Testing stimulus generalisation as a mechanism for impression formation
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21306830 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Leoni S Masroujah (University of Aberdeen, corresponding author), Stephanie Wilcke (University of Aberdeen), Linda Jeffery (0000-0002-3980-5864, The University of Western Australia), Brigitte Mostert (Curtin University), Bernie Tiddeman (Aberystwyth University), Clare A M Sutherland (0000-0003-0443-3412, University of Aberdeen) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 270 |
| Pages | 106414 |
| Publication date | 2026-05-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Cognition (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0010-0277 • E-ISSN: 1873-7838 |
| Publisher | Elsevier BV (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.cognition.2025.106414 |
| PMID | 41422682 |
| OpenAlex | W7116318201 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 61 |
People readily judge trustworthiness based on others' facial appearance, but less is known about how our prior experiences shape who we find trustworthy. Stimulus generalisation is one mechanism which may explain how experience influences impressions of strangers. This fundamental learning principle argues that learning about one stimulus generalises to stimuli that resemble the original stimulus. Here, we asked whether stimulus generalisation, specifically, based on facial resemblance, can influence impressions of trustworthiness. We used a novel face resemblance paradigm to test whether naturally acquired attitudes held towards known individuals (celebrities) predict trustworthiness impressions of strangers' faces that were manipulated to resemble these identities. Across three studies (Total N = 283) and two countries (UK, Australia), we confirmed that pre-existing attitudes towards known individuals significantly predicted trustworthiness impressions of strangers' faces that merely resemble these individuals. Importantly, pre-existing attitudes remained significant after multi-level modelling accounted for variation in both facial appearance and participant differences. We found strong support for stimulus generalisation, demonstrating that social learning in the real world predicts individuals' impressions of trustworthiness. Therefore, impression formation involves integrating visual appearance with prior experiences to help us decide which people we trust. Our work demonstrates an important but neglected theoretical overlap between person perception, attitude formation, and learning principles. • Stimulus generalisation is a crucial mechanism for impression formation. • Our novel face resemblance method tests the link between attitudes and impressions. • We find that individuals' prior attitudes predict their face impressions. • Stimulus generalisation exists beyond consensus face impressions from visual cues. • Overall, individual learning is a theoretically crucial facet of person perception
Concept learning · Face perception · Facial expression · Impression formation · Perception · Social perception · Stimulus (psychology) · Trustworthiness · Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior · Face Recognition and Perception · Social and Intergroup Psychology
Social Attributions from Faces
Evaluating Faces on Trustworthiness After Minimal Time Exposure
First Impressions
Facial Trustworthiness Predicts Extreme Criminal-Sentencing Outcomes
Trust and Credit
Variability in photos of the same face
The Chicago face database
Conditioned emotional reactions.
The functional basis of face evaluation
You trust a face like yours
Three's a crowd
Contextual modulation of appearance-trait learning
Facial first impressions are not mandatory
Facial Image Manipulation
A Continuum of Impression Formation, from Category-Based to Individuating Processes
The unique contributions of perceiver and target characteristics in person perception
The influence of visual context on the evaluation of facial trustworthiness
Fooled by first impressions? Reexamining the diagnostic value of appearance-based inferences
When physical similarity matters
Learning to judge a book by its cover
The role of Afrocentric features in person perception
Nonconscious biasing effects of single instances on subsequent judgments
Treating stimuli as a random factor in social psychology
Understanding face recognition
Face gender and stereotypicality influence facial trait evaluation
Understanding trait impressions from faces
Mother-concepts and judgments of young women's faces
Statistical learning shapes face evaluation
Trait knowledge forms a common structure across social cognition
Forming impressions of personality
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |