RACE DIFFERENCES IN FACE-ISM - DOES FACIAL PROMINENCE IMPLY DOMINANCE

It was hypothesized that visual depictions that are lower in ''face-is m'' (i.e., showing less of the face and more of the body) elicit impre ssions of lower power. It was thus predicted that depictions of a disc riminated-against minority would be lower in face-ism than those of a dominant majority. Four data sets showed lower face-ism in visual disp lays of Blacks than in those of Whites: Pictures from American and Eur opean periodicals, American portrait paintings, and American stamps (t he portraits and the stamps showed the effect only when created by Whi tes). The race difference in face-ism for the American periodicals was maintained even when the race difference in status was held constant. A final study showed that high face-ism photographs received higher d ominance ratings than low face-ism photographs. Face can be used to im ply confrontation (e.g., face-to-face)-a meaning that is consistent wi th the link between face-ism and dominance.