First impressions based on facial cues have the potential to influence how older adults (OAs), a vulnerable population, are treated by others. The present study used a data-driven approach to examine dimensions underlying first impressions of OAs and whether those dimensions vary by perceiver age. In Experiment 1, young adult (YA) and OA participants provided unconstrained, written descriptions in response to OA faces. From these descriptors, 18 trait categories were identified that were similar, but not identical, across age groups. In Experiment 2, YA and OA participants rated OA faces on the trait words identified for their age group in Experiment 1. In separate principal components analyses, dimensions of sternness and confidence emerged for both groups. In Experiment 3, YA and OA participants rated these same faces on new words encompassing traits, emotion cues, and other appearance cues. Correlations between these ratings and factor scores showed that sternness is analogous to approachability for both age groups. Confidence is analogous to competence for both age groups and related to perceived age/health/attractiveness. Confidence was related to shyness for YAs but dominance for OAs. The current research has implications for a lifespan perspective on first impressions and informs functional accounts.

中文翻译：

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对于年轻和年长的成人感知者来说，年长成人面孔的第一印象的维度是相似的，但并不完全相同

基于面部线索的第一印象可能会影响老年人（OA）这一弱势群体如何被他人对待。本研究使用数据驱动的方法来检查 OA 的第一印象背后的维度，以及这些维度是否因感知者年龄而异。在实验 1 中，年轻成人 (YA) 和 OA 参与者针对 OA 面孔提供了不受约束的书面描述。从这些描述符中，确定了 18 个跨年龄组相似但不相同的特征类别。在实验 2 中，YA 和 OA 参与者根据实验 1 中为其年龄组确定的特征词对 OA 面孔进行评分。在单独的主成分分析中，严厉和自信的维度出现了两个群体。在实验 3 中，YA 和 OA 参与者在包含特征、情感线索和其他外观线索的新词上对这些相同的面孔进行评分。这些评级和因素得分之间的相关性表明，严厉度类似于两个年龄组的平易近人。信心类似于两个年龄组的能力，并且与感知的年龄/健康/吸引力有关。自信与 YAs 的害羞有关，但与 OAs 的主导地位有关。目前的研究对第一印象的终身观点产生了影响，并为功能账户提供了信息。