Components of Appearance in the Structure of Perception of Visual Representations of Age

• Main Authors: Shkurko T.A., Nikolaeva E.G.
• Format: Article
• Language: Russian
• Published: Moscow State University of Psychology and Education 2015-12-01
• Series: Социальная психология и общество
• Online Access: http://psyjournals.ru/en/social_psy/2015/n4/shkurko.shtml

The article discusses the problem of perception of age (one’s own and that of other people), which is regarded as a special case of social perception. The aim of this study was to analyze the components of another person’s appearance in the structure of perception of visual representations of age. For these purposes the authors created a special technique, “Identifying Age through Photo Visualization” (Shkurko T.A., Nikolaeva E. G.). The study enrolled 20 individuals (10 men, 10 women aged 18 to 58 years) as “models” (i.e. objects of perception) and 60 individuals (47 women and 13 men aged 18 to 77 years) as subjects of perception. The paper shows that in the structure of perception of visual representations of age the most important are stable, moderately stable and dynamic components of appearance, among which the stable parameters prevail. The face as the focus of the stable, moderately stable and dynamic components of appearance is the key element of appearance in one’s perception of other people’s age.