Why evil eyebrows look so scary

New research could explain why the evil eyebrows and pointy chin of a cartoon villain make our ‘threat’ instinct kick in. Psychologists at the University of Warwick have found that a downward pointing triangle can be perceived to carry threat just like a negative face in a crowd. As reported in the journal Emotion, Derrick Watson and Elisabeth Blagrove have carried out a series of experiments with volunteers to find out if simple geometric shapes can convey positive or negative emotions. Previous research by these scientists showed that people could pick out a negative face in a crowd more quickly than a positive or neutral face and also that it was difficult to ignore faces in general. The researchers carried out a series of experiments asking volunteers to respond to computer-generated images. They were shown positive, negative, and neutral faces, and triangles facing upwards, downwards, inward, and outward. This latest study shows that downward triangles are detected just as quickly as a negative face. Watson says: “We know from previous studies that simple geometric shapes are effective at capturing or guiding attention, particularly if these shapes carry the features present within negative or positive faces.” “Our study shows that downward pointing triangles in particular convey negative emotions and we can pick up on them quickly and perceive them as a threat.” Blagrove adds: “If we look at cartoon characters, the classic baddie will often be drawn with the evil eyebrows that come to a downward point in the middle. “This could go some way to explain why we associate the downward pointing triangle with negative faces. These shapes correspond with our own facial features and we are unconsciously making that link.”