Terrence G. Horgan

Gender Differences in Memory for the Appearance of Others

Five studies investigated gender differences in the accurate recall of the appearance of others. The greater interpersonal orientation and interpersonal sensitivity of women were predicted to give women an advantage over men in appearance accuracy. Under both directedand incidental-learning conditions, women more accurately recalled information concerning the appearance of their social targets than did men, participants’ memory for the appearance of female targets was more accurate than it was for male targets, and neither gender was found to be at a relative advantage in recalling the appearance of same-gender targets. The motivational and knowledge-based factors that might underlie a gender difference in appearance accuracy are discussed.

Happy affect and smiling: is their relation moderated by interpersonal power?

Three studies examined the hypothesis that the relation between self-rated happy affect and overall smiling during dyadic interactions is moderated by ones relative power. In all 3 studies, interpersonal power was experimentally manipulated, and smiling and self-reported happy affect were measured during and after the interaction, respectively. Happy affect was positively correlated with overall smiling for both low-power and high-power participants. Moreover, the correlations for both low- and high-power participants were comparable to those found when power roles were not unequal or made salient, based on analysis of the present studies as well as comparison with the previously published literature. Happy affect and overall smiling had a positive relation that was not moderated by interpersonal power.

Show versus tell? The effects of mating context on women’s memory for a man’s physical features and verbal statements

Does women’s memory for a man’s features and verbal statements vary as a function of whether they are thinking about him as a short- versus long-term mate? Evolutionary psychology suggests that a man’s physical attributes might matter more to women seeking a short- versus a long-term mate. In a laboratory experiment, female undergraduates watched a videotaped male introducing himself after they had been encouraged to think of him as either a short- or long-term mate. Women’s memory for his features and verbal statements was then tested. Compared to women in the long-term context, women in the short-term context demonstrated better memory for his features and worse memory for his verbal statements. The implications of these findings for adaptive memory are discussed.

Gender and appearance accuracy: Women’s advantage over men is restricted to dress items

ABSTRACT Which aspects of people’s appearance do women remember better than men? Women were predicted to remember the dress-related items but not the physical characteristics of targets more accurately than men, given that the former might be a more female-relevant domain of interest among perceivers. Participants watched a videotaped target and then completed a surprise test of their memory for her/his appearance. Men were as accurate as women at remembering the target’s physical features but less accurate than woman at recalling what the target was wearing. Discussion focuses on the implications of these findings for eyewitness accuracy.