Threat and Social Choice: When Eye Size Matters.
The Environmental Security Hypothesis (T. F. Pettijohn II & A. Tesser, 1999) indicates that as environmental threat increases, the desirability of persons with neotenous features should decrease. In 2 experiments (Ns = 96, 80), the authors tested this hypothesis and a mediation account that was base...
| Published in: | Journal of Social Psychology Vol. 145; no. 5; pp. 547 - 571 |
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| Main Authors: | , |
| Format: | Article |
| Published: |
Taylor & Francis Ltd
October 2005
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| Summary: | The Environmental Security Hypothesis (T. F. Pettijohn II & A. Tesser, 1999) indicates that as environmental threat increases, the desirability of persons with neotenous features should decrease. In 2 experiments (Ns = 96, 80), the authors tested this hypothesis and a mediation account that was based on the attributions made about neotenous and mature-featured others. In each experiment, the authors manipulated threat and gave participants the choice of a neotenous (increased eye-size) or mature (decreased eye-size) female partner. The authors tested mediation in Study I by experimentally uncoupling attributions from facial features and in Study 2 by manipulating the participant's dependence on his or her partner. Both studies provided evidence for the Environmental Security Hypothesis: Preference for partners with neotenous facial features decreased under high threat. Support for the role of attributions as mediators was mixed. An alternative interpretation of the results indicates the possibility that responses to facial features may depend on nonconscious processing. Reprinted by permission of the publisher. |
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