DIMENSIONS OF TRAIT ATTRIBUTIONS ASSOCIATED WITH EYEGLASSES, MENS FACIAL HAIR, AND WOMENS HAIR LENGTH

This research investigated the effects of men's eyeglasses and facial hair and women's eyeglasses and hair length on the traits associated w ith facial schemata. One hundred and thirty-five introductory psycholo gy students rated Photo-Ident(TM) composites of stimulus persons on 20 adjectival continua. A factor analysis of the scores extracted three factors: Social Value, Social Forcefulness, and Mental Competence. Eye glasses on both the men and women were associated with attributions of diminished forcefulness and heightened competence. Men's beards were associated with lessened competence. Women's long hair was associated with decreased forcefulness. The results were interpreted in terms of the effects of the independent variables on apparent facial maturity.