The Face as a Determining Factor for Successful Social Manipulation: Relational Aggression, Sociometric Status, and Facial Appearance

Appearance has been shown to affect the way humans behave, specifically through the self-fulfilling prophecy effect. The purpose of this study was to find a link among sociometric status, relational aggression and facial structure. A sample of seventh and eleventh grade participants assessed their peers for dominance, popularity, relational aggression and prosocial behavior. College participants then rated photographs of the younger participants for dominance, facial maturity and attractiveness. As predicted, dominant behaviors were positively correlated with both relational aggression and a dominant appearance. Other significant relationships emerged. These results further support the self-fulfilling prophecy effect, while indicating attractiveness as a powerful predictor of sociometric status.