In addition to the use of still photos, this study has a problem in that dress is indicated to the subjects before they make a choice that is distilled down to

In addition to the use of still photos, this study has a problem in that dress is indicated to the subjects before they make a choice that is distilled down to trust, and the choice game is known to test trust by a substantial portion of the public. While it makes some intuitive sense to appear disarming to win the trust of strangers in some real-life contexts, I wouldn’t rely on this study to corroborate that.