FACIAL APPEARANCE, GENDER, AND CREDIBILITY IN TELEVISION COMMERCIALS

The facial appearance of television spokespersons and the trustworthiness and expertise of the appeals delivered by them were independently rated. Babyfaced persons and females delivered communications which were less expert, but more trustworthy, than those communications delivered by maturefaced persons and males. These effects were independent of the spokespersons' perceived age, attractiveness, and amount of smiling. The findings are consistent with past research which has demonstrated that babyfaced people are perceived as less knowledgeable, but more honest, than those who are maturefaced. © 1990 Human Sciences Press.