Fat,Four-Eyed,and Female: Stereotypes of Obesity,Glasses, and Gender1

In a between-subjects design, 46 male and 101 female Australian university students rated a target person described as male or female, overweight or average weight, and wearing glasses or not, on twelve 7-point rating scales. As predicted, a negative stereotype of the overweight person and a complex one of the person with glasses were found. However, there was no significant effect of sex of target except on the ratings of masculine and feminine and no interaction of sex of target with either the glasses or obesity variables. Nor did sex of subject influence the ratings. The results suggest that, although stereotypes of obesity and glasses do exist, they may be as severe for men as for women.     

Exposure effects in person perception: Familiarity,similarity, and attraction

Two experiments explored the relationship between familiarity, similarity, and attraction. In the first experiment, subjects viewed photographs of faces at various exposure frequencies and then rated them for likeableness and similarity. Familiar people were regarded by the subjects as both more likeable and more similar to themselves. The effects of familiarity on perceived similarity were primarily mediated by changes in attraction, although some evidence of a direct link between familiarity and perceived similarity was also found. In the second experiment, subjects viewed the same stimuli at a single exposure frequency, and received bogus information regarding the similarity of the people shown therein. Subsequent ratings of likeableness and perceived familiarity revealed that people who seemed similar to the subjects were regarded as both more likeable and more familiar. The effects of similarity on perceived familiarity were almost entirely mediated by changes in attraction. Some of the theoretical implications of these findings are discussed.     

IS SCIENCE THE ONLY WAY TO TRUTH?

Abstract. In the context of contemporary life questions, especially that of world peace, this essay first develops the view that truth is essentially scientific truth. Although religion gives insights for living, as science encompasses more and more of human experience it reinforces and modifies religious truths with its own firm knowledge. However, because of several limitations, it is concluded that science alone cannot give a complete account of humanity and the universe. For our first beliefs and principles we must look to other kinds of truth, which are in accord with scientific truth but go beyond scientific method in their justification.     

The influence of demand characteristics and expectancies in the measurement of salivary response

The sensitivity of salivary response measures to demand and expectancies was studied. One hundred thirty-one college students were tested for increases or decreases in salivation under one of three conditions: (a) when told to imagine the taste of another food more or less palatable than a target food; (b) when given a placebo pill that, they were told, would alter their salivation; and (c) when given direct instructions to alter their salivation. The type of instructions subjects received altered their salivation response. Specifically, subjects told to increase salivation had higher levels than those told to decrease salivation. These results suggest that salivation measures, which have been viewed by some as refractory to demand and related effects, can be controlled. Additional results of the study call for further validation of salivation as a measure of hunger and perceived food palatability.     

Time estimation as a function of recall: a test of Ornstein's theory of temporal judgement

The storage size metaphor used by Ornstein to explain subjective estimations of the length of time a task had lasted is contrasted with a recall hypothesis on the basis of the distinction between accessibility and availability. The different hypotheses were tested using a design similar to one which measured recall and recognition of common and uncommon words. Results showed that although an equivalent number of words were still in store for both groups, subjects who had learnt common words showed better recall and judged the learning task to have lasted longer. The results are interpreted as being in favour of the recall hypothesis. A preliminary study showed higher recall and longer time estimations for subjects who had performed a semantic orienting task in a levels-of-processing experiment.     

Psychological research on videotex

Videotex is considered to be a powerful, but simple to use, computer network available for use in homes, offices, and schools. Information in the form of text and color graphics can be requested and displayed on the user’s television set. While retrieval of information is the first service provided on videotex, many other services, including electronic mail, electronic shopping, and electronic funds transfer, will be developed. However, in order to achieve the popularity predicted for videotex, a number of human factors and social problems must be solved. Research concerning some of these problems, and the role psychologists can play in their solution, is described.