US adults accurately assess Hadza and Tsimane men's hunting ability from a single face photograph

Abstract

Trait inferences from faces are pervasive, but sometimes misleading. Past research indicates Americans infer hunting and gathering ability from others' faces, but the accuracy of these perceptions remains unknown. In three studies, we test whether Americans can accurately perceive foraging ability from faces. We used three datasets from two traditional subsistence societies (the Hadza and the Tsimane) in which individuals were photographed and evaluated by their peers on their ability to hunt or gather effectively (N = 175). US MTurkers (N = 579) then evaluated the photos for foraging ability. We found that MTurkers' perceptions of men consistently tracked peer-evaluated hunting ability (overall r = 0.25), suggesting that naïve perceptions of men's productivity from a face photo alone reflect actual hunting ability. MTurkers' perceptions of women's productivity inversely correlated with their peer-evaluated gathering ability, however. We discuss potential mechanisms and implications for research on social perception.