Convergence in the physical appearance of spouses

This study attempted to determine whether people who live with each other for a long period of time grow physically similar in their facial features. Photographs of couples when they were first married and 25 years later were judged for physical similarity and for the likelihood that they were married. The results showed that there is indeed an increase in apparent similarity after 25 years of cohabitation. Moreover, increase in resemblance was associated with greater reported marital happiness. Among the explanations of this phenomenon that were examined, one based on a theory of emotional efference emerged as promising. This theory proposes that emotional processes produce vascular changes that are, in part, regulated by facial musculature. The facial muscles are said to act as ligatures on veins and arteries, and they thereby are able to divert blood from, or direct blood to, the brain. An implication of the vascular theory of emotional efference is that habitual use of facial musculature may permanently affect the physical features of the face. The implication holds further that two people who live with each other for a longer period of time, by virtue of repeated empathic mimicry, would grow physically similar in their facial features. Kin resemblance, therefore, may not be simply a matter of common genes but also a matter of prolonged social contact.A. L.Dear A. L.: As far as physical appearance is concerned, likes seem to attract. Some experts feel that this resemblance may partly be explained by the fact that couples who've lived together for some time usually eat the same diet and share the same habits. The Joyce Brothers Column April 1985 This work was supported by Grant BNS-8505981 from the National Science Foundation. We wish to thank all those who offered their photographs for the purposes of this study, and Joseph R. Zajonc for his helpful suggestions.     

Personality correlates of the attitude toward women scale

The full and short versions of the Attitudes Towards Women Scale, the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, the Trait Anxiety Scale and the Group Embedded Figures Test were administered to 95 freshmen (male and female). Results indicated a relationship between liberal attitudes toward women and emotional stability. Scores on the Attitudes Toward Women Scale also tended to be independent of Lie scores.     

Units of episodic memory in perceptual recognition

Two studies examined the cognitive units of sentence memory using a perceptual recognition task. Four candidate cognitive units were considered: concepts, propositions, integrated propositions, and nonintegrated propositions. Subjects first received a list of acquisition sentences and then were asked to reproduce sentences presented under a white-noise mask. These masked sentences were replicas of the acquisition sentences, were formed of recombined clauses from the acquisition sentences, or were formed of recombined words from the acquisition sentences. Reproduction accuracy was employed as the dependent measure. Results supported propositions (operationalized by clauses) as cognitive units of episodic memory. No conclusive evidence was obtained for concepts, integrated propositions, or nonintegrated propositions as cognitive units. The utility of perceptual recognition tasks for studying the cognitive units of episodic memory is discussed.     

TREATMENT OF SELF-INJURIOUS BEHAVIOR USING A WATER MIST: INITIAL RESPONSE SUPPRESSION AND GENERALIZATION

This study evaluated the effects of a fine mist of water applied to the face contingent upon self-injurious behavior (SIB) exhibited by profoundly retarded persons. In Experiment 1, results of individual reversal designs showed substantial reductions in a variety of SIB's (mouthing, hand biting, skin tearing, and head banging) for seven participants. In Experiment 2, two participants who frequently bit their hands were each observed in two different settings. Following initial baselines in each setting, a series of manipulations was undertaken to compare the effects of mild verbal punishment (“No”) with those of a combined treatment (“No” plus mist procedure). Results in one setting indicated that “No” suppressed SIB only after it was first paired with the water mist. Data also suggested that, once acquired, the punishing properties of “No” could be extended to a second setting in which the mist was never applied, and that these effects could be generalized across therapists. Results of these experiments indicate that the water mist procedure may be an effective alternative to traditional punishment techniques. Although conclusions regarding generalization are limited due to the brevity of the maintenance conditions, the data suggest that treatment gains may be transferred to more acceptable forms of social punishment and reinforcement.     

Relationship arguments: An interactionist elaboration of speech acts

An earlier version of this paper was presented at the annual meeting of the Speech Communication Association, Boston, MA, November 1987.     

EFFECTS OF EXPECTATIONS AND BODILY SENSATIONS ON SELF-REPORTS OF PREMENSTRUAL SYMPTOMS

Two experiments examined expectations and bodily sensations in premenstrual symptom reports. Women took a fictitious test that indicated they were either premenstrual or intermenstrual. In Experiment 1, 48 women were studied during their premenstrual phase. In Experiment 2, 82 women were studied during either their premenstrual or intermenstrual phase. Individual differences in retrospective premenstrual distess were assessed prior to the experiments. Both experiments revealed that the higher the woman's retrospective reports of premenstrual distress, the more symptoms she reported in the lab during her premenstrual phase, regardless of what the test indicated. However, women who were told they were premenstrual reported greater symptoms than women who were told they were intermenstrual. In summary, although expectations affect women's symptom reports regardless of their actual phase and history of reported symptoms, premenstrual symptom reports cannot be dismissed as simply expectations, because some women do experience greater symptoms as they approach menstruation.