Does he look honest or deceitful?

Strangely, an absurd one-liner from one of the half-witted characters of The Office (the US TV series) sparked interest in this current post. In his attempt to gain personal information from his boss, Dwight Schrute claims that he has been known to have a trusted face… probably because of his low cheekbones. Despite the oddity of that statement, I simply had to research this for myself. As it turns out, while he had the information a bit twisted, he wasn't completely crazy for saying that.

According to studies by Princeton’s psychology researchers, Nikolaas Oosterhof and Alexander Todorov, we form our first impression of a person’s trustworthiness based on facial attributes of the person. Using 96 artificially-generated male faces, participants were asked to judge these faces as being trustworthy or untrustworthy. Statistical analyses from this study strongly correlate a set of facial attributes to feelings of trust while other features create feelings of distrust. Of the artificially-generated faces, those with high inner eyebrows, higher cheekbones, wider chins and noses with a shallow nose bridge looked more trustworthy. Likewise, faces with low inner eyebrows, shallow cheekbones, thin chins and a deep nose bridge were faces participants believed to be untrustworthy.

The researchers point out that when facial attributes of "trustworthy" faces are exaggerated they look happy, hence is associated with positive attributes while these features are exaggerated in faces deemed “untrustworthy” the face looks angry, hence tend to have negative associations. It would seem that people's unconscious biases play a great deal in how we form our opinions of others. As a result, we can quickly come to incorrect assumptions about other people and greatly misjudge them. Obviously a person’s cheekbone shape or eyebrow arc do not determine their trustworthiness, or lack of it. Yet we tend to make these conclusions about people.

Additionally, con men and scam artists (or as I’d like to call them “social engineers”) have already begun using facial engineering, as well as other skills, to enhance a sense of trust and rapport in their victims. Perhaps, when meeting new people in the near future (either a salesman, or a prospective business partner) we could exercise great caution and watch out for our tendencies to make judgment calls about their honesty, or lack of it, through their facial attributes.

Irrational phobias

Fear is a natural response to a perceived threat, be it physical or emotional, that is built in our systems. After all, if you did not feel fear, you couldn't protect yourself from that threat. You wouldn't perceive a shark to be a threat during your deep sea dive… and that would be the end of you. Or in a more likely scenario the fires of a burning building would probably consume you if you felt no need to fear it and run for your life. Fear is normal and much needed for our survival.

Yet, very often people fear situations, objects, or even living creatures that pose no threat whatsoever… like these guys

… and the response can be something like this…

Obviously this big hulk of a man has a terrifying phobia of dogs. And while his fear is, sadly, not uncommon, I would like to direct your attention to a number of phobias that have been widely popularized on the internet for their very quirky and possibly questionable nature.

Quite some time ago I came across a Facebook post about Anatidaephobia: the pervasive, irrational fear that somewhere in the world, a duck is watching you. Supposedly, the person with this phobia believes that no matter what they are doing or where they are, a duck will be watching them. Paranoid much? Probably. But I don’t know how I would live a sane life if this were to happen to me on a regular basis…

After much research on this phobia, it turns out to have originated from a Far Side comic, hence is not real. Still, there is an unconfirmed report claiming that someone somewhere has had this before. In which case I would truly like to meet this person (and possibly even the duck).

My new all-time favorite phobia (I just came across this today) is Luposlipaphobia. And what is this phobia, you may ask? Why, it is an irrational fear of being chased by timber wolves around a kitchen table while wearing socks on a newly waxed floor; the fear, of course, is being chased by wolves. Or is it slipping on the newly waxed kitchen floor and possibly breaking your back? Or is it both? I am not sure with this one.

Gary Larson: Far Side Comic

Thankfully, this too is a work of fiction. However, seeing as how the list of phobias includes a fear of just about anything with matter, it won’t be surprising to find a person with the rare case of “Luposlipaphobia”.

Have an irrational fear of long words? Well you’re going to have a real difficult time explaining to people that you suffer from Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia.

Just kidding around! Phobias are a serious anxiety problem and should not be taken lightly. And in the manner of maintaining a serious tone, I would like to highlight that the real terminology of this supposed phobia is in fact called Sesquippedaliophobia. It is still a long word if you asked me though.

One last absurd phobia I have read about from time to time is Phobophobia, which literally translating into “the fear of fear” precisely means that – the person fears fear itself! Perhaps Franklin D. Roosevelt was onto something when he addressed the American public with "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself”. While the paradox of this is indeed comical, it would seem the person has a fear of developing a phobia, and more specifically, is afraid of the anticipated sensations associated with a phobia or anxiety. Of all the strange fears that have been spread across the internet, Phobophobia, unfortunately is very real. As it turns out real life can be a lot stranger than fiction.

You Study Psychology? Guess what I’m thinking right now!

While many find it strange as to why I chose to major in psychology, I myself find strange people's reactions toward my field of interest; this usually ranging from a supportive approval of sorts, to a perplexed curiosity, to utter absurdity. Every once a while when mentioning my major I am greeted with "Ah yes, psychology... that is a very interesting field". Yet the more familiar response is "Really? Can you tell me what I'm thinking of right now?"

To what I would really love to say is "Of course not, you halfwit? I said Psych-ol-o-gy! Not MAGIC!" Naturally I would not, but instead would pass it off with a sheepish smile. Still, it troubles me; why do people so instantaneously react this way? Psychology - Psych (meaning "mind") and ology (meaning "the study of") simply means that - the study of the human mind. And the way I see it, understanding our fellow humans is, and should be, the most important aspect of our lives. After all our lives involve interacting with our parents, children, friends, colleagues and even strangers on a daily basis. We experience a wide range of emotions like happiness when we fall in love and marry, or sadness when we lose a loved one, or anger at the boss for not giving us that promotion we so deserved! So it shouldn't be strange that I chose this field out of a pure interest to understand people's thoughts, emotions and the reasons why they do the things they do.

Perhaps it is this popular misconception that all psychologists trace human behavior to people's sexual relationships with their parents that deters people from this field. Well, I am not here to advocate that Freudian mumbo-jumbo. Neither am I here to debate psychological theory, or baffle you with jargon. Why? For the simple reason that the study of the human mind isn't, and shouldn't be seen as mystifying. Understanding, or at least dealing with human thoughts, emotions and behaviors is a part of our everyday lives, whether it is another person's or our own. Additionally, our media is filled with news reports, magazine articles, books, movies and TV shows - be it an article regarding dating tips, a book on self-development, reality shows like Dr. Phil, or fiction TV like Hannibal and Lie To Me - all of which we can personally relate with, or fiction which pique our interest into the strangeness of the human psyche.

So no, I am not here to read your mind, psychoanalyze your "sexual relationship with your parents" or even claim that whatever I write here today and in future, is the absolute answer to knowing your fellow human being. It is not. Psychology is a science, and science is a work in progress. Instead these writings will be dedicated to presenting you facts about the potential of the human mind as well as the fascinating findings scientists have long sought out for. More importantly, I hope to arouse your interest into the craziness of the mind, provide you with insightful ideas and even get you to challenge these posts. With that in mind, I would like to wish you all a Good Day and Good Mental Health!