Ralph Barocas

Effects of Physical Appearance on Social Responsiveness

A behavioral analysis of the consequences of physical appearance on social behavior was undertaken with the view that physical attractiveness operates as a stimulus control variable by occasioning differential interpersonal reinforcement. Fifty-six males were requested to role-play an interaction with the taped performance of a young woman. Video-taped performances were presented under two conditions, attractive and unattractive, to Ss instructed to translate their enacted social responses into “button-presses.” The audio portions of these tapes were presented alone to two additional groups of Ss and no differences attributable to voice quality or speech content were observed. The attractive appearance evoked more social reinforcement and enhanced cognitive-evaluative ratings of calmness, popularity, and friendship desirability.

REFERRAL RATE AND PHYSICAL ATTRACTIVENESS IN THIRD-GRADE CHILDREN

Rates of referrals for psychological assessment, speech, reading, and learning disability were studied in third-grade children. Over-all, boys were referred more than girls and the children judged as physically attractive by ratings of photographs received significantly more referrals than their less attractive classmates. Differential consequences of appearance on interpersonal responsiveness are discussed with particular emphasis upon access to intervention programs as a function of appearance.

COMBINATORIAL THINKING IN ADOLESCENTS FROM GRADED AND UNGRADED CLASSROOMS

25 adolescents from graded classrooms and 25 from ungraded classrooms (academic underachievers) were matched for age, sex, and IQ. All Ss were administered a test of combinatorial reasoning. Results indicated that young people from the ungraded classrooms made significantly more errors and were more concrete in their strategies than was true for the adolescents from graded classrooms. The results were interpreted as supporting the view that proficiency with symbols is a necessary condition for the effective utilization of combinatorial logic or formal operational thought.

Some problems in the conception of sociopathy

SummaryA review of sociopathy is presented in the context of the evolution of general theories of psychopathology. Particular emphasis is placed on the examination of three problems impeding the development of a sufficient conception of sociopathy. They are (1) the inconsistent use of underlying conceptual models, (2) the relativistic definitions of deviance, and (3) the unclear relationship between personality and psychopathology. Implications for the current status of sociopathy are presented.