2023-10-06 19:15:39
The results of a recent investigation into how the background of a photo influences us, without us realizing it, when evaluating whether the unknown person appearing in the foreground seems trustworthy and competent to us must be described as surprising. said photograph.
The study was carried out by a team led by Abi Cook, Paddy Ross and Meg Thompson, all three from Durham University in the United Kingdom.
In the research experiments, 167 study subjects, all adults, were asked to look at photos that appeared to have been taken during a video conference. Each image showed the face of a man or woman, smiling or with a neutral expression, against a background that featured a living room, a blurred (out of focus) living room, potted houseplants, a bookshelf with books, a bare wall, or an image clearly unrealistic for the situation, in this case a walrus on an iceberg.
The study subjects had to give their opinion on how competent and trustworthy each person seemed to them.
Statistical analysis showed that study subjects rated people whose faces appeared against the background of plants and books as more trustworthy and competent than faces against other backgrounds. People whose faces appeared with the living room behind or in front of the unreal landscape were rated as the least competent or least trustworthy.
Photos used in the experiments. A: happy woman with plants behind. B: Happy man with books behind. C: happy woman with the living room behind. D: man with a neutral expression in front of a blurry background. E: woman with a neutral expression and a bare white wall behind her. F: man with a neutral expression and an unreal background behind him (a walrus on an iceberg). (Images: Cook et al., 2023, PLoS ONE. CC BY 4.0)
Regarding the facial expression shown in each photo, participants tended to perceive people with happy faces as more trustworthy and competent than people with neutral faces. They also perceived female faces as more trustworthy and competent overall. However, among female faces, those with a living room background were not perceived as less trustworthy than those with a background of plants or books, suggesting that the lower trustworthiness associated with the living room background It was mainly due to the male faces.
More research is needed to confirm these results and find out if they are applicable to other cultural contexts. For example, the image database used in the study included primarily white people. However, the study’s authors suggest that video conferencing users concerned about making a good impression, especially men, could smile and choose a background with houseplants or books.
The results of the study have been made public through the academic journal PLoS ONE. The reference of the work is the following: Cook A, Thompson M, Ross P (2023) Virtual first impressions: Zoom backgrounds affect judgments of trust and competence. PLoS ONE 18(9): e0291444. (Source: NCYT from Amazings)
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