<p>Many research has been done to prove that expression (dress and body) influences others' perception on self.</p>
<p>My following question is: Are these perceptions accurate?</p>
<p>My guess is that humans have somehow developed a system that instinctually judges a person, and the fact that such a system still exists suggests that it was a successful system to judge the actual personality.</p>
<p>Obviously, predicting actual personality or habits only from expression is not too wise. However, my conviction says that there must be something true about our perception.</p>
<p>Any research papers or thoughts are appreciated.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-12-14T07:29:16.997Z
While you can generally get **an idea** of someone's status by how they dress and act, it doesn't always work that way. I know someone who went into a car showroom dressed in a t-shirt and tatty jeans and he was dismissed as lacking the funds to purchase a car, yet he did have the funds. At the extreme end of this, a few years ago I was working in a very affluent area on the UK railways and saw an aging man who again was scruffy and he was carrying out garden maintenance. I thought he was the house owner's gardener. I found out a couple of days later...
Chris Rogers
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-12-14T07:31:45.383Z
... in a magazine that I was wrong. He was a multimillionaire who believes in doing his own garden maintenance and it was something he actually enjoyed. The adage is correct that *you cannot judge a book by it's cover*. I saw him a week or so later dressed casually but smart, getting into his brand new Bentley car.
Chris Rogers
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-12-21T06:42:17.547Z
Physiognomy may be experiencing [somewhat of a resurgence](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physiognomy#Scientific_validity), with a handful of studies suggesting that certain personality traits may be determined at better-than-chance levels by appearance alone.  However, these findings remain controversial for now.
Arnon Weinberg
<cognitive>
Is how we perceive about a person a good predictor of the actual personality of that person?
StimMarine
# Is how we perceive about a person a good predictor of the actual personality of that person?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2021-12-13)

Many research has been done to prove that expression (dress and body) influences others' perception on self.

My following question is: Are these perceptions accurate?

My guess is that humans have somehow developed a system that instinctually judges a person, and the fact that such a system still exists suggests that it was a successful system to judge the actual personality.

Obviously, predicting actual personality or habits only from expression is not too wise. However, my conviction says that there must be something true about our perception.

Any research papers or thoughts are appreciated.

**Tags:** cognitive

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: While you can generally get **an idea** of someone's status by how they dress and act, it doesn't always work that way. I know someone who went into a car showroom dressed in a t-shirt and tatty jeans and he was dismissed as lacking the funds to purchase a car, yet he did have the funds. At the extreme end of this, a few years ago I was working in a very affluent area on the UK railways and saw an aging man who again was scruffy and he was carrying out garden maintenance. I thought he was the house owner's gardener. I found out a couple of days later...  
> **username_1**: ... in a magazine that I was wrong. He was a multimillionaire who believes in doing his own garden maintenance and it was something he actually enjoyed. The adage is correct that *you cannot judge a book by it's cover*. I saw him a week or so later dressed casually but smart, getting into his brand new Bentley car.  
> **username_2**: Physiognomy may be experiencing [somewhat of a resurgence](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physiognomy#Scientific_validity), with a handful of studies suggesting that certain personality traits may be determined at better-than-chance levels by appearance alone.  However, these findings remain controversial for now.  

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## 0 answers

