HONG KONG, June 2 (UPI) -- When a corporation has a public relations crisis, the shape of the chief executive officer's face can affect public reaction, Chinese and U.S. researchers say.

Study authors Gerald J. Gorn, Yuwei Jiang both Hong Kong University and Gita V. Johar of Columbia University in New York say when a company has a crisis, the news media splash photos of the company CEO's face around the world, evoking judgments about the person and the situation.

In the study, participants examined news accounts of fictitious corporate misdeeds. The research, published in the Journal of Consumer Research, finds that in a minor public relations crisis, participants held a more favorable attitude toward a baby-faced CEO -- large eyes, small nose, high forehead, and small chin -- than a mature-faced CEO.

The study subjects perceived baby-faced CEOs as more honest.

However, when the situation was more serious, and especially when it involved questions of competency, a baby-faced representative didn't help the company.

"In contexts where innocence conveys naivete, a mature face is evaluated more favorably," the study authors say in a statement.

For example, if a company failed to detect important defects in products, the baby-faced CEO was perceived to be detrimental, the researchers say.