Attractiveness

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Distribution within Life Sciences

Kinds of Attractiveness

  • facial attractiveness
  • male attractiveness
  • organizational attractiveness
  • physical attractiveness


  • Selected Abstracts


    EFFECTS OF ATTRACTIVENESS, OPPORTUNITY AND ACCESSIBILITY TO BURGLARS ON RESIDENTIAL BURGLARY RATES OF URBAN NEIGHBORHOODS

    CRIMINOLOGY, Issue 3 2003
    WIM BERNASCO
    This study assesses the effects of attractiveness, opportunity and accessibility to burglars on the residential burglary rates of urban neighborhoods, combining two complementary lines of investigation that have been following separate tracks in the literature. As a complement to standard measures of attractiveness and opportunity, we introduce and specify a spatial measure of the accessibility of neighborhoods to burglars. Using data on about 25, 000 attempted and completed residential burglaries committed in the period 1996,2001 in the city of The Hague, the Netherlands, we study the variation in burglary rates across its 89 residential neighborhoods. Our results suggest that all three factors, attractiveness, opportunity and accessibility to burglars, pull burglars to their target neighborhoods. [source]


    THE EFFECTS OF GENOTYPE, AGE, AND SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT ON MALE ORNAMENTATION, MATING BEHAVIOR, AND ATTRACTIVENESS

    EVOLUTION, Issue 11 2005
    Lisa K. Miller
    Abstract The traits thought to advertise genetic quality are often highly susceptible to environmental variation and prone to change with age. These factors may either undermine or reinforce the potential for advertisement traits to signal quality depending on the magnitude of age-dependent expression, environmental variation, and genotype-age and genotype-environment interaction. Measurements of the magnitude of these effects are thus a necessary step toward assessing the implications of age dependence and environmental variability for the evolution of signals of quality. We conducted a longitudinal study of male guppies (Poecilia reticulata) from 22 full-sibling families. Each fish was assigned at maturity to one of three treatments in order to manipulate his allocation of resources to reproduction: a control in which the male was kept alone, a courtship-only treatment in which he could see and court a female across a clear partition, and a mating treatment in which he interacted freely with a female. We measured each male's size, ornamental color patterns, courtship, attractiveness to females, and mating success at three ages. Size was influenced by treatment and age-treatment interactions, indicating that courtship and mating may impose costs on growth. Tail size and color patterns were influenced by age but not by treatment, suggesting fixed age-dependent trajectories in these advertisement traits. By contrast, display rate and attempted sneak copulation rate differed among treatments but not among ages, suggesting greater plasticity of these behavioral traits. As a result of the different patterns of variation in ornamentation and behavior, male attractiveness and mating success responded to male age, treatment, and the interaction between age and treatment. Neither age nor treatment obscured the presence of genetic variation, and the genetic relationship between male ornamentation and attractiveness remained the same among treatments. Our findings suggest that neither age-dependent variation nor environmentally induced variation in reproductive effort is likely to undermine the reliability of male signaling. [source]


    Fluctuating Asymmetry of Responders Affects Offers in the Ultimatum Game Oppositely According to Attractiveness or Need as Perceived by Proposers

    ETHOLOGY, Issue 7 2009
    Darine Zaatari
    The Ultimatum Game (UG) measures cooperative tendencies in humans. A proposer offers to split a given sum of money between self and a responder, who may accept or reject the offer. If accepted, each receives the proposed split; if rejected, nobody receives anything. We studied the effect of the putative responder's degree of facial symmetry (fluctuating asymmetry, FA) on the offer he/she received in opposite-sexed UGs. Symmetry is an important measure of biological quality so subjects were expected to receive higher offers when symmetrical than asymmetrical. In a sample of Jamaicans, individuals played two UGs with opposite-sexed responders, a symmetrical photo of a Lebanese and an asymmetrical one. Individuals do indeed give more to symmetrical responders (p = 0.032). When subjects are asked their motivation, a striking dichotomy emerges: those who cite ,attractiveness' as a motive, give strongly to symmetrical responders while those citing ,need' invariably give more to asymmetrical ones (p < 0.0001). Females also show a nearly significant tendency to cite need as a motive more often than do males. [source]


    Changes in the Frequency Structure of a Mating Call Decrease Its Attractiveness to Females in the Cricket Frog Acris crepitans blanchardi

    ETHOLOGY, Issue 8 2001
    Klaudia Witte
    In many species, females often prefer male signals that are more complex than in nature or beyond the range of calls naturally produced by conspecific males in spectral, temporal and amplitude features. In this study we examined both the ability of females to recognize signals outside the normal range of spectral frequency variation seen in male advertisement calls, and the influence of increasing call complexity by adding spectral components to enhance the attractiveness of a male advertisement call in the cricket frog Acris crepitans blanchardi, while keeping its amplitude constant. We used two different natural male call groups and created the following synthetic call groups: with a dominant frequency at 3500 Hz, i.e. at the normal dominant frequency with a frequency band within the sensitivity range of the inner ear basilar papilla; with a dominant frequency at 700 Hz, i.e. outside the normal range of variation and with a frequency band outside the sensitivity range of the basilar papilla but within the range of the amphibian papilla; with two dominant frequencies, one at 700 Hz and another at 3500 Hz, stimulating the basilar and amphibian papilla simultaneously. In double choice experiments we tested all combinations of the three call groups, and we tested the 3500 Hz call groups against the same natural call groups. Additionally, we tested the 700 Hz call groups against white noise to see whether these signals are meaningful in mate choice. Females preferred 3500 Hz call groups over all other call groups. The synthetic call group was as attractive to females as the same natural call group. The 700 Hz call group was not meaningful in mate choice. The combined (700 Hz + 3500 Hz) call group was significantly less attractive to females than the 3500 Hz call group. Thus, making a call more spectrally complex without increasing its overall amplitude decreases its attractiveness to cricket frog females. [source]


    Lexical studies of Filipino person descriptors: adding personality-relevant social and physical attributes

    EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PERSONALITY, Issue 4 2008
    Shellah Myra Imperio
    Abstract Lexical studies have focused on traits. In the Filipino language, we investigated whether additional dimensions can be identified when personality-relevant terms for social roles, statuses and effects, plus physical attributes, are included. Filipino students (N,=,496) rated themselves on 268 such terms, plus 253 markers of trait and evaluative dimensions. We identified 10 dimensions of social and physical attributes,Prominence, Uselessness, Attractiveness, Respectability, Uniqueness, Destructiveness, Presentableness, Strength, Dangerousness and Charisma. Most of these dimensions did not correspond in a one-to-one manner to Filipino or alternative trait models (Big Five, HEXACO, ML7). However, considerable redundancy was observed between the social and physical attribute dimensions and trait and evaluative dimensions. Thus, social and physical attributes communicate information about personality traits, and vice versa. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


    Organizational Attractiveness of Foreign-Based Companies: A country of origin perspective

    INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SELECTION AND ASSESSMENT, Issue 3 2010
    Fabian Jintae Froese
    Attracting high-quality applicants is a crucial activity for the success of an organization. In today's globalized world, multinational enterprises need to attract talent not only in the domestic market but also in overseas markets. This exploratory study introduces the country of origin image framework from marketing literature to the context of recruitment in order to examine why foreign companies are (not) attractive to local job seekers, exemplified by the case of Japanese and US companies in Vietnam. Survey results of more than 300 participants confirmed the robustness of our postulated framework. Symbolic images such as the technological development and images of people of a country predicted the attractiveness of foreign companies above and beyond instrumental images of job characteristics. Detailed explanations and practical implications are provided. [source]


    Symbolic Attributes and Organizational Attractiveness: The moderating effects of applicant personality

    INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SELECTION AND ASSESSMENT, Issue 1 2009
    Bert Schreurs
    The present study examined the moderating influence of the Big Five personality factors in the relationship between five symbolic, trait-based inferences about organizations (Sincerity, Excitement, Competence, Prestige, and Ruggedness) and organizational attractiveness. Drawing on the similarity-attraction paradigm, six hypotheses were formulated, stating that the relationship between trait-based inferences and organizational attractiveness would be stronger for persons who perceive the organization as similar to them. Results of moderated regression analyses on data from a sample of 245 prospective applicants for the Belgian military revealed two significant two-way interactions, showing that Sincerity was positively related to organizational attractiveness only for individuals high on Conscientiousness, and that the relationship between Excitement and organizational attractiveness is more positive for individuals high on Openness to Experience. Practical implications, strengths and limitations, as well as directions for further research are presented. [source]


    Screening Job Applicants: The Impact of Physical Attractiveness and Application Quality

    INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SELECTION AND ASSESSMENT, Issue 2 2000
    Lucy M. Watkins
    The present study investigated the impact of physical attractiveness and résuméquality on the evaluation of job applicants in the screening phase of the selection process. One hundred and eighty participants were asked to imagine they were a recruiting officer and to screen an application for the position of graduate trainee manager. Participants read a job advertisement and one of two versions of a curriculum vitae, which differed in quality. Attached to the front page of each curriculum vitae was a passport-sized head-and-shoulders photograph of either an average or an attractive female. A control condition with no attached photograph was also included. Participants judged the likelihood with which they would offer an interview to the applicant, the quality of the application, and the likely starting salary they would offer the applicant. Results indicated that attractiveness had no impact when the quality of the application was high but that attractiveness was an advantage when the application was mediocre. When the résumé quality was average the attractive applicant was evaluated more positively than the control, no photograph, applicant; an attractive photograph boosted the evaluation of a mediocre application. Results are discussed in terms of discrimination and implications for the field of human resource management. [source]


    Social Attractiveness and Blame

    JOURNAL OF APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 9 2009
    Mark D. Alicke
    Blame attributions are influenced by various extralegal factors, although at present there is no compelling evidence to link what may be one of the most pervasive sources of bias in blame judgments,an actor's social attractiveness or likableness,to blame attributions. We conducted 2 studies that varied an actor's social attractiveness and assessed its influence on blame. Social attractiveness influenced blame ratings in both studies, and perceptions of the actor's likableness mediated this effect. [source]


    The White,Coat Effect: Physician Attire and Perceived Authority, Friendliness, and Attractiveness

    JOURNAL OF APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 12 2004
    Gary L. Brase
    Although previous studies have evaluated the effects of attire on doctor,patient interaction, the common assumption of a tradeoff between perceptions of medical authority/ status versus trustworthiness/openness has not been established. Thirty,eight male and 40 female participants rated their perceptions of same, and opposite,gender models who all were identified as doctors, but who were wearing different attire. The results indicate that authority and trust are not opposing factors and that a white coat and formal attire are clearly superior to casual attire. Additionally, perceptions of attractiveness of same, and opposite,gender doctors were rated, finding gender differences in perceptions different from, but theoretically similar to, prior findings. For females rating male models, perceptions of authority and attractiveness appear to be related. [source]


    Trait-Specific Dependence in Romantic Relationships

    JOURNAL OF PERSONALITY, Issue 5 2002
    Bruce J. Ellis
    ABSTRACT Informed by three theoretical frameworks,trait psychology, evolutionary psychology, and interdependence theory,we report four investigations designed to develop and test the reliability and validity of a new construct and accompanying multiscale inventory, the Trait-Specific Dependence Inventory (TSDI). The TSDI assesses comparisons between present and alternative romantic partners on major dimensions of mate value. In Study 1, principal components analyses revealed that the provisional pool of theory-generated TSDI items were represented by six factors: Agreeable/Committed, Resource Accruing Potential, Physical Prowess, Emotional Stability, Surgency, and Physical Attractiveness. In Study 2, confirmatory factor analysis replicated these results on a different sample and tested how well different structural models fit the data. Study 3 provided evidence for the convergent and discriminant validity of the six TSDI scales by correlating each one with a matched personality trait scale that did not explicitly incorporate comparisons between partners. Study 4 provided further validation evidence, revealing that the six TSDI scales successfully predicted three relationship outcome measures,love, time investment, and anger/upset,above and beyond matched sets of traditional personality trait measures. These results suggest that the TSDI is a reliable, valid, and unique construct that represents a new trait-specific method of assessing dependence in romantic relationships. The construct of trait-specific dependence is introduced and linked with other theories of mate value. [source]


    Ethanol-Induced Social Facilitation in Adolescent Rats: Role of Endogenous Activity at Mu Opioid Receptors

    ALCOHOLISM, Issue 6 2009
    Elena I. Varlinskaya
    Background:, Ethanol consumption is considerably elevated during adolescence. Attractiveness of alcohol for humans during the adolescent developmental period is based, in part, on its ability to induce social facilitation,a facilitation of social interactions not only evident in human adolescents but also in adolescent rats. Endogenous opioid systems are among the multiple neural systems implicated in the behavioral and reinforcing effects of ethanol and may play a substantial role in modulating stimulatory effects of low doses of ethanol on social behavior during adolescence. This possibility was explored in the present study through the use of an animal model of peer-directed social behavior. Methods:, Sprague,Dawley rats were challenged early in adolescence with saline or ethanol intraperitoneally (i.p.), placed into an individual holding cage for 30 minutes, and then tested in a familiar situation with a nonmanipulated partner of the same age and sex. In Experiment 1, each test subject was injected subcutaneously with one of the three doses of a nonselective opioid antagonist naloxone (0, 0.05, and 0.1 mg/kg), 5 minutes prior to the social interaction test and 25 minutes following challenge with saline or ethanol (0.5 g/kg), whereas in Experiment 2 animals were challenged with one of the six doses of ethanol (0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1.0, and 1.25 g/kg) prior to injection of either saline or naloxone (0.05 mg/kg). In Experiment 3, animals were pretreated i.p. with the selective ,-opioid antagonist CTOP (0, 0.01, 0.025, 0.05, and 0.1 mg/kg) 30 minutes prior to challenge with saline or ethanol (0.5 g/kg). Results:, Low doses of ethanol (0.5 and 0.75 g/kg) produced social facilitation, as indexed by significant increases in play fighting and social investigation. Both doses of naloxone and the three highest doses of CTOP blocked the stimulatory effects of ethanol on play fighting but not on social investigation. These effects were not associated with alterations in ethanol pharmacokinetic properties or with shifts in the biphasic ethanol dose,response curve. Conclusions:, Ethanol-induced facilitation of social play behavior seen in adolescent animals is mediated in part through ethanol-induced release of endogenous ligands for the ,-opioid receptor or an ethanol-associated enhancement of sensitivity of these receptors for their endogenous ligands. [source]


    The Relation Between Popularity and Aggressive, Destructive, and Norm-Breaking Behaviors: Moderating Effects of Athletic Abilities, Physical Attractiveness, and Prosociality

    JOURNAL OF RESEARCH ON ADOLESCENCE, Issue 3 2009
    Jan Kornelis Dijkstra
    The aim of this study was to examine the relations between popularity and different types of aggressive, destructive, and norm-breaking behaviors in a large cross-sectional sample of adolescents (N=3,312, M age=13.60). We were interested in the extent to which the relations of these behaviors with popularity were moderated by positive features (i.e., athletic abilities, physical attractiveness, and prosociality). From a goal-framing perspective, it was argued that positive features evoke positive affect, which in turn enhances the positive impact of aggressive, destructive, and norm-breaking behaviors on popularity. The results supported our notion that these latter behaviors are especially related to popularity in adolescents who also exhibit positive features. [source]


    Poly(propylene carbonate), old CO2 Copolymer with New Attractiveness

    MACROMOLECULAR SYMPOSIA, Issue 1 2007
    Gerrit A. Luinstra
    Abstract Summary: The catalytic synthesis of poly(propylene carbonate) (PPC) from propylene oxide and CO2 is mediated by zinc glutarate and chromium salen complexes. The determined solid state structure of the zinc glutarate was taken to model the polymerisation of ethylene oxide. It has a low activation energy for a reaction path involving two zinc atoms, where one binds the nucleophilic alkoxy chain end and one activates the epoxide. A similar pathway may operate in the alternating copolymerization PO/CO2 as is shown in the homogeneous chromium salen catalyst system. The material profile was determined of PPC with 93% carbonate linkages. A study of the transparent blend with poly(lactic acid) (PLA) shows that the polymers are not miscible, but rather compatible as they are finely dispersed and show linear behaviour in the mechanic properties. The permeability of oxygen, carbon dioxide and water of the composite PPC/PLA are also reported. [source]


    Organizational Attractiveness for Prospective Applicants: A Person,Organisation Fit Perspective

    APPLIED PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 1 2001
    Filip Lievens
    This study investigates which of four objective organisational characteristics determine the attractiveness of organisations for prospective applicants and the degree to which the Big Five personality factors moderate the effects of some of these organisational attributes. To this end, 359 final-year students (engineering and business majors, 71% men, mean age = 22.4 years) read short descriptions of organisations. These descriptions varied on four organisational characteristics (i.e. organisation size, level of internationalisation, pay mix, and level of centralisation). The students had to indicate their attraction to the organisation. Additionally, they provided self-ratings on a personality inventory. The results show that prospective applicants are more attracted to large-sized, medium-sized, decentralised, and multinational organisations. Next, the results indicate that several personality characteristics moderate the effects of organisational characteristics on attractiveness. For instance, the factor conscientiousness moderates the effect of organisational size, with subjects high on conscientiousness being more attracted to large-sized organisations. The factor openness/intellect moderates the effect of internationalisation, with subjects high on openness/intellect being more attracted to multinational organisations. Ca travail s'attache a` de´terminer lesquelles de quatre dimensions organisationnelles objectives sont a` l'origine de l'attirance exerce´e par les organisations sur de futurs candidats. Il cherche aussi a` pre´ciser dans quelle mesure les facteurs de personnalite´ du Big Five interfe`rent avec certaines de ces caracte´ristiques organisationnelles. Pour ce faire, 359 e´tudiants en fin d'e´tudes d'inge´nieur et de management (masculins a` 71 % et d'un âge moyen de 22,4 ans) ont lu de courtes descriptions d'organisations. Ces descriptions renvoyaient a` quatre dimensions organisationnelles, a` savoir la taille de l'entreprise, le degre´ d'internationalisation, les syste`mes de re´mune´ration et le niveau de centralisation. Les e´tudiants devaient mentionner si l'organisation les attirait. En outre, ils s'auto-e´valuaient a` travers un inventaire de personnalite´. Les re´sultats montrent que les futurs candidats sont plus attire´s par les organisations multinationales, de´centralise´es, de taille moyenne ou grande. Il est e´galement apparu que certaines caracte´ristiques personnelles modifient les effets des dimensions organisationnelles sur l'attirance. Par example, le facteur "sens des responsabilite´s" ("conscientiousness") agit sur l'impact de la taille de l'organisation, les sujets pre´sentant un sens des responsabilite´s e´leve´ se montrant plus attire´s par les grandes organisations. Le facteur "ouverture d'esprit" modifie les effets de l'internationalisation, les individus haut situe´s sur l'ouverture d'esprit e´tant davantage se´duits par les multinationales. [source]


    Corruption and Foreign Direct Investment Attractiveness in Asia

    ASIAN POLITICS AND POLICY, Issue 2 2009
    Jung-Yeop Woo
    There have been debates on how political corruption may affect foreign direct investment (FDI) attractiveness. Some scholars argue that corruption increases economic uncertainty due to arbitrariness and thereby affects FDI negatively. On the other hand, another group of scholars contends that corruption leads to greater FDI because it can create a business environment that is more friendly to foreign investors. In this article, we empirically test the relationship between the level of corruption and FDI attractiveness in eight non-OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) Asian countries (Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Thailand) using data for the perceived corruption level (according to the International Country Risk Guide data set) available from Political Risk Services, a private international investment risk service company, for 1984,2004. The analysis reveals that corruption in non-OECD countries in Asia generally harms FDI attractiveness. [source]


    Interaction Appearance Theory: Changing Perceptions of Physical Attractiveness Through Social Interaction

    COMMUNICATION THEORY, Issue 1 2002
    Kelly Fudge Albada
    Can the effectiveness of your social interaction with a prospective romantic partner make him or her see you as more physically attractive? If so, under what conditions does this process occur? These questions prompted the development of a theoretical perspective to explain this process. Interaction appearance theory (IAT) requires (a) a set of beliefs about the importance and interdependence of physical attractiveness and social interaction in a satisfactory romantic relationship; (b) an initial perception of the other's physical attractiveness that is not high enough to trigger the pursuit of a romantic relationship but is not low enough to preclude it; (c) social interaction that is eventually perceived as more desirable than the perception of the other's physical attractiveness; and (d) bringing the discrepant perceptions into alignment by actually seeing the other person as more physically attractive. While providing support for the theory, the interviews in Study 1 also provided insights into how the process can vary. Study 2, using a sample of new daters, provided quantitative support for the belief structure. Study 3, using diaries, found changes in perceptions of a partner's physical attractiveness to be a function of positive and negative interactions. These studies provided support for IAT and the idea that perceptions of physical attractiveness can be changed by social interaction. [source]


    When Online Meets Offline: An Expectancy Violations Theory Perspective on Modality Switching

    JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION, Issue 1 2008
    Artemio Ramirez Jr
    The present study examines the occurrence and timing of modality switching (MS) from the perspective of expectancy violations theory. The results indicate that, relative to continuing to interact through computer-mediated communication, participants rated the social information (partner behavior and physical appearance/attractiveness) acquired by MS as an expectancy violation, although their evaluations varied as a function of the timing of the switch. Participants evaluated the social information more positively and uncertainty-reducing following short-term online associations but more negatively and uncertainty-provoking following long-term ones compared to remaining online. Moreover, social information acquired through MS, irrespective of the timing, was rated as more relationally important. Implications and limitations of the results as well as directions for future research are discussed. Résumé Passer d,en ligne à hors ligne: La théorie de la violation des attentes face au changement de modalité La présente étude examine l'occurrence et le moment où apparaît un changement de modalité au vu de la théorie de la violation des attentes (expectancy violation theory). Les résultats indiquent que relativement au fait de continuer à interagir en communiquant par ordinateur, les participants ont considéré que l,information sociale (comportement du partenaire et apparence physique/attrait) obtenue par un changement de modalitéétait une violation des attentes, bien que leurs évaluations aient varié en fonction du moment du changement. Les participants ont évalué l'information sociale plus positivement et l,ont caractérisée comme réduisant l'incertitude à la suite d,associations en ligne à court terme, mais l'ont évaluée plus négativement et caractérisée comme provoquant de l,incertitude à la suite d'associations en ligne à long terme, comparativement à ceux qui n,ont pas effectué de changement de modalité. De plus, l'information sociale acquise par le changement de modalité, indépendamment du moment auquel celui-ci s,est fait, fut considérée plus importante pour la relation. Les implications et les limites des résultats sont commentées, de même que sont données des indications pour la recherche future. Mots clés : théorie de la violation des attentes, perspective hyperpersonnelle, théorie du traitement social de l'information, communication par ordinateur Abstract Online trifft Offline: Modalitätswechsel aus Sicht der Erwartungsverletzungstheorie (Expectancy Violation Theory) Die vorliegende Studie untersucht das Auftreten und den zeitlichen Ablauf eines Modalitätswechsels aus Sicht der Erwartungsverletzungstheorie (Expactancy Violation Theory). Die Ergebnisse deuten darauf hin, dass im Rahmen einer Interaktion durch CvK, Teilnehmer soziale Information (Partnerverhalten und physisches Aussehen/Attraktivität), die sie durch einen Modalitätswechsel erhalten haben, als Erwartungsverletzung bewerten - ihre Einschätzungen variieren allerdings nach dem zeitlichen Ablaufs dieses Wechsels. Teilnehmer bewerteten die soziale Information nach einer kurzzeitigen Online-Bindung positiver und als stärker Ungewissenheit reduzierend, aber negativer und Unsicherheit auslösend nach langfristiger Online-Bindung im Vergleich zum dauerhaft Online bleiben. Darüber hinaus wurden soziale Information, die im Zuge des Modalitätswechsels erworben wurden, unabhängig vom zeitlichen Ablauf als wichtiger eingeschätzt. Schlussfolgerungen und Einschränkungen dieser Ergebnisse sowie die Ausrichtung zukünftiger Forschung werden diskutiert. Resumen Cuando Alguien en línea (online) Conoce a Alguien Fuera de la Línea (offline): Una Perspectiva de la Teoría de la Violación de Expectativas sobre la Modalidad de Intercambio El presente estudio examina la ocurrencia y la oportunidad de la modalidad de intercambio desde una perspectiva de la teoría de violación de expectativas. Los resultados indican que, relativos a la continuidad de la interacción a través de los medios de comunicación mediados por la computadora (CMC), los participantes estimaron a la información social (el comportamiento del compañero y la apariencia física/atractivo) adquiridos por la modalidad de intercambio como una violación de expectativa, aunque las evaluaciones variaron como función de la ocurrencia del intercambio. Los participantes evaluaron la información social de manera más positiva y redujeron la incertidumbre luego de asociaciones cortas online, pero de manera más negativa e incrementando la incertidumbre después de un término largo de permanencia online. Más aún, la información social adquirida a través de la modalidad de intercambio, con independencia de la oportunidad, fue estimada como importante desde el punto de vista de la relación. Las implicaciones y limitaciones de los resultados así como las direcciones para investigación futura fueron discutidas. ZhaiYao Yo yak [source]


    SELF-CONTROL, CRIMINAL MOTIVATION AND DETERRENCE: AN INVESTIGATION USING RUSSIAN RESPONDENTS

    CRIMINOLOGY, Issue 2 2005
    CHARLES R. TITTLE
    With data from respondents in Nizhni Novgorod, Russia, we address the generality of self-control theory. We also assess two hypotheses. The first focuses on the attractiveness of criminal acts, that is, motivation toward crime. The second concerns the contention that the mediating link between self-control and criminal conduct is the failure of those with less self-control to anticipate the long-term costs of misbehavior. Although the magnitude of associations between self-control and indicators of criminal behavior is about the same in this study as it is in others, which suggests that the theory is not culturally bound, those associations are largely overshadowed by criminal attraction. Consistent with that, failure to anticipate costly long-term consequences does not appear to be the mediating link between self-control and criminal behavior: the evidence shows no tendency for sanction fear to be greater among those with greater self-control. In fact, sanction fear is modestly and significantly related to the crime measures independent of self-control, though sanction fear also appears to be influenced by criminal attraction. The results suggest that in the production of criminal behavior, motivation may be more important than controls inhibiting criminal impulses. [source]


    EFFECTS OF ATTRACTIVENESS, OPPORTUNITY AND ACCESSIBILITY TO BURGLARS ON RESIDENTIAL BURGLARY RATES OF URBAN NEIGHBORHOODS

    CRIMINOLOGY, Issue 3 2003
    WIM BERNASCO
    This study assesses the effects of attractiveness, opportunity and accessibility to burglars on the residential burglary rates of urban neighborhoods, combining two complementary lines of investigation that have been following separate tracks in the literature. As a complement to standard measures of attractiveness and opportunity, we introduce and specify a spatial measure of the accessibility of neighborhoods to burglars. Using data on about 25, 000 attempted and completed residential burglaries committed in the period 1996,2001 in the city of The Hague, the Netherlands, we study the variation in burglary rates across its 89 residential neighborhoods. Our results suggest that all three factors, attractiveness, opportunity and accessibility to burglars, pull burglars to their target neighborhoods. [source]


    Motivational systems and the neural circuitry of maternal behavior in the rat

    DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOBIOLOGY, Issue 1 2007
    Michael Numan
    Abstract Jay Rosenblatt's approach-avoidance model of maternal behavior proposes that maternal behavior occurs when the tendency to approach infant stimuli is greater than the tendency to avoid such stimuli. Our research program has uncovered neural circuits which conform to such a model. We present evidence that the medial preoptic area (MPOA: located in the rostral hypothalamus) may regulate maternal responsiveness by depressing antagonistic neural systems which promote withdrawal responses while also activating appetitive neural systems which increase the attractiveness of infant-related stimuli. These MPOA circuits are activated by the hormonal events of late pregnancy. Preoptic efferents may suppress a central aversion system which includes an amygdala to anterior hypothalamic circuit. Preoptic efferents are also shown to interact with components of the mesolimbic dopamine (DA) system to regulate proactive voluntary maternal responses. We make a distinction between specific (MPOA neurons) and nonspecific motivational systems (mesolimbic DA system) in the regulation of maternal responsiveness. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Dev Psychobiol 49: 12,21, 2007. [source]


    Embryonic origin of mate choice in a lizard with temperature-dependent sex determination

    DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOBIOLOGY, Issue 1 2006
    Oliver Putz
    Abstract Individual differences in the adult sexual behavior of vertebrates are rooted in the fetal environment. In the leopard gecko (Eublepharis macularius), a species with temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD), hatchling sex ratios differ between incubation temperatures, as does sexuality in same-sex animals. This variation can primarily be ascribed to the temperature having direct organizing actions on the brain. Here we demonstrate that embryonic temperature can affect adult mate choice in the leopard gecko. Given the simultaneous choice between two females from different incubation temperatures (30.0 and 34.0°,C), males from one incubation temperature (30.0°,C) preferred the female from 34.0°,C, while males from another incubation temperature (32.5°,C) preferred the female from 30.0°,C. We suggest that this difference in mate choice is due to an environmental influence on brain development leading to differential perception of opposite-sex individuals. This previously unrecognized modulator of adult mate choice lends further support to the view that mate choice is best understood in the context of an individual's entire life-history. Thus, sexual selection results from a combination of the female's as well as the male's life history. Female attractiveness and male choice therefore are complementary. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Dev Psychobiol 48: 29,38, 2006. [source]


    Origins of a stereotype: categorization of facial attractiveness by 6-month-old infants

    DEVELOPMENTAL SCIENCE, Issue 2 2004
    Jennifer L. Ramsey
    Like adults, young infants prefer attractive to unattractive faces (e.g. Langlois, Roggman, Casey, Ritter, Rieser-Danner & Jenkins, 1987; Slater, von der Schulenburg, Brown, Badenoch, Butterworth, Parsons & Samuels, 1998). Older children and adults stereotype based on facial attractiveness (Eagly, Ashmore, Makhijani & Longo, 1991; Langlois, Kalakanis, Rubenstein, Larson, Hallam & Smooth, 2000). How do preferences for attractive faces develop into stereotypes? Several theories of stereotyping posit that categorization of groups is necessary before positive and negative traits can become linked to the groups (e.g. Tajfel, Billig, Bundy & Flament, 1971; Zebrowitz-McArthur, 1982). We investigated whether or not 6-month-old infants can categorize faces as attractive or unattractive. In Experiment 1, we familiarized infants to unattractive female faces; in Experiment 2, we familiarized infants to attractive female faces and tested both groups of infants on novel faces from the familiar or novel attractiveness category. Results showed that 6-month-olds categorized attractive and unattractive female faces into two different groups of faces. Experiments 3 and 4 confirmed that infants could discriminate among the faces used in Experiments 1 and 2, and therefore categorized the faces based on their similarities in attractiveness rather than because they could not differentiate among the faces. These findings suggest that categorization of facial attractiveness may underlie the development of the ,beauty is good' stereotype. [source]


    Diamondback moth females oviposit more on plants infested by non-parasitised than by parasitised conspecifics

    ECOLOGICAL ENTOMOLOGY, Issue 5 2008
    YASUYUKI CHOH
    Abstract 1.,When offered a choice, female diamondback moths (Plutella xylostella) oviposited more eggs on plants with non-parasitised conspecific larvae than on plants with parasitised larvae. 2.,The leaf area consumed by parasitised larvae was significantly lower than that by non-parasitised larvae. However, this quantitative difference in larval damage did not explain the female's ability to discriminate between plants with parasitised and non-parasitised larvae, as females showed an equal oviposition preference for plants infested by higher or lower densities of non-parasitised larvae. 3.,Pupal weight and duration of the larval stage of P. xylostella were independent of whether larvae were reared on plants that were previously infested by either non-parasitised or parasitised larvae. 4.,The larval parasitoid Cotesia vestalis did not distinguish between plants infested by non-parasitised larvae and plants infested by larvae that had already been parasitised by conspecific wasps. 5.,Based on these data, it can be concluded that the moth oviposition preference for plants infested by non-parasitised conspecifics relative to plants infested by parasitised conspecifics was not explained by plant quality or by the attractiveness of plants towards wasps. It is hypothesised that one of the reasons for this preference is avoidance of plants where a relatively high risk of parasitism is expected due to the emergence of parasitoids from the parasitised host larvae. [source]


    Nuptial food gifts influence female egg production in the scorpionfly Panorpa cognata

    ECOLOGICAL ENTOMOLOGY, Issue 3 2007
    LEIF ENGQVIST
    Abstract 1.,Before copulation, male Panorpa cognata scorpionflies offer females a salivary secretion, which is consumed by the female during copulation. It has previously been demonstrated that this nuptial food gift functions as mating effort by increasing male attractiveness and by increasing ejaculate transfer during copulation. 2.,In this study, the effect of saliva consumption on female reproductive output was investigated, and thus the possibility that nuptial food gifts also serve as paternal investment. The experimental design enabled the effect of nuptial gift consumption to be disentangled from other possible effects of multiple mating or increased copula duration. 3.,The results showed that saliva consumption increases female egg production by on average 8% (4.5 eggs) per consumed salivary mass, whereas mean egg weight was not influenced.4. These results have important implications for the evolution and maintenance of both male nuptial gifts and female polyandry in this and other species. [source]


    Mate discrimination by females in the burying beetle Nicrophorus orbicollis: the influence of male size on attractiveness to females

    ECOLOGICAL ENTOMOLOGY, Issue 1 2002
    Andria E. Beeler
    Summary 1. Female burying beetles behave differently towards males of different sizes, avoiding mating with large males that are not defending resources but mating with small males regardless of the presence of resources. Females of the burying beetle Nicrophorus orbicollis were therefore examined to determine whether they discriminate among males using only pheromonal signals. The influence of female size on its own mate choice was also examined. 2. Females do use male pheromonal signals to discriminate among males and these signals do appear to convey information about male body size to females. Overall, females were more likely to be attracted to larger males than to smaller males. 3. Female choice of a male was influenced by both the female's own body size and the size of the female relative to the size of the two males available to it. 4. While there is an overall mating advantage for larger males, resulting from female preferences based on odour cues, smaller males are also attractive to some females under some circumstances. 5. It is argued that there are different costs and benefits of mating with different sized males, leading to the evolution of context-dependent mate choice for females and the need to be able to discriminate males of different sizes from a distance. [source]


    Predator control of ecosystem nutrient dynamics

    ECOLOGY LETTERS, Issue 10 2010
    Oswald J. Schmitz
    Abstract Predators are predominantly valued for their ability to control prey, as indicators of high levels of biodiversity and as tourism attractions. This view, however, is incomplete because it does not acknowledge that predators may play a significant role in the delivery of critical life-support services such as ecosystem nutrient cycling. New research is beginning to show that predator effects on nutrient cycling are ubiquitous. These effects emerge from direct nutrient excretion, egestion or translocation within and across ecosystem boundaries after prey consumption, and from indirect effects mediated by predator interactions with prey. Depending on their behavioural ecology, predators can create heterogeneous or homogeneous nutrient distributions across natural landscapes. Because predator species are disproportionately vulnerable to elimination from ecosystems, we stand to lose much more from their disappearance than their simple charismatic attractiveness. [source]


    An ecological cost of plant defence: attractiveness of bitter cucumber plants to natural enemies of herbivores

    ECOLOGY LETTERS, Issue 3 2002
    Anurag A. Agrawal
    Abstract Plants produce defences that act directly on herbivores and indirectly via the attraction of natural enemies of herbivores. We examined the pleiotropic effects of direct chemical defence production on indirect defence employing near-isogenic varieties of cucumber plants (Cucumis sativus) that differ qualitatively in the production of terpenoid cucurbitacins, the most bitter compounds known. In release,recapture experiments conducted in greenhouse common gardens, blind predatory mites were attracted to plants infested by herbivorous mites. Infested sweet plants (lacking cucurbitacins), however, attracted 37% more predatory mites than infested bitter plants (that produce constitutive and inducible cucurbitacins). Analysis of the headspace of plants revealed that production of cucurbitacins was genetically correlated with large increases in the qualitative and quantitative spectrum of volatile compounds produced by plants, including induced production of (E,)-,-ocimene (3E,)-4,8-dimethyl-1,3,7-nonatriene, (E,E)-,-farnesene, and methyl salicylate, all known to be attractants of predators. Nevertheless, plants that produced cucurbitacins were less attractive to predatory mites than plants that lacked cucurbitacins and predators were also half as fecund on these bitter plants. Thus, we provide novel evidence for an ecological trade-off between direct and indirect plant defence. This cost of defence is mediated by the effects of cucurbitacins on predator fecundity and potentially by the production of volatile compounds that may be repellent to predators. [source]


    Hatred of Democracy ... and of the Public Role of Education?

    EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY AND THEORY, Issue 5-6 2010
    Introduction to the Special Issue on Jacques Rancière
    Abstract The article presents an introduction to the Special Issue on the French philosopher Jacques Rancière who raises a provocative voice in the current public debate on democracy, equality and education. Instead of merely criticizing current practices and discourses, the attractiveness of Rancière's work is that he does try to formulate in a positive way what democracy is about, how equality can be a pedagogic or educational (instead of policy) concern, and what the public and democratic role of education is. His work opens up a space to rethink and to study, as well as to ,re-practice', what democracy and equality in education are about. He questions the current neutralisation of politics that is motivated by a hatred of democracy. This questioning is for Rancière also a struggle over words. Against the old philosophical dream of defining the meaning of words, Rancière underlines the need for the struggle over their meaning. The aim of the article is to clarify how and why education, equality, and democracy are a major concern throughout his work and to offer an introduction to the articles collected in the Special Issue. [source]


    Whole body extract of Mediterranean fruit fly males elicits high attraction in virgin females

    ENTOMOLOGIA EXPERIMENTALIS ET APPLICATA, Issue 1 2008
    Vassilis G. Mavraganis
    Abstract The search for effective female attractants emanating from the host or body of fruit flies has been an area of intensive research for over three decades. In the present study, bodies of male Mediterranean fruit flies, Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Tephritidae), were extracted with diethyl ether or methanol and subjected to gas chromatography,mass spectrometry. Analysis revealed substantial qualitative and quantitative differences between males from a laboratory culture and wild males captured alive in an orchard. Most notably, the hydrocarbon sesquiterpene (±)-,-copaene, which is known to be involved in the sexual behaviour of the species, was found in substantial amounts in wild males, but was not detected in laboratory males. In laboratory tests, 15 laboratory or wild male equivalents of diethyl ether extracts or combined diethyl ether and methanol extracts, or, to a lesser extent, methanol extracts alone, were found to attract virgin females. In a citrus orchard, traps baited with combined diethyl ether and methanol extracts of wild males attracted significantly more virgin females than traps baited with various doses of pyranone or blends of other compounds identified in the extracts or reported in the literature, such as ethyl acetate, ethyl-(E)-3-octenoate, and 1-pyrroline. Traps baited with blends of compounds, however, displayed substantial attractiveness compared to control (non-baited) traps. These results are important for better understanding the mating system of C. capitata as well as for further improving existing monitoring and control systems. [source]