The vocal attractiveness stereotype: Replication and elaboration

We examined personality impressions on five NEO subscales (Costa & McCrae, 1985) as a function of senders' vocal and physical attractiveness. There were four major findings: (a) both vocal and physical attractiveness produced more favorable ratings, and these effects were more pronounced in a single channel (voice only or face only, respectively) than in a multiple channel (voice plus face); (b) the influence of attractiveness, both vocal and physical, was moderated by subscale—the effect of vocal attractiveness was most pronounced for Neuroticism and nonexistent for Agreeableness; the effect of physical attractiveness was most pronounced for Extraversion and nonexistent for Conscientiousness; (c) a vocal attractiveness × physical attractiveness interaction indicated that effects of the two stereotypes were particularly strong for senders who were attractive on both channels; (d) the effects of attractiveness, both vocal and physical, diminished when judges were familiar with the target persons.This research was supported in part by National Institute of Mental Health Grant RO1 MH 40498.     

Beautiful stereotypes: the relationship between physical attractiveness and mixed race identity

The idea that mixed race individuals are physically attractive is a commonly accepted stereotype. Past research in which whites (Australians and British) and Asians (Japanese) were asked to rate the attractiveness of a racially heterogeneous group of faces has shown that mixed race phenotype was judged the most attractive. In this study, I examine whether there is empirical evidence for this Biracial Beauty Stereotype in the United States. Using the data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health, I examine self and interview ratings of respondents' physical attractiveness and, in an extension of the previous literature, conduct multinomial logistic regressions to ascertain whether level of attractiveness is associated with different racial identification choices for mixed race individuals. My results indicate that there is in fact a belief in mixed race individuals' superior beauty in America; but, with regard to identity, beauty is not associated with identity for all mixed race groups.     

Lesbian and bisexual women's judgments of the attractiveness of different body types

Two studies were conducted using the Internet with 209 and 141 women respectively who reported themselves as being lesbian or bisexual, but not heterosexual. Women were presented with 8 figures in which weight (slender or heavy), waist‐to‐hip ratio (0.7 or 1.0), and breast size (small or large) were varied independently. Participants rated figures on a 20‐point scale for attractiveness, healthiness, femininity, kindness, and desirability for both short‐term and long‐term relationships. These ratings were summed to give a total preference score as a factor analysis showed that all ratings loaded positively on one factor. In the second study, women were also asked to rate themselves on the degree to which they were gender‐conforming or gender‐nonconforming. In both studies, participants preferred the heavy figure with the 0.7 waist‐to‐hip ratio and large breasts. The same figure with small breasts was the next most preferred. In the second study, there was no difference between gender‐conforming and gender‐nonconforming women in preference scores. We believe that a preference on the part of nonheterosexual women for heavy figures may reflect more comfort with heavier body weight as well as a rejection of what may be seen as an inappropriate societal fixation on excessive thinness.     

The effects of target attractiveness on men's sexual arousal in response to erotic auditory stimuli

Previous research on sexual arousal resulting from auditory stimuli indicates that visual imagery acts as a mediator between stimulus input and resulting arousal. This leads to the question of whether imagery, and subsequent arousal, can be manipulated by providing differing information to hold in semantic memory. This research hypothesizes that attractive images held within semantic memory and pattern-matched with an erotic auditory stimulus facilitate higher self-reported arousal, and at a more rapid rate, than unattractive images. Participants in an "Unattractive" condition experienced slower rates and lower mean levels of arousal in response to an auditory stimulus, compared to participants in an "Attractive" or "No Picture" condition. No differences existed between groups in maximum arousal scores or the tendency to visualize the target during the listening task. Implications for the role of imagery in sexual response, possible measurement issues, and suggestions for future research are addressed in the discussion.     

The effects of crowding on the behavior and perception of 10-year-old boys

The present study integrated observational and self-report methods to investigate the effects of low and high spatial density on 10-year-old boys in an experimental setting. The differential effects of density on acquaintances versus strangers and on close versus far personal-space boys were analyzed. From a factor analysis of variables that were either rated during a free-play session or were scored responses from a postexperimental interview, five factors emerged: (1)Discomfort and Dislike of Room; (2)Active Play, (3)Avoidance, (4)Positive Group Interactions, and (5)Anger and Aggression.This research was funded by Grant MH 25 522-01 from the National Institute of Mental Health, Applied Research Branch. The authors wish to thank Irwin Altman and Charles Wenar for their valuable comments, Tom Wickens for his statistical assistance, Jeanne Tschann for her computer assistance, and Denise Kennelly, Dorothy Ruby, Sherry Drobner, Anne Grenn, Greg Gerritsen, David Bornstein, Laurie Kiguchi, Werner Feible, Mary Miller, Debra Kimes, and Nancy Kitchens for their assistance. We also thank the principals and teachers at Bay View Elementary School, Gault Elementary School, Westlake Elementary School, and Branciforte Elementary School for their cooperation with us on this study.     

The Role of Joint Control in the Manded Selection Responses of Both Vocal and Non-vocal Children with Autism

In the present study, joint-control training was applied when teaching manded selection responses to children with autism. Four vocal children with autism participated in the first experiment, two males (ages seven and eight) and two females (ages seven and nine). The results showed that it was only after object-word naming was trained under joint control that the symmetrical performance of manded selection responses appeared with no additional training. Four non-vocal children with autism participated in the second experiment, two males (ages six and seven), and two females (ages twelve and thirteen). These results also showed that it was only after the joint tact/self-mimetic/sequelic control training that the symmetrical performance of manded selection responses appeared with no additional training.     

Person perception effects of computer-simulated male and female head movement

Sixteen male and sixteen female student observers were shown computer-simulated sequences of male and female head movement based on time-series protocols of real-life interactions and were asked to rate their impressions of the computer actors on the screen. While in one experimental condition the sex of the movement origin matched the sex of the computer model, the movement protocols were exchanged in the second condition. Impression formation effects were analyzed in a three-factorial ANOVA design, with the independent factors (1) sex of observer, (2) sex of computer model, and (3) sex of movement origin. The results point to strong main effects of the sex of movement origin. Male behavior was perceived as more active and mobile, whether displayed by a male or female computer model. However, three-way interactions indicate that male and female head movement was evaluated differently by male and female observers depending on the sex of the computer model. Counterintuitively, female computer models scored higher in male observers' judgments of friendliness and attractiveness when displaying male head movement.     

Social stereotypes,personality traits and regional perception displaced: Attitudes towards the ‘new’ quotatives in the U.K.1

This article investigates the attitudes of British respondents towards the quotatives be like and go. The results of a matched guise test and a social attitudes survey are presented and compared with the findings of studies on be like and go‐perception in the U.S. It is found that the perceptual load of the two quotatives on both sides of the Atlantic is similar in some respects and different in others. This effectively means that, in cases of borrowing, the stereotypes attached to linguistic items are not simply taken over along with the surface item. Rather, the adoption of global resources is a more agentive process, whereby attitudes are re‐evaluated and re‐created by speakers of the borrowing variety. It is suggested that attitudinal information presents an important backdrop to distributional studies in cases of global language trends.     

The effects of media slant on public perception of an organization in crisis

This study investigates the effects of mainstream media coverage on public perception of an organizational program in crisis. A survey was administered via Qualtrics using a web-based network sampling approach. The survey contained two mainstream media clips, one slanted negatively and the other slanted positively regarding an incident within the organizational program. Participants viewed both clips and answered questions regarding their perceptions of the program immediately after viewing each clip. Order of clip presentation was counterbalanced. Results of a mixed-model ANOVA revealed main effects for both media slant and presentation order on perceptions of the program; no statistically significant interaction was found between presentation order and media slant. Recommendations for practice, limitations and directions for future research are provided.     

When Physical and Vocal Attractiveness Differ: Effects on Favorability of Interpersonal Impressions

Previous research has shown that targets whose physical and vocal attractiveness do not match (one channel being high and the other being low in attractiveness) elicit more negative impressions. The present study replicated this result and showed that the mediator and, hence, the reason for this effect is not simply a perception that the face and voice are discrepant but rather some disappointment with the less attractive channel. The finding that perceivers are overly disappointed with the less attractive channel is consistent with a large literature indicating that effects of negative events such as unattractive face or voice are stronger than effects of positive events.     

Children's reliance on situational and vocal expression of emotions: Consistent and conflicting cues

The aim of the present study was to investigate developmental differences in reliance on situational versus vocal cues for recognition of emotions. Turkish preschool, second, and fifth grade children participated in the study. Children listened to audiotape recordings of situations between a mother and a child where the emotional cues implied by the context of a vignette and the vocal expression were either consistent or inconsistent. After listening to each vignette, participants were questioned about the content of the incident and were asked to make a judgment about the emotion of the mother referred to in the recording. Angry, happy, and neutral emotions were utilized. Results revealed that 1) recognition of emotions improved with age, and 2) children relied more on the channel depicting either anger or happiness than on the channel depicting neutrality.     

The European Union in the flows of international students: attractiveness and inconsistency

This paper aims to describe the overall pattern of flows of international students and to determine the factors that can explain the variation of countries' attractiveness. In a second step, it assesses the position of the European Union as a whole in these flows at the global level. Is the EU strong enough in the global competition to attract the best brains? Besides, it shows how attractiveness factors can vary according to the profile of a sample of European Union member countries. In the third section of the paper, we raise some reflexions on the relations of the EU with its neighbourhood with respect to the flows of international students. In fact, the EU may not be able to maintain its status as a major power if it does not better regulate its relations with neighbour countries, especially in the domain of higher education and students' mobility.     

The beneficial effects of different types of exercise interventions on motor and cognitive functions in older age: a systematic review

The decline in cognitive and motor functions with age affects the performance of the aging healthy population in many daily life activities. Physical activity appears to mitigate this decline or even improve motor and cognitive abilities in older adults. The current systematic review will focus mainly on behavioral studies that look into the dual effects of different types of physical training (e.g., balance training, aerobic training, strength training, group sports, etc.) on cognitive and motor tasks in older adults with no known cognitive or motor disabilities or disease. Our search retrieved a total of 1095 likely relevant articles, of which 41 were considered for full-text reading and 19 were included in the review after the full-text reading. Overall, observations from the 19 included studies conclude that improvements on both motor and cognitive functions were found, mainly in interventions that adopt physical-cognitive training or combined exercise training. While this finding advocates the use of multimodal exercise training paradigms or interventions to improve cognitive-motor abilities in older adults, the sizeable inconsistency among training protocols and endpoint measures complicates the generalization of this finding.     

The Voice of Deception: Vocal Strategies of Naive and Able Liars

The aim of this research was to analyze the main vocal cues and strategies used by a liar. 31 male university students were asked to raise doubts in an expert in law about a picture. The subjects were required to describe the picture in three experimental conditions: telling the truth (T) and lying to a speaker when acquiescent (L1) and when suspicious (L2). The utterances were then subjected to a digitized acoustic analysis in order to measure nonverbal vocal variables. Verbal variables were also analyzed (number of words, eloquency and disfluency index). Results showed that deception provoked an increment in F₀, a greater number of pauses and words, and higher eloquency and fluency indexes. The F₀ related to the two types of lie—prepared and unprepared—identified three classes of liars: good liars, tense liars (more numerous in L1), and overcontrolled liars (more numerous in L2). It is argued that these differences are correlated to the complex task of lying and the need to control one's emotions during deception. The liar's effort to control his/her voice, however, can lead to his/her tone being overcontrolled or totally lacking in control (leakage). Finally, the research forwards an explanation on the strategies used by the good liar and in particular treats the self-deception hypothesis.