Tallied graduating college students (N=1,843) who displayed personal adornment in addition to their traditional academic garb. Found that degree conferred, sex of recipient, and year of graduation were related to the frequency and forms (political and nonpolitical) of adornment. Indicated that personalization of graduation attire followed patterns…

Examined same-sex awareness by comparing the visual attention of 51 college students toward stimulus persons. Results showed men looked longer at slides of women both clothed and in bathing suits than slides of men, and women looked longest at slides of clothed women. Results suggested intrasex competitiveness and intersex attraction. (JAC)

Male and female subjects rated a standardized, professionally drawn female in 12 outfits as to impressions they would make in job interviews. The 12 jobs represented combinations of high- and low-status and male-dominated and female-dominated occupations. Discusses outfits and suggests women made better impressions when applying for…

Investigated the impact of therapist attire and seating arrangement on observers' perceptions of a therapist's attractiveness, expertise, and trustworthiness. Undergraduates (N=233) listened to an audiotaped interview while viewing a slide presentation. The casual attire/no desk setting elicited the highest attraction ratings, mediated by the…

Studied evaluative dimensions of how recruiters and future employees (students) view the importance of appearance. Examined differences of focus (students versus recruiters), sex, and occupational area. Respondents recognized appearance as an influence on an individual's effectiveness. Generally, extreme styles were deemed unacceptabe. (Author/RC)

Explored possible gender differences in clothes-shopping behavior among adolescents. Findings from 387 college students revealed that: parents financially assisted sons and daughters equally; there was no gender difference in shopping frequency; mothers more frequently shopped with sons than with daughters; fathers rarely shopped with any…

Initial impressions of a counselor's credibility and attractiveness may affect the development of rapport as well as client attrition. Recent research has focused on contextual clues in the counseling setting which may influence client perceptions. The effects of counselor attire and the seating arrangement were examined in a counseling analogue…

A survey of 244 British university undergraduates in biology, computer science, and English investigated attitudes about various uses of animals, including killing animals to make luxury clothing, killing of animals for food, general and medical research using animals, and captivity. Response differences by discipline, gender, and age were also…