Search

Three studies sampling from different populations of Canadian university and high school students tested whether individuals would sort photographs of more attractive individuals into categories representing groups from which they derived social identity or photographs of less attractive individuals into categories labeled as socially deviant. More attractive women were perceived by university students to be heterosexual. As predicted by the social identity hypothesis but not by the social deviance hypothesis, more attractive persons were perceived to be supporters of subjects' preferred political parties. Self-described introverts perceived extraverts as more attractive, a result predicted by neither hypothesis. Members of student government were perceived to be more attractive but were not identified with by university students or labeled less deviant than comparison groups. Similarly, high school students not aspiring to university careers perceived university-bound students to be more attractive, a result in opposition to predictions of both hypotheses. Findings of these and other studies indicate the pervasiveness of attributions of physical attractiveness to members of various social groups. Existing explanations, however, fail to account for obtained results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid economic and social changes in developing countries are impacting on their governments' ability to manage those changes, and local governments in these countries are becoming the core of decentralization experiments. This article examines the problems local governments face in meeting the challenges of rapid transformation and change. This paper suggests that budgeting be used as a means for strengthening local governments' abilities to deal with such changes. Until now, budgeting has not been used as a key intervention tool for strengthening local governments. A working model to assess the state of financial and related management conditions of local governments is provided. This model can serve as a useful point of reference for change agents involved in the strengthening of local governments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The theory-perseverance bias was investigated in 3 related studies. In Study 1, a test of the hypothesis that group discussion attenuates this bias, male and female Canadian undergraduates examined information suggesting that either a positive or a negative relationship exists between risk preference and firefighting performance; they were then informed that this information was fictitious. They then recorded their beliefs regarding the actual relationship between these variables (a) immediately, (b) after 7 min of thought, (c) after a 7-min group discussion, or (d) after perusing a transcript of one of the discussions. Only the participants in the first condition made biased judgments. Study 2, which used Vinokur and Burnstein's (1974) procedures and which again drew a sample of Canadian students, provided support for a persuasive-arguments explanation of this group-discussion effect. The results of Study 3, which used procedures similar to those of Study 1, ruled out a social-comparison explanation for this effect. Factors that might enhance or diminish the effects of group discussion on this bias are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In contrast to earlier studies which reported Ss selecting more or less attractive photos as being of advocates of the Feminist Movement, Ss (N = 228) from four different geographic and cultural samples selected similarly attractive photos of both attributed advocates and attributed critics. However, in all samples, Ss selected less attractive photos as being of either outspoken advocates or outspoken critics of Feminism. Neither sex of photo nor sex of Ss was a determinant in attractiveness attribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Describes Dante Gabriel Rossetti's paintings 'Beata Beatrix' and the 'New Life.' Preparatory drawings and related works of Rossetti; Influence of Dante Alighieri on Rosetti's conception of art; Interpretation of 'Beata Beatrix.'

This article focuses on the relationship between conformity and male and female attitudes toward women. This consistently found sex difference may be attributable to cultural role differences. It is assumed that North American males are taught roles of independence, and females roles demanding greater timidity, at least when interacting with strangers. It was hypothesized that sex differences in conformity behavior would be less pronounced than in earlier studies, and that there would be a negative relationship between attitudes toward the role of women and conformity. Of the 43 subjects who conformed on at least one trial, 23 were male and 20 were female. Analyses of variance performed separately on error scores and conformity scores indicated no statistically significant differences. Thus, the level of conformity appears to have been independent of sex of subjects and sex of stooges. Also the level of conformity seems not to have been dissimilar from early studies. A negative relationship between attitudes toward women and conformity in the laboratory was also predicted.