Male and female subjects' attraction to opposite-sex others of either high, medium, or low physical attractiveness and of either similar, moderately similar, or dissimilar attitudes was measured in terms of subjects' liking for other, of his or her preference for other as a co-worker, and of the probability that he or she would consider other as a dating or marriage partner. The major results indicated that subjects' attraction was greater to physically attractive rather than unattractive and to similar rather than dissimilar others. Similarity had a greater effect for females than males on liking and working, while physical attractiveness had a greater effect for males than females on working, dating, and marrying. Comparisons among the dependent variables revealed that physical attractiveness had a greater effect on dating than on liking or marrying for male and female subjects, although the difference was greater for males. Selfrating of attractiveness was found to be related to date selection. Relative to subjects who rated themselves as attractive, unattractive subjects were more likely to consider unattractive others and less likely to consider attractive others as a date.Since being attractive to and attracted by members of the opposite sex are important aspects of our social life, everyday psychology is rich in notions about the important determinants of opposite-sex attraction. One of the well-accepted beliefs on this issue, often deplored by females, is that males are mainly attracted by physical appearance. Females, on the other hand, though they too are attracted by "good looks," are believed to place more importance on less "skin-deep" qualities.To investigate this notion we had male and female subjects indicate their attraction to opposite-sex others who were of either high, medium, or low physical attractiveness and were in their attitudes either similar or dissimilar to the subjects. Ratings of subjects' liking for other, of his or her preference for other as a co-worker, and of the probability that he or she would consider other as a dating or marriage partner were used as dependent measures of attraction. Rephrasing the above commonsense notion in terms of our design, we hypothesized a Sex X Physical 1 Requests for reprints should be sent to Vaida Thompson, Attractiveness interaction, a Sex X Attitude Similarity interaction, and possibly even a Sex X Physical Attractiveness X Similarity interaction.The few studies which have investigated the effects of physical attractiveness and similarity on opposite-sex attraction tend to show only some of the predicted sex differences. In a study which manipulated attitude similarity and physical attractiveness of same-and opposite-sex others, Byrne, London, and Reeves (1968) found that while similarity had a greater effect on females than on males, there was no sex difference in the effects of physical attractiveness. Their failure to find a sex difference in the effects of physical attractiveness may have been due to a failure to create enough difference b...

Two studies tested an interdependence model of trust development and the links between trust and influence in the in extremis environment of combat, and a noncombat replication. Structural equation modeling was used to test the model. Results from both studies suggested that a modified interdependence model provided a plausible explanation for how leaders may earn subordinate trust, through fostering the establishment of cooperative interdependence and being perceived as credible. Credibility was demonstrated through both competence and good character, and organizational structures that were in place contributed to trust by encouraging leaders to behave cooperatively toward group members. Most importantly, the level of trust subordinates had in their leaders determined the amount of leader influence subordinates accepted.

Results from a pilot experiment unexpectedly showed that individuals receiving a favor reciprocated significantly less than those who had not received a favor. These results, as well as those of other reciprocation studies, were interpreted in terms of the recipient's attributions about the donor's motives for initiating the favor. A second study was conducted to demonstrate that manipulating the interpersonal context of a standard interaction, in a manner assumed to effect attributions, would reduce or enhance reciprocation. The predicted effect was obtained. Assessments of the mediating processes were only partially successful.

A proximal‐distal theoretical framework was developed to examine the multivariate roots of homophobia. Using data from a sample of 288 undergraduates who had participated in a computer‐assisted panel study over a three‐year period, the effects on homophobia of distal and proximal family factors (e. g., parental education and family environment), distal and proximal individual factors (e. g., personality constructs and current beliefs), and proximal individual‐situational factors (e. g., acquaintance with homosexuals) were tested in regression analyses. Both analyses employing sets of variables varying in proximity to the homophobic attitude and hierarchical regression employing variables contributing significantly in each set supported the proposed framework. All sets predicted significantly when regressed separately on homophobia; the sets containing the distal factors contributed most weakly, and the sets containing the proximal factors contributed most strongly. In hierarchical regression analysis, this pattern maintained such that the incremental increase in r2 decreased with the addition of each more distal set, with the most distal factors failing to contribute significantly to the prediction. The importance of study findings for attitude change efforts is discussed.

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