City Slicker or Country Bumpkin?—Distinguishing Urban and Rural Residents From Subtle Facial Cues

ABSTRACT Stereotypes characterize urban and rural residents as differing in traits, values and social outcomes. Here, we examined how people's stereotypes about urban and rural residents differ, testing their validity using a lens model. Results showed that participants detected whether people resided in urban or rural areas from photos across three nations: the United States, Canada and Japan. North American and Japanese participants shared similar stereotypes of urban residents, seeing them as more likely to appear competent, dominant and positive in affect than rural residents. Yet, whereas inferences of competence, dominance, attractiveness and perceived age explained accurate urban–rural judgements in North America, only perceived age explained accurate urban–rural judgements in Japan. Together, these findings illuminate how both diagnostic and misleading social trait expectations account for differences in social perception across cultures, contributing to an ecologically functional account of social perception.