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"Discovery Files" Features from the National Science Foundation
"In Your Face"
Fully produced report in MP3 format:
48 kbps |
96 kbps
(90 seconds)
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READER SCRIPT
(DOES NOT FULLY MATCH AUDIO)
"MAKING" A FACE... THE "DISCOVERY FILES": NEW ADVANCES IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING, FROM THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION. A STUDY OUT OF PRINCETON LOOKED AT FACES--AND AT HOW HUMANS DECIDE INSTANTLY WHETHER TO FEAR OR TRUST A PERSON, ACCORDING TO THEIR FACIAL FEATURES. THE RESEARCHERS USED A COMPUTER PROGRAM THAT GENERATES IMAGES OF FACES, BASED ON NUMEROUS TRAITS--SUCH AS THE SHAPE OF THE MOUTH, THE POSITION OF THE EYEBROWS, OR EMOTIONAL INDICATORS. THE IMAGES ARE THEN SHOWN TO STUDY PARTICIPANTS. NOT ONLY DID THE RESEARCHERS NOTICE A FACE-BASED RUSH TO JUDGMENT, AS FAR AS TRUSTWORTHINESS--THEY ALSO WERE ABLE TO FIND CERTAIN COMBINATIONS THAT WERE VERY PREDICTABLE: THE MOST-THREATENING FACES HAVE THE EDGES OF THE MOUTH TURNED DOWN, AND THE EYEBROWS POINTING DOWN AT THE CENTER. THE MOST-TRUSTWORTHY FACE, ON THE OTHER HAND, HAS A "U"-SHAPED MOUTH, WITH A KIND-OF-SURPRISED LOOK. ALMOST LIKE "HAPPY" AND "SAD" EMOTICONS ON YOUR COMPUTER, THE RESEARCHERS COULD CREATE COMPOSITE FACES TO ELICIT SPECIFIC REACTIONS; THEY SUSPECT THAT HUMAN ABILITY TO QUICKLY READ FACES IS ROOTED IN A PRIMITIVE AREA OF THE BRAIN--DATING BACK TO A TIME WHEN SHEER SURVIVAL SOMETIMES DEPENDED ON JUST SOME FAST FACE-TIME WITH ANOTHER HUMAN. TODAY, WE MAY USE IT TO HELP DECIDE ON A POLITICAL CANDIDATE, OR WHICH NEWSPERSON TO TRUST, OR WHETHER TO GET IN THE ELEVATOR OR NOT--PERHAPS A DIFFERENT KIND OF SURVIVAL. THE "DISCOVERY FILES" COVERS PROJECTS FUNDED BY THE GOVERNMENT'S NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION: FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH BROUGHT TO YOU BY YOU! LEARN MORE AT "N-S-F"-DOT-GOV--OR ON THEIR PODCAST.
For additional "Discovery Files" features from the National Science Foundation, click here.
