Within-Person Photo Variability
The finding that different photographs of the same person can produce different impressions. Alex Todorov and Jenny Porter reported in 2014 that within-person variation across photographs could match or exceed the variation between people across several social judgements, and that the choice of image shifted with the purpose of the choice. Our reading is that a profile photograph is one sample of a person and that choosing it with care, for the job the profile does, is a reasonable use of time.
What it is
The finding that different photographs of the same person can produce different impressions. Alex Todorov and Jenny Porter reported in 2014 that within-person variation across photographs could match or exceed the variation between people across several social judgements, and that the choice of image shifted with the purpose of the choice.
It sits close to Personal Branding in the wider body of research, and is best taken as one idea among several rather than a stand-alone rule.
In effect
A profile photograph is one sample of a person, and choosing it with care, for the job the profile does, is a reasonable use of time. The study tested photographs and judgements, not careers.
What it does not say
The finding comes from the studies named on this page and describes a pattern in those samples. It does not show that the pattern holds for every person, product or market, and it does not tell a brand what to do on its own. It is one input to a decision, to be weighed with other evidence.
Sources
- Todorov and Porter, Psychological Science 25(7), 2014. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797614532474