Face Value: The Irresistible Influence of First Impressions

Placeholder author icon
By Alexander Todorov

Published May 31, 2017

Face Value (Princeton University Press) is an accessibly written overview of Princeton psychology professor Alexander Todorov’s extensive work on facial features and first impressions. The troubling, surprising, and astounding facts surrounding his work include evidence that we make judgments about a person in 1/10 of a second and we like “typical” faces and dislike others. The book includes experiments in the text so that readers can test their own impressions.

Paw in print

Image
Three people in tiger mascot costumes sit on orange stadium seats.
The Latest Issue

March 2026

Mascots across generations; biome breakthroughs; international students make new plans.