Adults' facial features tend to evolve over time to align with social stereotypes associated with their names, a phenomenon known as face-name congruence or self-fulfilling prophecy, according to a study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Researchers from Israel's Reichman University asked participants to match names to faces. Participants could accurately match adult faces to corresponding names but struggled with matching children's faces to names.
The research participants were mainly Israeli and American Caucasians.
Individuals can alter their appearance through hairstyles, makeup, facial expressions and other means to better match the stereotypes linked to their names.
This article was written in collaboration with Generative AI news company Alchemiq
Sources: Futurism, Metro World News, La Vanguardia, DW, El Comercio, Excélsior, Diario Uno, Liberty Times Net, The Scottish Sun, La República, ABC, Scienmag, Phys.org, Daily Mail, Earth.com, ScienceAlert.