First impressions: Making up your mind after a 100-ms exposure to a face
Willis and Todorov ran five experiments in which participants judged unfamiliar faces after different viewing times, each experiment focused on one trait. Their abstract reports that judgements made after 100 milliseconds closely matched judgements made with no time limit, and that longer exposure did not meaningfully strengthen the match for attractiveness, likeability, trustworthiness, competence or aggressiveness. Between 100 and 500 milliseconds judgements became more negative, response times shorter and confidence higher. Beyond 500 milliseconds judgements and response times mostly did not change, while confidence rose for some traits, which the authors take to suggest that extra time mainly adds certainty.
Willis and Todorov ran five experiments in which participants judged unfamiliar faces after different viewing times, each experiment focused on one trait. Their abstract reports that judgements made after 100 milliseconds closely matched judgements made with no time limit, and that longer exposure did not meaningfully strengthen the match for attractiveness, likeability, trustworthiness, competence or aggressiveness. Between 100 and 500 milliseconds judgements became more negative, response times shorter and confidence higher. Beyond 500 milliseconds judgements and response times mostly did not change, while confidence rose for some traits, which the authors take to suggest that extra time mainly adds certainty.
Written from the abstract, publisher-linked institutional record (Princeton), 2026-11-03.
What our sources record
Recorded when this source was checked, figures included, with page references and quotation marks removed.
Willis, J., & Todorov, A. (2006). First impressions: Making up your mind after a 100-ms exposure to a face. Psychological Science, 17(7), 592-598. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2006.01750.x https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2006.01750.x