from faces. Todorov describes how we have evolved the ability to read basic social signals and momentary emotional states from faces, using a network of brain regions dedicated to the processing of faces. Yet contrary to the nineteenth-century pseudoscience of physiognomy and even some of today's psychologists, faces don't provide us a map to the personalities of others. Rather, the impressions we draw from faces reveal a map of our own biases and stereotypes. A fascinating scientific account of first impressions, Face Value explains why we pay so much attention to faces, why they lead us astray, and what our judgments actually tell us.

"Whitefield-Madrano ... examines the relationship between appearance and science, social media, sex, friendship, language, and advertising to show how beauty actually affects us day to day. Through ... research and interviews with dozens of women across all walks of life, she reveals surprising findings, like that wearing makeup can actually relax you, that you can convince people you're better looking just by tweaking your personality, and the ways beauty can be a powerful tool of connection among women"--Amazon.com.

Terry Healey was a junior at the University of California at Berkeley. At the age of twenty, his life had been smooth sailing, seldom interrupted with adversity or difficulty. Terry was confident and not concerned much with his appearance. But out of nowhere, a lump formed behind his right nostril. Cancer. He fought it and survived. But after multiple surgeries and radiation treatment, Terry would discover that he hadn't even begun to deal with what would become his greatest struggle for years to come -- the disfigurement that resulted from it.

The cultural historian and author of Keep Watching analyses American ideas about race, money, identity, and their surprising connections through history. From colonial history to the present, Americans have passionately, even violently, debated the nature and of money. Is it a symbol of the value of human work and creativity, or a symbol of some natural, intrinsic value? In Face Value, Michael O’Malley provides a penetrating historical analysis of American thinking about money and the ways that this ambivalence intertwines with race. Like race, money is bound up in questions of identity and worth, each a kind of shorthand for the different values of two similar things. O’Malley illuminates how these two socially constructed hierarchies are deeply rooted in American anxieties about authenticity and difference. In this compelling work of cultural history, O’Malley interprets a wide array of historical sources to evaluate competing ideas about monetary value and social distinctions. More than just a history, Face Value offers a new way of thinking about the present culture of coded racism, gold fetishism, and economic uncertainty. “This is a ‘big idea’ book that no one but Michael O’Malley could even have thought of—much less pulled off with such nuance and clarity.”—Scott A. Sandage, author of Born Losers

In this funny and poignant spin on the classic tale of Cyrano de Bergerac, popular YA author Franklin explores the age-old theme of "true beauty" with humor and piercing perception.

First published in 1984, Face Value confronts the pervasive power of beauty through art and literature, as well as interviews with men and women with varying perspectives on the subject. The topics covered range widely: the history of beauty from the Greeks to the present; the pathology of beauty: how women have been willing to harm themselves, mentally and physically, to achieve ‘beauty’; the language we use to speak of beauty, and its implications; our attitudes towards beauty, as examined by psychologists; beauty and ethnic identity; men and beauty. The authors present in fact a redefinition of beauty, enabling both women and men to enjoy it in themselves and in others, while discarding the sex-role stereotypes that have governed the definition of beauty in the past. With a new preface that explores the gaps created by time in the book’s discourse, this book will be of interest to students of linguistics, gender studies, women’s studies, cultural studies, sociology and anthropology.

An investigation of race and the ontology of the visual