When encountering a stranger for the first time, adults spontaneously attribute to them a wide variety of character traits based solely on their physical appearance, most notably from their face. While these trait inferences exert a pervasive influence over our behaviour, their origins remain unclear. Whereas nativist accounts hold that first impressions are a product of gene-based natural selection, the Trait Inference Mapping framework (TIM) posits that we learn face-trait mappings ontogenetically as a result of correlated face-trait experience. Here, we examine the available anthropological evidence on ritual in order to better understand the mechanism by which first impressions from faces are acquired. Consistent with the TIM framework, we argue that examination of ritual body modification performed by communities around the world demonstrates far greater cross-cultural variability in face-trait mappings than currently appreciated. Furthermore, rituals of this type may be a powerful mechanism through which face-trait associations are transmitted from one generation to the next. This article is part of the theme issue 'Ritual renaissance: new insights into the most human of behaviours'.
Keywords: body modification; facial traits; first impressions; ritual; trait inferences.