Elaine M. Wong

Bad to the bone: facial structure predicts unethical behaviour

Researchers spanning many scientific domains, including primatology, evolutionary biology and psychology, have sought to establish an evolutionary basis for morality. While researchers have identified social and cognitive adaptations that support ethical behaviour, a consensus has emerged that genetically determined physical traits are not reliable signals of unethical intentions or actions. Challenging this view, we show that genetically determined physical traits can serve as reliable predictors of unethical behaviour if they are also associated with positive signals in intersex and intrasex selection. Specifically, we identify a key physical attribute, the facial width-to-height ratio, which predicts unethical behaviour in men. Across two studies, we demonstrate that men with wider faces (relative to facial height) are more likely to explicitly deceive their counterparts in a negotiation, and are more willing to cheat in order to increase their financial gain. Importantly, we provide evidence that the link between facial metrics and unethical behaviour is mediated by a psychological sense of power. Our results demonstrate that static physical attributes can indeed serve as reliable cues of immoral action, and provide additional support for the view that evolutionary forces shape ethical judgement and behaviour.

Thinking Within the Box: The Relational Processing Style Elicited by Counterfactual Mind-Sets

By comparing reality to what might have been, counterfactuals promote a relational processing style characterized by a tendency to consider relationships and associations among a set of stimuli. As such, counterfactual mind-sets were expected to improve performance on tasks involving the consideration of relationships and associations but to impair performance on tasks requiring novel ideas that are uninfluenced by salient associations. The authors conducted several experiments to test this hypothesis. In Experiments 1a and 1b, the authors determined that counterfactual mind-sets increase mental states and preferences for thinking styles consistent with relational thought. Experiment 2 demonstrated a facilitative effect of counterfactual mind-sets on an analytic task involving logical relationships; Experiments 3 and 4 demonstrated that counterfactual mind-sets structure thought and imagination around salient associations and therefore impaired performance on creative generation tasks. In Experiment 5, the authors demonstrated that the detrimental effect of counterfactual mind-sets is limited to creative tasks involving novel idea generation; in a creative association task involving the consideration of relationships between task stimuli, counterfactual mind-sets improved performance.

Men’s Facial Width-to-Height Ratio Predicts Aggression: A Meta-Analysis

Recent research has identified men’s facial width-to-height ratio (fWHR) as a reliable predictor of aggressive tendencies and behavior. Other research, however, has failed to replicate the fWHR-aggression relationship and has questioned whether previous findings are robust. In the current paper, we synthesize existing work by conducting a meta-analysis to estimate whether and how fWHR predicts aggression. Our results indicate a small, but significant, positive relationship between men’s fWHR and aggression.

Self-Fulfilling Prophecies as a Link between Men’s Facial Width-to-Height Ratio and Behavior

The facial width-to-height ratio (fWHR) has been identified as a reliable predictor of men’s behavior, with researchers focusing on evolutionary selection pressures as the underlying mechanism explaining these relationships. In this paper, we complement this approach and examine the extent to which social processes also determine the extent to which men’s fWHR serves as a behavioral cue. Specifically, we propose that observers’ treatment of target men based on the targets’ fWHR subsequently affects behavior, leading the targets to behave in ways that are consistent with the observers’ expectations (i.e., a self-fulfilling prophecy). Results from four studies demonstrate that individuals behave more selfishly when interacting with men with greater fWHRs, and this selfish behavior, in turn, elicits selfish behavior in others.

The role of facial appearance on CEO selection after firm misconduct

We investigate a particular aspect of CEO successor trustworthiness that may be critically important after a firm has engaged in financial misconduct. Specifically, drawing on prior research that suggests that facial appearance is one critical way in which trustworthiness is signaled, we argue that leaders who convey integrity, a component of trustworthiness, will be more likely to be selected as successors after financial restatement. We predict that such appointments garner more positive reactions by external observers such as investment analysts and the media because these CEOs are perceived as having greater integrity. In an archival study of firms that have announced financial restatements, we find support for our predictions. These findings have implications for research on CEO succession, leadership selection, facial appearance, and firm misconduct.

To be enhanced, understood, distinct, or to belong?: The role of multiple identity motives in homogeneous and diverse groups

In this chapter, we argue that beyond the self-enhancement motive (i.e., the desire for a positive identity), other identity motives play a significant, yet underspecified role in homogeneous and diverse groups. In particular, we explore how the desire for self-verification, belonging, and distinctiveness offer alternative and, at times, even contradictory explanations for findings typically attributed to self-enhancement. We also consider the ways in which these motives are influenced in homogenous and diverse groups and the effects they have on group processes and performance. Through our examination, we aim to stimulate research on the role of multiple identity motives in homogenous and diverse groups.

The Face of the Next Leader: The Role of Facial Appearance on CEO Selection after Firm Misconduct

Research on CEO succession indicates that CEO characteristics that signal competence are valued during the CEO selection process. However, less is known about the role of perceptions of trustworthi...

The Gleam of the Double-Edged Sword: The Benefits of Subgroups for Organizational Ethics

Subgroup formation is a natural aspect of animal and human social behavior (e.g., Hogg & Terry, 2000; Lau & Murnighan, 1998). For example, bats divide into subgroups over roostingsite disagreements (Kerth, 2010), and people fragment into political parties based on ideology (Axelrod, 1970). Because subgroups permeate everyday interactions, researchers have examined the effects of subgroup formation; to date, they have identified primarily negative effects (e.g., decreased performance; Thatcher & Patel, 2011; Van Knippenberg, Dawson, West, & Homan, 2011). However, the pervasiveness of subgroups across social organizations suggests that there are asyet-unidentified benefits of subgroups for organizations. We studied subgroup formation in a business context and, for the first time, show that fragmentation within groups positively influences organizational ethics (i.e., standards that guide organizational behavior; Robertson, 2008; Valentine & Fleischman, 2008). Recently, researchers have theorized that subgroups could have positive effects on group-level outcomes, including satisfaction (Eggins, Haslam, & Reynolds, 2002) and performance (Bezrukova, Jehn, Zanutto, & Thatcher, 2009; Nishii & Goncalo, 2008). Subgroups may be beneficial to groups because subgroups provide social support to their members (Bezrukova, Spell, & Perry, 2010). Also, healthy competition between subgroups may facilitate discussion of multiple perspectives (Janis, 1972) and may enhance individuals’ monitoring of others’ performance, thus increasing subgroup accountability (Sherif, Harvey, White, Hood, & Sherif, 1961). These purported benefits have yet to be empirically demonstrated at the organizational level. We propose that subgroups improve organizational outcomes, such as organizational ethics, because both competition and monitoring between subgroups positively influence organizational decision making. To test this hypothesized beneficial effect of subgroups within business organizations, we examined leadership teams, which are responsible for organizational decisions. The outcome we focused on was organizational ethics, and specifically corporate social performance (CSP), because CSP reflects leadership teams’ priorities (Thomas & Simerly, 1995). CSP captures “externally oriented discretionary moral behavior” (Robertson, 2008, p. 746) and the extent to which firms address multiple stakeholders’ needs (McGuire, Dow, & Argheyd, 2003). We reasoned that although subgroups may advocate particular stakeholders’ needs, subgroup competition should foster intense scrutiny and discussion of stakeholders’ interests from multiple perspectives. Thus, we predicted that leadership teams with a high degree of subgroup fragmentation would have higher levels of CSP than would leadership teams with less subgroup fragmentation (e.g., teams composed of highly similar or highly diverse members). Although we expected the degree of subgroup fragmentation within leadership teams to directly affect CSP, an organization’s decision-making structure—and specifically, the extent to which power resides within a few individuals at the top (i.e., centralization) or many individuals at various organizational levels (i.e., decentralization; Steers, 1977)—may moderate the impact of subgroups on CSP. Decentralization is typically positively associated with organizational performance outcomes such as profitability and CSP because it increases information sharing across organizational levels (e.g., Baum & Wally, 2003; Wong, Ormiston, & Tetlock, 2011). Therefore, decentralization may be particularly beneficial in teams with greater subgroup fragmentation because it ensures that decision-making power is dispersed among subgroups; consequently, diverse viewpoints are more likely to be shared and discussed. Further, decentralization may bolster checks

Stimulating creativity in groups through mental simulation

A growing literature has recognized the importance of mental simulation (e.g., imagining alternatives to reality) in sparking creativity. In this chapter, we examine how counterfactual thinking, or imagining alternatives to past outcomes, affects group creativity. We explore these effects by articulating a model that considers the influence of counterfactual thinking on both the cognitive and social processes known to impact group creative performance. With this framework, we aim to stimulate research on group creativity from a counterfactual perspective.