Estimation of subjective age based on facial images of others: Comparative studies of the Americans and the Japanese

We designed a method for estimating the subjective age of a person; using this method, one evaluates one´s own age by estimating whether a person shown in a facial image looks older or younger than oneself. Thus far, experiments have shown that Japanese people tend to underestimate their subjective age. In this study, we conducted an international comparative study to focus on the socio-psychological effects that may influence the underestimation of subjective age. Experiments were performed in which American and Japanese participants viewed American facial images; in addition, the American participants viewed Japanese facial images. Through these experiments, it was confirmed that the underestimation of age occurs despite differences in Japanese and American societies and cultures; however, the tendency of underestimation of age is not related to facial images but to social and cultural factors that influence the participants. Moreover, we carried out experiments of conventional look age estimates and compared the results to those of the subjective age estimates.