ABSTRACT
Most of the literature on physiognomy is not based on scientific study. As Gordon Allport noted 50 years ago, and is still true today, "the quantity of literature on the subject is far more striking than its quality, for the practical nature <;>f its appeal brought it early under the patronage of quacks and charlatans, where unfortunately it has largely remained" (1937, p. 66). The existing research on physiognomy has addressed two separate issues: (a) the veridicality of physiognomic judgments and (b) the existence of consistent, stable or widespread impressions of psychological characteristics based on facial appearance (i.e., facial stereotypes).
