Infants prefer a trustworthy person: An early sign of social cognition in infants

Recently, various studies have clarified that humans can immediately make social evaluations from facial appearance and that such judgment have an important role in several social contexts. However, the origins and early development of this skill have not been well investigated. To clarify the mechanisms for the acquisition of this skill, we examined whether 6- to 8-month-old infants show a preference for a more trustworthy-looking person. Results showed that infants preferred a trustworthy face to an untrustworthy one when both faces were high in dominance. This difference was not seen when both faces were low in dominance. Moreover, this preference disappeared when the faces were upside down. These findings suggest that the perception of trustworthiness based on facial appearance emerges in early development with little social experience. Further research is needed to verify whether infants also perceive other traits, such as competence.