Communicator attractiveness and opinion change.

Presented a tape recorded persuasive communication to 120 college and high school students while a photograph of a man identified as the speaker was projected onto a screen. 3 groups of ss listened to the communication in the presence of either (a) a photograph of an attractive communicator, (b) a photograph of an unattractive communicator, or (c) no photograph at all. 2 additional groups of ss did not listen to the communications, but filled out the postcommunication questionnaire only in the presence of (a) the photograph of the attractive speaker, or (b) the photograph of the unattractive speaker. Attractive male communicators were more persuasive that unattractive male or unpictured communicators. This effect was independent of differences in perceived expertness or trustworthiness of the communicator. Explanations in terms of distraction, contiguous pleasure, and liking are discussed. (french summary) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Limitations in generalizability of the physical attractiveness stereotype: The self-esteem exception.

Previous research has reported the existence of a physical attractiveness stereotype which results in several generalized assumptions about physically attractive individuals. Included in these assumptions is that physically attractive individuals are more capable on a number of dimensions and possess more socially desirable personality traits than less attractive individuals. It was predicted that self-esteem would interfere with the attractiveness stereotype in that low self-esteem (LSE) Ss would (a) denigrate an attractive other more than high self-esteem (HSE) Ss, (b) denigrate an attractive person more than an unattractive person, and (c) perceive greater situational similarity with an unattractive than attractive other, with HSE Ss perceiving the reverse. 80 female Ss designated either high or low in self-esteem, based on their scores on the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, evaluated either an attractive or unattractive stimulus person who had socially transgressed. Results indicate that, as predicted, LSE Ss tended to denigrate a transgressing attractive other more than HSE Ss. Although insignificant, the 2nd hypothesis was in the predicted direction in that LSE Ss judged a social transgression to be reflective of personality deficits more for the attractive than unattractive stimulus person. Situational similarity results were in accordance with predictions. (French summary) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of physical attractiveness on attribution of responsibility.

Previous research has shown that a stereotype favorable to physically attractive individuals seems to exist. The present study examined how this "what is beautiful is good" stereotype influences observers' attributions of responsibility to target persons. Ss were 72 male and 72 female high school students. A significant interaction was found between physical attractiveness and the outcome of the event. Physically attractive women were seen as more responsible for a good outcome than unattractive women, while unattractive females were seen as more responsible for a bad outcome than attractive females. Results are interpreted within a framework of balance theory. (French summary) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Good looks may help: Effects of helper's physical attractiveness and sex of helper on males' and females' help-seeking behavior.

96 19–21 yr old Ss were asked to solve a detective story and were under the impression that correct solutions could be obtained only after a specified number of preliminary questions were answered correctly. Some of these questions were unanswerable, and Ss could ask another S for help. In line with past research (E. Bercheid and E. Walster, 1974; A. Nadler, see PA, Vol 66:5817; H. Sigall and E. Aronson, PA, Vol 43:8310; S. Stokes and L. Bickman, PA, Vol 54:3045), data indicate that for same-sex others, Ss tended to seek less help from physically attractive than unattractive helpers. In cases of cross-sex helping (a) males sought less help from a physically attractive female than an unattractive female and (b) females sought more help from a physically attractive than an unattractive male. Findings are discussed in terms of a self-presentation approach to interpersonal help-seeking behavior. A model of help-seeking and self-presentation is presented. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Physical attractiveness and attributions for disability.

80 undergraduates viewed stimulus slides of an unattractive or attractive female or an unattractive or attractive male who had allegedly become paraplegic as a result of an automobile accident. Ss then completed a questionnaire assessing the potential causes of the accident, prognosis for the victim's disability, and the victim's level of responsibility for the accident. Results demonstrate that the unattractive victims were perceived as having more permanent disabilities and needing longer rehabilitation periods than the attractive victims. Ss made different attributions of the injury and assigned more personal responsibility to the physically attractive victims. Findings are discussed within the context of the "just world" hypothesis proposed by M. Lerner et al (1976). (13 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-esteem, communicator characteristics, and attitude change.

Characteristic defenses were predicted to cause different Ss to resist influence from different kinds of persuasive communications. In a 3-way factorial design, 88 Ss representing high and low self-esteem were exposed to optimistic and pessimistic communications from communicators who were portrayed as "copers" or "noncopers." Optimism-pessimism unexpectedly produced no effect. However, characteristics of the communicator interacted with characteristics of Ss in producing attitude change. High-esteem Ss were influenced more by the coper and low-esteem Ss by the noncoper, even though all Ss evaluated the noncoper unfavorably. Further investigation indicated that Ss high and low in self-esteem were themselves copers and noncopers, respectively. Ss appeared to accept persuasive influence from the communicator more comparable to themselves, regardless of how they consciously felt toward him. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The underestimation of the role of physical attractiveness in dating preferences: Ignorance or taboo?

Investigated Ss' tendency to underreport the impact of physical attractiveness on their dating preferences. 80 female undergraduates were shown profiles containing photographs and information about the personalities of potential male dating partners and were asked to state the dating desirability of each target person. Subsequently, Ss were asked to introspect about the factors that affected their dating preferences. Findings suggest that Ss were capable of accurate introspection. Ss tended to intentionally underreport the impact of physical attractiveness on their preferences. More specifically, when Ss thought that they were connected to a lie-detector-like apparatus, they produced more accurate overall introspective reports, admitted a more extreme influence by the physical attractiveness of the targets, and endorsed more extreme dating desirability ratings for physically unattractive men. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Impressions of counselors as a function of counselor physical attractiveness.

Assessed the effects of counselor physical attractiveness and interactions between attractiveness and counselor and S sex. 40 male and 40 female undergraduates rated their 1st impressions of a counselor and their expectations for counseling outcome on the basis of a photograph of either an attractive or an unattractive person and a brief, audiotaped self-introduction by either a male or a female counseling psychologist. Attractiveness did not show main effects but did interact with sex variables, which did show several main effects. Female counselors, particularly in the attractive condition, received higher ratings than male counselors on several impression variables, and female Ss gave higher ratings on impression variables than did male Ss. Both attractive and unattractive counselors were within the normal range of attractiveness, however. It is suggested that within the natural setting, sex of counselor and client may play a more important role independently and in conjunction with attractiveness than does attractiveness alone in influencing impressions and expectations. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

When Gulliver travels: Social context, psychological closeness, and self-appraisals.

Four studies examined how the characteristics of others affect people's self-appraisals. Ss viewed photographs of physically attractive or unattractive targets, then rated their own attractiveness. Study 1 found evidence for a contrast effect: Ss' self-appraisals were more favorable after viewing an unattractive same-sex target than after viewing an attractive same-sex target. Study 2 manipulated psychological closeness by varying the degree to which the S and the target shared similar attitudes and values. Although contrast effects occurred when the S and the target were dissimilar, the reverse tended to be true when the S and the target were related by virtue of their perceived similarity. Two additional studies extended these results, using a different operational definition of psychological closeness. Findings indicate that psychological closeness determines how other people's characteristics affect the self-concept. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Role of physical attractiveness in peer attribution of psychological disturbance.

Examined the physical attractiveness stereotype as it pertains to the attribution of psychological disturbance among peers. 144 male and female college students heard interview tapes constructed to reflect low and high levels of maladjustment. The female interviewees remained either physically anonymous or were "identified" photographically as attractive or unattractive. Consistent with the stereotype, attractive interviewees were judged as less disturbed with better prognosis than unattractive interviewees. As predicted, greater disturbance with poorer prognosis was attributed to well-adjusted interviewees if they were unattractive than if they were physically anonymous, and identification of the maladjusted interviewee as attractive produced more favorable attributions. Remedial suggestions also differed as a function of the interviewee's maladjustment level and physical attractiveness, and these attractiveness effects persisted when perceived disturbance and prognosis were statistically controlled. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Nonverbal behavior and perceived counselor attractiveness and persuasiveness.

Investigated the perception of counselor attractiveness and persuasiveness through the expression of nonverbal behavior. Ss were 20 male and 20 female psychology undergraduates. 2 male and female counselors were trained to portray "affiliative" manner and "unaffiliative" manner. In a repeated measures design, Ss saw 4 different counselors and then rated them on scales measuring perceived attractiveness and persuasiveness. Results indicate that counselors in the affiliative manner condition were perceived as significantly more attractive and persuasive than counselors in the unaffiliative condition. Ss attributed greater attractiveness and persuasiveness to the same nonverbal cues encoded into the roles. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Communication modality as a determinant of persuasion: The role of communicator salience.

Reports 2 studies, using a total of 304 university students, in which a likable or unlikable communicator delivered a persuasive message via writing, audiotape, or videotape. In both studies the likable communicator was more persuasive in video- and audiotape than in writing, but the unlikable communicator was more persuasive in writing. Thus, communicator likability was a significant determinant of persuasion only in the broadcast modalities. Other findings suggest that Ss process more communicator cues when exposed to video- and audiotape messages than when exposed to written ones and that communicator-based (rather than message-based) cognitions predicted opinion change primarily in video and audiotape conditions rather than in written ones. It is concluded that video- and audiotapes enhance communicator-related information, so that communicator characteristics exert a disproportionate effect on persuasion when messages are broadcast. Findings are also discussed in relation to "vividness" phenomena. (40 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children's physical attractiveness and sex as determinants of adult punitiveness.

Investigated a child's physical attractiveness and sex as potential elicitors of differential adult punitiveness. Ss in Exps I and II were 52 white females and 44 white males, respectively. Ss in both groups viewed a videotaped interaction between the E and a child who was made to appear either physically attractive or unattractive. Subsequently, Ss monitored what was presumably the child's performance on a picture-matching task and administered penalties to the child for incorrect responses. The specific penalty involved taking 1-5 pennies away from the child for each error. Results show that women behaved more leniently towards an attractive boy than towards either an attractive girl or an unattractive boy; these results were interpreted in the context of a cross-sex leniency effect mediated by a child's physical attractiveness. Men were not influenced in administering penalties by either a child's attractiveness or sex. It is suggested that the data reflect differences in men's and women's orientations toward children's task behavior. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Help-seeking and attractiveness in cross-sex dyads.

Attempted to extend A. Nadler's (see record 1981-25817-001) finding that female Ss asked for significantly less help from a fictitiously paired attractive (vs unattractive) female co-worker by investigating whether the same relationship between physical attractiveness and unwillingness to ask for help would occur in cross-sex dyads. 24 male and 24 female undergraduates trying to solve a very difficult task could request help from a fictitiously paired attractive vs unattractive co-worker of the opposite sex. Findings indicate that, as predicted, both males and females asked for significantly less help from their cross-sex attractive partner than from the unattractive one. Results suggest that one's same-sex interactions, as in the Nadler study, or opposite-sex interactions may be modified as a function of one's concerns with impression management. (French abstract) (8 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Belief in a just world and physical attractiveness stereotyping.

Just-world theory provides a possible explanation of physical attractiveness stereotyping, in that believing in a just world should lead to a positive bias toward "winners," such as the physically attractive. Several hypotheses derived from this premise were tested by having adults complete the Just World Scale and rate the personality traits and expected life outcomes of an attractive or unattractive stimulus person. Predictions for the personality trait ratings were borne out for male but not for female stimulus persons: (a) Believers in a just world perceived the personalities of attractive, male stimulus persons as more socially desirable than nonbelievers and also attributed more socially desirable personalities to male stimulus persons who were attractive rather than unattractive; and (b) no effects were found for female stimulus persons. Predictions for the life-outcome ratings and differences in correlations between personality and life-outcome ratings as a function of belief in a just world were clearly supported. Implications for just-world theory, status-characteristics theory, and physical attractiveness stereotyping are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)