Effects of children's physical attractiveness on teachers' evaluations.

After viewing the photograph of a physically attractive or unattractive child and a vignette depicting a misbehavior possibly committed by the child, 144 female elementary school teachers evaluated the pupil for blame, personality, and punishment before and after reading a report card characterizing the child as a good, satisfactory, or poor student. Though attractive children generally received more desirable personality ratings than unattractive children, a misbehavior was deemed less undesirable if attributed to unattractive rather than attractive children. Furthermore, unattractive girls were blamed less frequently and received more lenient recommendations for punishment than did unattractive boys. Implications for the physical attractiveness stereotyping hypothesis are discussed as well as explanations for the differential evaluations based on the child's sex. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of race and problem type on teachers' assessments of student behavior.

The authors tested the hypothesis that race bias in teacher evaluations may be problem specific by examining the extent to which ratings of child behavior were influenced by the interaction between the race of the child and the type of presenting behavior. Teachers (N=197) were presented with three vignettes (overcontrolled, undercontrolled, and "normal"), systematically paired with a photograph of a male child (African American, Asian American, or Caucasian). Respondents rated the seriousness, referability, and typicality of the behavior; the child's family life; academic ability and performance; and causal dimensions. Although results did not reveal a bias in the ratings of African American students, data suggest that stereotypes remain embedded in teachers' interpretive framework for Asian Americans, particularly regarding expectations of overcontrolled traits. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of physical attractiveness on therapists' initial judgments of a person's self-concept.

Videotapes and audiotapes were made of interviews with attractive and unattractive males and females. Ratings of attractiveness were derived from peer judgments of photographs of 83 undergraduates; the 2 most attractive males, 2 least attractive males and a similar number of females were selected as stimulus persons. 13 male and 3 female graduate students in clinical psychology rated the person they had heard (seen) as to self-concept. As hypothesized, physically attractive persons of both sexes were rated as having better self-concepts than unattractive persons. Further, the self-concept ratings of attractive females increased significantly from the audiotape to the videotape conditions, whereas the ratings of all the other stimulus persons remained the same. (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)     

Contrast effects and judgments of physical attractiveness: When beauty becomes a social problem.

Conducted 3 studies to test the hypothesis that judgments of average females' attractiveness or dating desirability will be adversely affected by exposing judges to extremely attractive prior stimuli (i.e., judgments will show a "contrast effect"). Study 1 was a field study in which 81 male dormitory residents watching a popular TV show, whose main characters were 3 strikingly attractive females, were asked to rate a photo of an average female (described as a potential blind date for another dorm resident). These Ss rated the target female as significantly less attractive than did a comparable control group. Two other studies with 146 undergraduates demonstrated analogous effects in a more controlled laboratory setting. In addition, the 3rd study indicated a direct effect of informational social influence on physical attractiveness judgments. Implications are discussed with particular attention to mass media impact. (40 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The influence of test familiarity and student disability status upon teachers' judgments of students' test performance.

Two questions motivated this study: (a) Does test familiarity influence teachers' judgments of their students' test performance? and (b) Does the disability status of students influence their teachers' judgments? Teachers (n=19) judged item performances for one student with disabilities and one student without disabilities (n pairs=19) from their fourth-grade classrooms. Teachers made judgments using (a) a mathematics test from the research version of the TerraNova CTBS Multiple Assessments edition, which is similar to the large-scale achievement test administered in numerous states, and (b) classroom-based math tests. Judgment accuracy was higher (a) on classroom tests and (b) for students without disabilities. Among less accurate judgments, teachers consistently underestimated the performances of students with disabilities. Students with disabilities performed lower on both types of tests. Student test performance accounted for a significant proportion of the variance in teacher judgment accuracy. Implications of these findings for future research and practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of profane language and physical attractiveness on perceptions of counselor behavior.

Assigned 72 undergraduates to 1 of 8 experimental conditions of videotaped counseling sessions where they rated the counselor on a variety of dependent measures related to their impressions of counselor professional and personal attributes, likelihood of counseling for a variety of presenting problems, and their satisfaction. Multivariate analyses revealed that counselors using profanity were rated less favorably across all measures regardless of physical attractiveness. A significant multivariate interaction indicated that when profanity was present, female counselors were rated more positively than male counselors. Overall, physically attractive counselors, regardless of their sex or use of profanity, were judged to have more favorable attributes. (11 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Communicator physical attractiveness and persuasion.

In a field setting, each of 68 physically attractive or unattractive male and female communicator Ss (undergraduates) delivered a persuasive message to 2 undergraduate target Ss of each sex. Results indicate that attractive (vs unattractive) communicators induced significantly greater persuasion on both a verbal and behavioral measure of target agreement. In addition, female targets indicated greater agreement than male targets. Data gathered from communicator Ss during an earlier laboratory session indicate that physically attractive and unattractive communicators differed with respect to several communication skills and other attributes relevant to communicator persuasiveness, including GPA, Scholastic Aptitude Test scores, and several measures of self-evaluation. These findings suggest that attractive individuals may be more persuasive than unattractive persons partly because they possess characteristics that dispose them to be more effective communicators. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of student ethnicity on judgments of ADHD symptoms among Hispanic and White teachers.

The present study examined whether teacher ratings of student disruptive, impulsive, and inattentive behaviors vary according to teacher-student ethnic differences. A total of 129 Hispanic and 89 White teachers observed standardized videotapes of a Hispanic and a White child and assessed each child for hyperactive-inattentive behaviors, using a rating scale. Based on analyses of subscales, this study revealed significant differences in ratings of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) behaviors among Hispanic and White teachers with Hispanic teachers reporting higher mean scores on the Hyperactivity-Impulsivity Scale. This was true on the ratings of the Hispanic student but not on the White student. Further analyses suggested that when acculturation was covaried, no significant group differences remained, suggesting that teacher perception of deviance may be partially mediated by cultural values more than ethnicity. The need to consider the rater's ethnicity and ethno-cultural variables is discussed, and findings are explained in terms of the adult distress threshold model. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Teacher–student interactions: Effects of student race, sex, and grade level.

Studied quantitative and qualitative differences in students' initiating behaviors, teachers' verbal feedback, and students' available response opportunities in 63 classrooms in relation to student race (Black or White), sex, and grade level (kindergarten through 5th grade). There were 430 White males, 311 White females, 296 Black males, and 291 Black females. Interactions were collected using an observation system, and data were standardized for each classroom to account for the representation of each of the 4 sex/race categories. Results indicate that male students initiated more positive and negative interactions with teachers than did female students. Quantitatively, White female students at both the lower-elementary (LE) and the upper-elementary (UE) levels received less teacher feedback than did students in the other sex/race categories. Black female students received less teacher feedback in the UE grades than in the LE grades, as was the case for White female students. Qualitative differences in feedback indicated that male students received more negative and nonacademic feedback than did female students and that UE female students received less academic feedback than did UE male students. Findings show that UE Black female students were provided fewer opportunities to respond in the classroom than were LE Black female students. (35 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Influence of behavior perceptions and gender on teachers' judgments of students' academic skill.

Evaluated the hypothesis that gender and behavior, as perceived by teachers, affect judgments of the academic skill of their students. A path model was proposed to describe the relationships among tested academic skill, gender, behavior grades, and teachers' academic judgments. The model was evaluated separately in each of 3 grades (kindergarten–2nd) in 2 locations, with scholastic grades and structured ratings in specific academic skill areas as the dependent variables. Results showed that, after tested academic skill and gender were controlled for, teachers' perceptions of students' behavior constituted a significant component of their scholastic judgments. This effect was more pronounced for the judgments of boys because, in Grades 1 and 2, their conduct was perceived as less adequate than was girls' behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of order of presentation, primacy, and physical attractiveness on attributions of ability.

Conducted 4 experiments with 720 undergraduates to determine if physical attractiveness interacts with or negates the primacy effect found by E. E. Jones et al (see record 1969-06853-001). Results demonstrate that attractive Ss received uniformly high attributions regardless of performance. Unattractive Ss, however, received attributions similar to those received by Ss who had no physical-attractiveness stimuli presented. Physical attractiveness had an effect only when presented before performance. When presented after performance, attributions received by attractive-stimulus Ss were not significantly different from attributions received by unattractive-stimulus Ss, as had been the case when attractiveness was presented before performance. Results support D. Newston (see record 1974-11048-001) and Newston and R. J. Rindner's (1979) hypothesis that perceivers may stop processing information once a point of sufficient subjective information is reached. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A measure of teachers' observations of student behavior.

Describes the construction of the Rochester School Competency Schedule, a 26-item inventory derived by factor analysis to measure the ways in which teachers categorize students' behavior. 4 factors are involved, reflecting cognitive competence, social compliance, motivational orientation, and social competence. Test-retest reliability over 4 wks on a sample of 12 teachers was obtained using the final instrument; reliability coefficients for the 4 factors respectively were .80, .79, .71, and .75, with a coefficient for the total score of .85. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

How characteristics of student essays influence teachers' evaluations.

Explored the question of why competent evaluators award the ratings they do to college students' expository essays. Essays were rewritten to be stronger or weaker in 4 categories: content, organization, sentence structure, and mechanics. 12 evaluators first used a 4-point holistic rating scale to judge the essays' quality. Then they rated whether each of the 4 rewriting categories in each rewritten essay was strong or weak (perceptions). ANOVAs revealed content and organization to affect ratings most (p?p?p?     

Effects of expert and referent influence, physical attractiveness, and gender on perceptions of counselor attributes.

Investigated the predictions of social influence theory with respect to Ss' perceptions of counselors' professional and personal attributes and Ss' evaluations of the counselors. Expert and referent power bases and influence attempts were crossed with levels of counselor physical attractiveness together with S and counselor gender in a counseling analog. 64 male and 64 female undergraduates viewed 1 of 8 videotaped simulated counseling interviews and completed rating forms assessing their perceptions and evaluations. Analyses supported social influence theory in that (a) expert conditions produced higher ratings of professional attributes than did referent conditions, (b) referent conditions produced higher ratings of personal attributes than did expert conditions, (c) congruent conditions (power base and influence attempt) produced higher ratings than did incongruent conditions on all measures, and (d) physical attractiveness mediated the effects of congruence for personal but not for professional attributes. No gender differences were present. Implications for the social influence process are discussed. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The beauty of counseling: Effects of counselor physical attractiveness and self-disclosures on perceptions of counselor behavior.

Investigated influences of the physical attractiveness and self-disclosures of nonprofessional counselors in initial counseling interviews. In a 3–2 factorial design, 144 female undergraduates were exposed to audiotaped interviews in which an attractive, unattractive, or physically unidentified male counselor revealed no self-information or expressed an equal and moderate number of demographic or personal similarity self-disclosures. Consistent with previous research evidence, nondisclosing, unattractive counselors elicited less desirable behavioral attributions (including perceived regard, empathy, and genuineness determined by the Relationship Inventory) and counseling expectations than attractive counselors. Demographic and personal disclosures successfully eliminated these attractiveness effects for attribution variables. Additive effects of attractiveness and disclosure were observed for nearly all the expectancy variables. Experimental and applied implications are discussed with regard to the literature on physical attractiveness and counselor disclosure. (52 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Body image, physical attractiveness, and depression.

224 17–63 yr olds completed measures of self-perceived physical attractiveness and depression, and static full-body videotapes of Ss were assessed by objective raters, to investigate the relationship between Ss' body image, rated physical attractiveness, and depression. Measures included the Body-Self Relations Questionnaire, Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), a body parts satisfaction scale, and a self-labeling depression scale. Ss were classified as depressed (n?=?35) or nondepressed (n?=?42) on the basis of conjunctive criteria of self-labeling and extreme groups on the CES-D. It was hypothesized that (1) depressed Ss would report being less satisfied with their body parts and physical appearance and would regard themselves as less physically attractive than would nondepressed Ss, (2) objective raters would perceive depressed Ss as less physically attractive than nondepressed Ss, and (3) depressed Ss would distort their degree of physical attractiveness and perceive themselves to be less attractive than objective raters regarded them. Results indicate that, as hypothesized, depressed Ss were less satisfied with their bodies and saw themselves as less physically attractive than nondepressed Ss. These groups did not differ with respect to observer-rated physical attractiveness. Support was obtained for A. T. Beck's (1973, 1976) cognitive hypothesis that depressed persons negatively distort their body images; however, results also indicate substantial positive distortion among nondepressed Ss. (40 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Influence of adjustment and physical attractiveness on the employability of schizophrenic women.

Compared manifest adjustment and physical attractiveness for their effects on hirability. Employment interviewers assessed 21 18–54 yr old female psychiatric patients who had been videotaped taking part in a simulated job interview. Results indicate that (a) 43% of the interviewees were considered employable by at least 3 of 4 interviewers, although all interviewees were hospitalized with diagnoses of psychosis at the time. (b) Manifest adjustment (i.e., during the interview) related strongly to Ss' hirability. (c) Variables that had nonsignificant correlations with hirability included physical attractiveness (whether judged from videotapes or still photos) and demographic indexes such as number of previous hospitalizations and age at 1st hospitalization. The significant correlation between manifest adjustment and employability corroborates results of earlier studies that used "normal" confederates (stooges) rather than actual mental patients. (10 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)