Claims extracted
17
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
35%
6 of 17 hedged
("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
66/100
New York Post's corrections and
hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Science
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
It’s a broad generalization.
asserted
It → ’ → ?
Researchers have found that men with wider faces are viewed as more capable parents than their pinheaded counterparts, per a study in Evolutionary Psychological Science.
“Perceivers may be inferring a certain configuration of formidability that is based on specific figure,” lead author Mitch Brown, a teaching assistant professor in the Department of Psychological Science at the University of Arkansas, told PsyPost.
uncertain
Brown → find → PsyPost
His team’s research built upon previous studies that demonstrated that wider male faces were associated with physical strength and suitability for parental protector roles.
asserted
faces → build → roles
Brown said that the next logical step was probing the “tradeoff between protection and nurturance” when it comes to face shape.
asserted
it → say → shape
To determine whether this father figure-head theory held water — or was a bald-faced lie — the researchers recruited 101 graduate students and had them rate photographs of male faces based on how well they felt said men could protect and nurture their own children.
Half the visages sported high width-to-height ratios, and the other half featured the opposite.
uncertain
half → determine → opposite
By and large, participants selected the wider heads of the family much more frequently, choosing an average of 2.78 men with high facial width-to-height ratios compared to just 1.15 men with more oblong countenances.
asserted
participants → select → countenances
Meanwhile, a second study tasked 101 people with building a team of five men who’d be best at protecting offspring based on their face shapes.
asserted
who → task → shapes
Participants picked an average of 2.78 men with high facial width-to-height ratios compared to just 1.15 men with low ratios.
asserted
Participants → pick → ratios
Men with squatter skulls were also associated with higher levels of aggression and physical prowess.
asserted
Men → associate → aggression
If this study seems superficial, that might be the point — our penchant for making snap judgments could have a basis in evolution.
uncertain
penchant → seem → evolution
“The effects in this study are fairly large, which may reflect an apparently loud signal value in the faces,” said Brown.
uncertain
Brown → reflect → faces
“Ancestral conditions likely saw individuals having to infer information relatively quickly without having the chance for fuller interactions, which may lead to an advantage in forming stereotypes with minimal information.”
uncertain
which → see → information
However, he noted that “having more information about a person beyond initial impressions would be informative in broader perceptions.”
asserted
having → note → perceptions
PsyPost experts noted that the study failed to factor in the men’s body mass, and whether these fellas’ facial dimensions corresponded with their actual parenting styles, temperament and physical abilities, among other factors.
asserted
dimensions → note → factors
In the future, the scientists hope to investigate how these perceptions influence real-world decision-making.
asserted
perceptions → hope → making
“My next steps are to apply these ideas into legal domains,” said Brown.
asserted
Brown → apply → domains
“Although perceptions could be based in potential kernels of truth and could have an ancestral function, it would nonetheless be inappropriate for perceivers to rely on visual information as the basis of legal decision-making without concomitant evidence.”
uncertain
perceivers → base → evidence
The Aporia
