The potential importance of depending on others during adolescence to establish independence in young adulthood was examined across adolescence to emerging adulthood. Participants included 184 teens (46% male; 42% non-White), their mothers, best friends, and romantic partners, assessed at ages 13-14, 18, 21-22, and 25. Path analyses showed that…

Supports the prediction that the influence of a female protagonist's appearance on children's perceptions would decrease with age, whereas the influence of her behavior would increase. (NH)

Two studies examined social responses to attractive and unattractive faces on the part of 123 infants of 12 months. Results suggest that visual and behavioral preferences for attractiveness are exhibited much earlier in life than was previously thought. (RH)

Two studies, one with two- to three-month-olds and one with six- to eight-month-olds, examined infant preferences for attractive faces. A visual preference technique was used. Infants were shown slides of faces of adult women previously rated for attractiveness. When shown pairs of attractive and unattractive faces, older and younger infants…

This study aimed to prospectively examine the role of peer and media influences in the development of body satisfaction (incorporating the desire for thinness and satisfaction with appearance) in young girls, as well as the relationship between body satisfaction and self-esteem. A sample of 97 girls 5-8 years of age completed individual interviews…

Tests the applicability of the physical attractiveness stereotype to perceptions of the elderly. In the first study, college-age and elderly observers rated the attractiveness of faces of elderly people. In the second study, subjects rated faces at three levels of attractiveness on personality, success in life experiences, and occupational…

Interviewed 16- to 23-year-old non-heterosexual women regarding development of their sexual orientation. Found that a majority failed to report at least one of following: childhood sexual orientation indicators, stability in same-sex attractions, or awareness of same-sex attractions prior to conscious sexual questioning. Lesbians reported greater…

Two studies investigated the influence of a child's physical attractiveness and sex as potential elicitors of differential adult punitiveness. Assessed were the reactions of 40 women and 44 men. Results reveal differences in men's and women's reactions and suggest differences in their orientation towards children's task behavior. (Author/SDH)

Three studies examined infant preferences for attractive faces of White males, White females, Black females, and infants. Infants viewed pairs of faces rated for attractiveness by adults. Preferences for attractive faces were found for all facial types. (BC)

Examined sexual identities, attractions, and behaviors of sexual-minority women in 2-year follow-up of women first interviewed at 16-23 years. Found half the participants had changed sexual-minority orientations more than once; one- third changed identities since the first interview. Found changes in sexual attractions were larger among bisexuals…

Examined differences in attraction to same- and other-sex peers as a function of sex, age, individual characteristics, and context in adolescents studied longitudinally from elementary to middle school. Found attraction to aggressive peers and to peers standing out in observable ways increased with age and upon entry to middle school, whereas…