A recent study on the psychology of trademarks finds that people perceive brands in the same way as they do faces. Researchers compared the reactions of viewers to 16 renowned brands -- Cola-Cola and Apple among them -- and 18 computer-generated faces. The subjects were asked to evaluate the pictures according to various attributes including trustworthiness and assertiveness. Two basic dimensions dictated how a large proportion of how both trademarks and faces are perceived: (1) Overall assessment, which represents the observer's assessment of how trustworthy brands or people are and how favorable they find them to be, and (2) The impression of strength, which involves acting on the ability to correctly detect intentions -- whether they be good or bad. Most of us can identify with the results of the study. For example, after the BP oil spill that took place a few years ago, resulting in extensive damage to wildlife habitats and fishing and tourism industries, most consumers w...