Chimps wear personalities on their mugs

People deftly gauge aggressiveness in their evolutionary cousins' expressionless faces

In chimpanzees, as in humans, faces are personality billboards, a new study suggests.

FACIAL PLAYER A new study indicates that people can usually tell that a chimp is socially dominant, like the one shown here, by examining a picture of its expressionless face. AlessandroZocc/shutterstock

People can usually tell whether or not a chimp acts dominantly and is physically active simply by looking at a picture of the ape’s expressionless mug, says a research team led by psychologist Robert Ward of Bangor University, Wales.