Why Cubies shouldn't be worried about a loss of face Take a look at the man sitting next to you on the bus, or across the breakfast table. Does he have the slim, equine features that radiate trust and kindness? Or is he... the other sort? You know: a square-face. A chubby-cheek. A right and proper villain. Now, you may have lived or worked for months, perhaps decades, alongside a gentleman of the wide-faced persuasion, without any cause for complaint. He may appear to be an entirely decent soul, who fetches cups of tea and inquires after your health with touching and seemingly genuine concern. Don't you believe it. Scientists already knew that those with a higher facial width-to-height ratio are more likely to be aggressive, selfish and untrustworthy. But now they have found that a feedback mechanism develops. In the initial set of experiments, researchers showed that these Wayne Rooney lookalikes - let's call them Cubies - behaved more selfishly when dividing up resources between themselves and a partner. That's the biology. But then comes the sociology: those partners, anticipating the Cubies" deceit, are less inclined to trust them in turn. And the Cubies, completing the vicious circle, perceive that distrust, and live down to the low expectations that have been established. By now, you may be thinking all this is complete codswallop - especially if the genetic lottery has left you with a fizzog that's closer to Bob Crow than Jeremy Paxman. Certainly, it does have suspicious similarities to phrenology, the pseudo-science that became something of a craze in the 19th century, to a point where extensive collections were built up of the death masks of convicted criminals, in the hope that deviant natures could be detected from the patterns of cranial bumps. Yet there's actually a surprisingly solid body of scientific evidence behind all this. Wider or rounder faces in men, for example, are a sign of higher testosterone exposure in the womb (which also produces longer ring fingers). Cubies therefore tend to be dominant males - so while they may be more selfish and aggressive, they're also likely to be happier, more athletic, stronger at maths, better with women and liable to make companies much more money when appointed as CEOs. That isn't as much of a badge of distinction as it sounds, given that sociopaths also do rather well as business high-fliers. A little bit of selfishness seems like a small price to pay for such genetic bounty - and even that is more complex than it seems. Yes, Cubies are more self-centred than other men when it's their interests alone at stake. But when they're part of a group that's competing against a rival team, they become more likely than their colleagues to put their own interests second: the competitive spirit induced by their sloshing hormones trumps their selfishness. The more you look, the more fascinating such research gets. That pretty girl over there? Her symmetrical, baby-faced features are advertising her qualities as a mate, notably that her foetal development was hassle-free and that she should have high fertility levels. That guy you're crushing on? It's probably due to the pheromones surging from his armpits. Oh, and the reason boy bands pout and strut so much? Because women are attracted to inflated chests, jutting chins and looks of steely determination. The trouble is, once you've tumbled down this particular rabbit hole, it's hard to stop until you've reduced everyone around you to a set of genetic characteristics and predispositions. It's easy to forget that we're talking about possibilities rather than certainties - and pretty marginal possibilities, at that. No matter how solid the science, better to keep an open mind, rather than prejudge by appearance. Although if you do find yourself in a Cubie's company, you might want to keep an eye on him - just to be sure.