Want to gauge a man’s aggression levels? Simply look at the proportions of his face — the more rounder it is, the more aggressive he is, a new study claims.

An international team has carried out the study and found that the male sex hormone testosterone makes faces more circular and as a result a rounder face means that men tend to be more aggressive. According to researchers, the shape of the face may have been honed by evolution as a marker of the propensity for aggressive behaviour though our ancestors did not pick up this warning sign.

“(Our) findings suggest that people can make accurate inferences about others’ personality traits and behavioural dispositions based on certain signals conveyed by the face,” lead researcher Prof Cheryl McCormick said.

Prof McCormick of Brock University and colleagues have based their findings on an analysis of the aggression levels of 90 sportsmen, The Daily Telegraph reported. For male varsity and professional hockey players, the facial ratio was linked in a statistically significant way with the number of penalty minutes per game — the penalties were incurred by players for violent acts including slashing, elbowing, fighting and so on. However, there was not a link between facial shape and aggression in women, the study found.

“The facial structure of a man provides an indication of how aggressive he will be in a competitive situation. So, we are able to predict, with some accuracy, the behaviour of men on the basis of their facial features. If men’s faces are providing cues as to their potential for aggression, then likely people are probably picking up on this cue, although likely on a subconscious level,” McCormick said.

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