Personality Perception of Painted Faces in Beijing Opera

Abstract

The features of the painted face in Beijing opera are drawn to represent the personality of the character wearing the face. In two experiments, participants with different backgrounds and levels of experience with Beijing opera rated the painted faces on ten personality traits. Experiment 1 revealed that both Beijing and Hong Kong viewers were able to perceive the intended personality of ten real painted faces in Beijing opera regardless of their experience level or the availability of the identity of the character. In Experiment 2, eighteen computer-simulated painted faces were generated by combining base color, pattern, and shape of eyebrows. Again, both groups of viewers were able to see the intended personality borne by the base color and pattern, though they had opposite perceptions regarding the two eyebrow shapes. These results suggest that personality perception of the painted face is direct, i.e., features of the painted face capture the subjective element of the Chinese people in perceiving the personality traits of the character bearing the painted face.