Female Stimulus Persons Research Articles

Fertility as a cue for attractiveness in homo- and heterosexual men

According to the sexual strategy theory (SST), men pursue short-term mating strategies to enhance their reproductive fitness. To do so, heterosexual men search for women who signal high reproductive value through multiple fertility cues. We hypothesize that, due to an interplay of mating strategies derived from a person's biological sex and the sexual orientation of a person (which develops independently of biological sex), not only heterosexual but also homosexual men should find high fertility more attractive in others. Accordingly, in Study 1 (N = 124), we found that hetero- as well as homosexual men rated the physical attractiveness of a female stimulus person to be greater when she was portrayed to be of high (versus low) fertility. Interestingly, in Study 2 (N = 224), we found that only homosexual-, but not heterosexual men perceived a male stimulus to be less attractive when information was provided that pointed at his low (versus high) fertility and when no information was given. We discuss these findings against the background of evolved adaptive mating motives in humans. Overall, the present results indicate that fertility appears to be an important cue for perceived physical attractiveness for both hetero- and homosexual men.

Effects of muscle dysmorphia, social comparisons and body schema priming on desire for social interaction: an experimental approach

BackgroundMuscle dysmorphia (MD) is a relatively young diagnosis referring to the desire for a high degree in lean muscle mass, while simultaneously believing that one is insufficiently muscular, mostly found in men. It goes along with a risk for social withdrawal to maintain rigid exercise and dietary regimen. The aim of the current study was thus, to explore differences in men with and without a risk for muscle dysmorphia regarding their desire for social interaction. Furthermore, we investigated potential effects of individual social comparison tendencies (the tendency to compare oneself with persons who are perceived to be superior or inferior to oneself on a certain dimension) and of one’s own body schema on the desire for social interaction.MethodsOne hundred physically active, college aged Austrian men were recruited via social media and flyers at fitness centers and the sports department of the University of Vienna. Participants were randomly assigned to a priming condition evoking their own body schema or a control condition and had to state their desire for social interaction with male or female stimulus persons of high or average attractiveness. We conducted a 2 (group of participant; men with vs. without a risk for MD) × 2 (priming condition; priming vs. non-priming) × 2 (attractiveness of stimulus person; highly attractive vs. less attractive) experimental design with different social comparison tendencies as covariates.ResultsMen with a risk for muscle dysmorphia showed lesser desire for social interaction than men without this risk, which can be seen as a risk factor for psychopathological outcomes. Generally, men with and without a risk for muscle dysmorphia did not differ with regard to their preferences for attractive stimulus persons as subjects for social interaction. We confirmed the notion that a tendency for downward social comparisons goes along with a diminished desire for social interaction.ConclusionsThis study showed that men with a risk for muscle dysmorphia appeared to be at higher risk for social withdrawal and that this is associated with social comparison tendencies. Future investigations on clinical populations are needed, for this population is highly prone to social isolation and negative outcomes related to it.

Am I the Right Candidate? Self-Ascribed Fit of Women and Men to a Leadership Position

Women are assumed to show a self-ascribed lack-of-fit to leadership positions compared to men (Heilman Research in Organizational Behavior 5:269–298, 1983). The present study examined whether this gender difference would diminish when agency is accounted for and whether a stimulus person’s gender would alter women’s self-ascribed fit. German management students (91 women, 95 men) received a fictitious recruitment advertisement for a leadership position that portrayed a man, a woman, or both a man and a woman. Participants indicated their perceptions of agency and suitability to the advertised position. As predicted, women judged themselves as less suitable for the leadership position than men and participants’ self-reported agency mediated this effect. Furthermore, all participants felt most suitable if a male and a female stimulus person were portrayed.

Ability, luck, and looks: An evolutionary look at achievement ascriptions and the sexual attribution bias.

Female and male participants (in their early 20s) attributed the success of same-aged (Study 1A-1C) male and female stimulus persons of varying attractiveness to ability, effort, luck, and looks. Consistent with the evolutionary prediction that mating motivation and intrasexual competition determine achievement ascriptions, female participants explained the success of attractive women with luck more and with ability less (i.e., in a derogative way) than they explained the success of less attractive female stimulus persons. However, when the stimulus person was male, women attributed his success to ability more and to luck less (i.e., glorifying) when he was attractive than when he was unattractive. Male participants made derogative attributions for attractive male stimulus persons and unattractive female stimulus persons and glorifying ascriptions for unattractive male stimulus persons and attractive female stimulus persons. We label this pattern of findings sexual attribution bias. The bias disappeared when prepuberty stimulus persons were used as targets (Study 2) and reversed for gay men (Study 3).

Meta-Cognition about Biological Sex and Gender-Stereotypic Physical Appearance: Consequences for the Assessment of Leadership Competence

Previous findings are inconsistent with regard to whether men are judged as being more or less competent leaders than women. However, masculine-relative to feminine-looking persons seem to be judged consistently as more competent leaders. Can this different impact of biological sex and physical appearance be due to the disparate availability of meta-cognitive knowledge about both sources? The results of Study 1 indicated that individuals possess meta-cognitive knowledge about a possible biasing influence of persons' biological sex, but not for their physical appearance. In Study 2, participants judged the leadership competence of a male versus female stimulus person with either masculine or feminine physical appearance. In addition, the available cognitive capacity was manipulated. When high capacity was available, participants corrected for the influence of stimulus persons' sex, but they fell prey to this influence under cognitive load. However, the effect of physical appearance was not moderated by cognitive capacity.

The Influence of Facial Emotion Displays, Gender, and Ethnicity on Judgments of Dominance and Affiliation

Facial expressions of emotions convey not only information about emotional states but also about interpersonal intentions. The present study investi- gated whether factors known to influence the decoding of emotional expressions— the gender and ethnicity of the stimulus person as well as the intensity of the ex- pression—would also influence attributions of interpersonal intentions. For this, 145 men and women rated emotional facial expressions posed by both Caucasian and Japanese male and female stimulus persons on perceived dominance and affil- iation. The results showed that the sex and the ethnicity of the encoder influenced observers' ratings of dominance and affiliation. For anger displays only, this influ- ence was mediated by expectations regarding how likely it is that a particular en- coder group would display anger. Further, affiliation ratings were equally influenced by low intensity and by high intensity expressions, whereas only fairly intense emo- tional expressions affected attributions of dominance.

Gender differences in depressive response: The role of social support

The present study investigated the possibility that women's ruminative response style to stressful events is due in part to differential advice that women and men receive from their social support networks. Undergraduates (60 men, 136 women) of various ethnic backgrounds (e.g., 21.4% English, 16.8% West Indian, 12.8% Chinese, 10.7% Italian) indicated the extent to which they would endorse various statements of advice for a stimulus person described as experiencing a negative life event. As predicted, subjects endorsed more ruminative advice for female stimulus persons than for male stimulus persons (p< .02). These findings imply that, since females in stressful situations seem more likely to receive ruminative advice than do their male counterparts, women's greater vulnerability to depressive symptoms may be partly the result of the concomitant dangers of stressful events and potentially harmful advice.

Reading a smiling face: messages conveyed by various forms of smiling.

This study investigated the effect of various forms of smiling (closed smile, upper smile, or broad smile) on person perception. Brazilian undergraduates (N = 330) judged a photograph of a male or female stimulus person in three age ranges (young, middle-aged, and old) and smiling or not. 7-point scales were used to measure respondents' perception of the stimulus persons on various attributes (attractiveness, happiness, extroversion, sympathy, kindness, submission, ambition, and intelligence). We found that a smile enhanced attractiveness and kindness ratings independently of its form, whereas the influence of the various forms on ratings of happiness was additive. As the neutral face changed to a closed smile and the closed smile became a broad smile, target stimuli were attributed greater rated happiness. We also found a contribution of perceivers' gender to the judgements of extroversion and sympathy, indicating a slightly greater discrimination of facial expressions among women than among men.

On the role of emotional traits in impression formation.

280 Italian undergraduates (90 men and 190 women), ages 18 to 30 years, rated a warm, cold, jealous, or envious stimulus person on 15 7-point semantic differential scales. Varying the sex of the stimulus person, 8 different versions of the description were obtained. Factor analysis, carried out to identify a smaller set of non-redundant dimensions, yielded three factors. A multivariate analysis of variance, 4 (warm, cold, jealous, envious) x 2 (male stimulus person, female stimulus person) x 2 (male respondents, female respondents), indicated significant effects for the variable "trait" on the first and second factors, an interaction between the sex of the stimulus person and the sex of the respondent on the first factor, and an effect for the sex of the respondent on the second factor. The traits "envious" and "jealous" acted as central qualities, and the sex of the stimulus person and of the respondent played an important role in impression formation. Further implications of the finding were discussed.

The effect of smiling and of head tilting on person perception.

This study investigated the effect of smiling and of head tilting on person perception. Brazilian undergraduates (N = 322) judged a slide of a male or female stimulus person, smiling or not, and with the head tilted or not. The independent variables were (a) subject's gender, (b) stimulus person's gender; (c) head posture (tilted vs. upright), and (d) facial expression (no smile, closed smile, upper smile, or broad smile). The dependent variables were 12 adjective pairs for judging personality traits on a 7-point semantic differential scale. Adding a smile resulted generally in more favorable perceptions of the stimulus persons. Head posture had a weaker effect than smiling. Smiling produced generally positive evaluations, whereas head tilting led to negative evaluations on several traits.

Social influence, sex differences, and judgments of beauty: Putting the interpersonal back in interpersonal attraction.

Four studies (N=711) probed processes that underlie sex differences in attraction. In Study 1, women reported expertise at judging men's physical attractiveness, and this expertise was acknowledged by men. In Study 2, women evaluated physical attractiveness after seeing ratings supposedly made by same-sex peers. Women were influenced by other women's ratings, especially negative ratings. Study 3 indicated that women were influenced by female peers in rating both male and female stimulus persons. There was no evidence that men were influenced by peers. In Study 4, Ss evaluated physically attractive persons of the other sex after reading a detailed description. Women were more influenced by peer evaluations than were men. Results were discussed in terms of sex differences and social influence processes in interpersonal attraction

Effects of Gender and Status upon Punctuality Norms

Abstract A stimulus person was described as a candidate who was late for a job interview. Undergraduate students at the University of Bombay estimated the likelihood that the person would be late again in similar circumstances and indicated the strength of their recommendation that he or she should stop being late in similar circumstances. The study had a 2 × 2 × 3 × 3 (Subject's Gender × Stimulus Person's Gender × Job Status: manager, clerk, or sweeper × Nature of Outcome: positive, neutral, or negative) factorial design, with 16 subjects per cell. The estimated likelihood of unpunctuality was higher with a sweeper's job than with a manager's job and lower with the negative outcome (the candidate not getting the job) than with the positive outcome (the candidate getting the job) and the neutral outcome (the candidate awaiting the result of the interview). The female subjects' recommendations against unpunctuality were stronger for the male stimulus person than for the female stimulus person.

Gender Differences in Likelihood Estimates and Recommendations Regarding Antinormative Behavior in Different Ethical Contexts1

College students' likelihood estimates and recommendations regarding antinormative behavior in four different ethical contexts were examined in relation to their gender, the stimulus person's gender and status, and the nature of consequence of the relevant behavior. The study had the following fully crossed between‐subjects factorial design: 2 (subject's gender) × 2 (stimulus person's gender) × 3 (stimulus person's status: high, intermediate, or low) × 2 (nature of consequence: aversive consequence vs. no aversive consequence) × 4 (ethical context: extramarital relationship, spouse abuse, ticketless traveling, or shoplifting). The subjects were 1,536 undergraduate students at the University of Bombay, 16 per cell of the five‐factor design. All of the experimental manipulations apart from the subject's gender were made through vignettes. Seven‐point scales were used for the two dependent measures, with subjects giving estimates of the likelihood that the stimulus person would continue with the relevant antinormative behavior and indicating the strength of their recommendations against the continuance of antinormative behavior. Estimated likelihood was significantly higher with no aversive consequence than with an aversive consequence in all of the ethical contexts except the extramarital relationship, and estimated likelihood was significantly higher for the male than for the female stimulus person only for the extramarital relationship. Female subjects gave significantly stronger recommendations than male subjects against antinormative behavior in all contexts except shoplifting. The results suggest that gender differences in prescriptive and descriptive ethical norms are not uniform across different ethical contexts.

Evaluation of Gaze Pairs by Female Observers

Predictions concerning the formation of impressions on the basis of the visual behavior of an observed person were tested in two experiments. Observers were shown a video recording of a conversation between two persons in which person looked at his or her partner or not depending upon the experimental conditions. In Experiment 1, selected stimulus dimensions of interpersonal gazing-amount of gaze, sexual composition of the interacting pair-were examined for their impact on the observer's evaluations. It was found that observer's evaluations with regard to sincerity, anxiety, and relaxation of a gaze pair were differentially affected by the degree of eye contact between the gaze pair. Experiment 2 examined whether observers would form different perceptions of the same visual dominance ratio according to the sex combination of the gaze pair. Observers viewed videotapes of a person whose visual behavior was systematically varied, apparently conversing with another person of the opposite sex. Male and female stimulus persons displayed three different visual dominance ratios: 60%/40%, 40%/60%, 20%/80%. When female stimulus persons of a gaze pair exhibited the high and moderate look-speak to look-listen ratio they tended to be rated by observers as more dominant than when they exhibited the low ratio. When male stimulus persons of a gaze pair exhibited the moderate ratio they tended to be evaluated as more dominant than when they displayed the high visual dominance ratio. When female stimulus persons of a gaze pair exhibited the high visual dominance ratio they were evaluated as dominant. However, when male stimulus persons of a gaze pair exhibited the high ratio they were evaluated as submissive.

The Triple Standard: Prediction and Recommendation of Spouse-Leaving as a Function of Stimulus Person's Gender and Status

Given the hypothetical situation of a stimulus person considering the possibility of divorcing his/her spouse because of being in love with another person, 360 undergraduate students of Bombay estimated the likelihood of the stimulus person going for a divorce and indicated the strength of their recommendation in favour of a divorce. The study had a 2 (subjects’s sex) x 2 (stimulus person’s sex) x 3 (stimulus person’s status: high, intermediate or low) x 2 (stimulus person having or not having children) factorial design with 15 subjects in each cell. Estimated likelihood of a divorce was higher for the male stimulus person than for the female stimulus person. Estimated likelihood was also higher in the case of the person having no children than in case of having children, but this difference was found to be significant only for the stimulus person of intermediate status. Strength of recommendation in favour of a divorce was higher for the female rather than the male stimulus person, in case of no children than in case of children, and for the low status rather than the high status stimulus person. The triple standard hypothesis, namely, that social norms with respect to spouse-leaving would be prejudicial to women as compared to men especially at the level of intermediate status, was not supported by the data.

The Ms. Stereotype: Its Domain and the Role of Explicitness in Title Preference

It was hypothesized that (a) a woman who prefers Ms. as her title of address would be seen by perceivers of both sexes as being higher on positive as well as negative instrumental qualities and also lower on positive and negative qualities of expressiveness than a woman who prefers a traditional title of address (i.e., Miss and Mrs.), and (b) explicit preference for the woman's title of address would elicit stronger trait attributions for women with different titles of address than would an implicit preference. These hypotheses were tested by having respondents rate a brief description of a female stimulus person whose title of address and explicitness of preference for the title were orthogonally varied. Scales from the Extended Personal Attributes Questionnaire were employed as measures of instrumental and expressive traits. The two hypotheses were well supported. Implications of these findings are discussed.

Effects of occupational prestige, employment status, and marital status on perceptions of mothers

Perceptions of mothers were investigated as a function of their marital status, employment status and prestige of their jobs. College students (128 females and 96 males) evaluated a briefly described adult female stimulus person on 24 7-point bipolar scales that described job performance characteristics and personality traits. Each subject rated one of 16 mothers of a young child. The mother was portrayed as either divorced or married and as either currently employed or formerly employed (by choice) in an occupation of either moderate or low prestige. Employed mothers were perceived as more competent in their jobs but as less well-adjusted than nonemployed mothers. Mothers with moderate-prestige occupations were viewed as more competent than those in low-prestige occupations, especially if they were currently employed. Married mothers were seen as better adjusted than divorced mothers.

Reactions to equal reward allocations: Effects of situation, gender and values

Subjects' reactions to equal allocations were investigated across four hypothetical scenarios spanning healthy/sick, older/younger, male/female and married/single performers. Performance input was varied across scenarios (equal or unequal), as was the competitive or cooperative nature of the male/female scenario. In the study 392 male and female subjects rated their agreement with the equal allocations and indicated how they would allocate rewards themselves. They also completed the Schwartz Value Survey, enabling classification of values into domains reflecting different value content and individualistic or collectivist interests. Results showed that subjects were more likely to favour equal allocations when performance input was equal rather than unequal and when the male/female scenario involved cooperation rather than competition. Subjects were biased in favour of like‐sex higher performers when allocating payments to male and female stimulus persons who were in competition. Subjects' agreement with the equal allocation in the healthy/sick scenario and the amount of their own allocation to the sick performer were both positively related to the strength of their prosocial and spirituality values but negatively related to the strength of their power, stimulation and hedonistic values. These findings are interpreted as indicating the effects of situational factors, allocation norms, social identity and value priorities on reactions to equal allocations.

Social Acceptability of Hypothetical Married Couples and Their Relationships

ABSTRACT The present experiment tested whether the physical attractiveness attributed to members of married couples would vary according to the social acceptability associated with their interconnected leader-follower roles. American college students rated female and male hypothetical stimulus persons who were described as married to each other. As predicted, both partners who were described as being in a traditional relationship with the husband as leader were stereotyped as being highly attractive. Partners in relationships that deviated from this pattern were stereotyped as being less attractive: Those enacting equal leadership roles were intermediate in attractiveness, and those with the wife as leader were least attractive. Gender identity also varied according to the social acceptability of the couple's roles, with the wife and husband in the traditional relationship being stereotyped as most highly sex typed. The personal attributes of self-esteem and social status were not affected by the social a...

Effects of employment status and marital status on perceptions of mothers

Forty-eight female and 48 male adults at a shopping mall evaluated a briefly depicted adult female stimulus person on 24 7-point bipolar scales that described personality traits and professional performance characteristics. Each subject rated one of four mothers of a young child. The mother was portrayed as either employed or nonemployed, and as either divorced or married. Employed mothers were perceived as more professionally competent but as less dedicated to their families than were nonemployed mothers. Married mothers were rated as more nurturant and as better adjusted than divorced mothers.