Perceptions of the impact of negatively valued physical characteristics on social interaction

Work

by Robert E. Kleck, Angelo G. Strenta · 1980

A seminal psychology paper detailing the 'Dartmouth scar experiment,' which investigated how self-perception and expected discrimination influence social interactions. Participants who falsely believed they had a prominent facial scar (which had been secretly removed before their interviews) perceived their interviewers as more tense, patronizing, and critical, demonstrating a powerful expectancy and perceptual bias.