Abstract
Sixteen male and sixteen female student observers were shown computer-simulated sequences of male and female head movement based on time-series protocols of real-life interactions and were asked to rate their impressions of the computer actors on the screen. While in one experimental condition the sex of the movement origin matched the sex of the computer model, the movement protocols were exchanged in the second condition. Impression formation effects were analyzed in a three-factorial ANOVA design, with the independent factors (1) sex of observer, (2) sex of computer model, and (3) sex of movement origin. The results point to strong main effects of the sex of movement origin. Male behavior was perceived as more active and mobile, whether displayed by a male or female computer model. However, three-way interactions indicate that male and female head movement was evaluated differently by male and female observers depending on the sex of the computer model. Counterintuitively, female computer models scored higher in male observers' judgments of “friendliness” and “attractiveness” when displaying male head movement.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abbey, A. (1982). Sex differences in attributions for friendly behavior: Do males misperceive females' friendliness?Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 42, 830–838.
Amancio, L. (1993). Stereotypes as ideologies: The case of gender categories.Revista de Psicologia Social, 8, 163–170.
Ashmore, R. D., & Del Boca, F. K. (1979). Sex stereotypes and implicit personality theory: Toward a cognitive-social psychological conceptualization.Sex Roles, 5, 219–248.
Ashmore, R. D., Del Boca, F. K., & Wholers, A. J. (1986). Gender stereotypes. In R. D. Ashmore & F. K. Del Boca (Eds.),The social psychology of female-male relations: A critical analysis of central concepts (pp. 69–119). Orlando, FL: Academic Press.
Bente, G. (1989). Facilities for the graphical computer simulation of head and body movements.Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, & Computers, 21, 455–462.
Bischoff-Krauthäuser, K., & Bente, G. (1994). Zur visuellen Kommunikationskultur von Fernsehnachrichten. Struktur und Wirkung formaler Angebotsweisen öffentlich rechtlicher und privater Sender. In K. Pawlik (Ed.),39. Kongreß der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Psychologie (p. 67). Hamburg: Druckerei Schnell.
Briton, N. J., & Hall, J. A. (1995). Gender-based expectancies and observer judgments of smilling.Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 19, 49–65.
Bulter, D., & Geis, F. L. (1990). Nonverbal affect responses to male and female leaders: Implications for leadership evaluations?Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 58, 48–59.
Cann, A. (1993). Evaluative expectations and the gender schema: Is failed inconsistency better?Sex-Roles, 28, 667–678.
Doermer-Tramitz, Ch. (1990).Auf den ersten Blick. Über die ersten dreissig Sekunden einer Begegnung von Mann und Frau. Opladen: Westdeutscher Verlag.
Eagly, A. H. (1987).Sex differences in social behavior: A social-role interpretation. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Ekman, P., & Friesen, W. F. (1978).Facial Action Coding System. Palo Alto: Consulting Psychologists Press.
Ellsworth, P. C., & Ludwig, L. M. (1972). Visual behavior in social interaction.Journal of Communication, 22, 375–403.
Frey, S., Bente, G., Fuchs, A., Preiswerk, G., Glatt, A., & Imhoff, P. (1989). Spontaneous motor activity in healthy volunteers after single doses of haloperidol.International Clinical Psychopharmacology, 4, 39–53.
Frey, S., Hirsbrunner, H. P., Florin, A., Daw, W., & Crawford, R. (1983). A unified approach to the investigation of nonverbal and verbal behavior in communication research. In W. Doise & S. Moscovici (Eds.),Current issues in European social psychology (pp. 143–199). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Friedman, H., & Zebrowitz, L. A. (1992). The contribution of typical sex differences in facial maturity to sex role stereotypes.Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 18, 430–438.
Hall, J. A. (1978). Gender effects in decoding nonverbal cues.Psychological Bulletin, 85, 845–857.
Hall, J. A. (1984).Nonverbal sex differences: Communication accuracy and expressive style. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Hirsbrunner, H.-P., Frey, S., & Crawford, R. (1987). Movement in human interaction: Decription, parameter formation, and analysis. In A. W. Siegman & S. Feldstein (Eds.),Nonverbal behavior and communication, 2nd ed. (pp. 99–140). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Jones, J. M., Izard, C., & Scott, T. R. (1995). Ralph V. Exline (1992–1993): Obituary.American Psychologist, 50, 448.
Mandler, G. (1982). The structure of value: Accounting for taste. In M. S. Clark & S. T. Fiske (Eds.),Cognition and affect: The 17th annual Carnegie Symposium (pp.3–36). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Matheson, K. (1991). Social cues in computer-mediated negotiations: Gender makes a difference.Computers in Human Behavior, 7, 137–145.
Moore, M. M. (1985). Nonverbal courtship patterns in women: Context and consequences.Ethology and Sociobiology, 6, 237–247.
Osgood, C. E. (1966). Dimensionality of the sematic space for communication via facial expressions.Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 7, 1–30.
Osgood, C. E. (1971). Explorations in semantic space: A personal diary.Journal of Social Issues, 27, 5–64.
Patterson, M. L. (1994). Interaction behavior and person perception: An integrative approach. Special issue: Social cognition in small groups.Small Group Research, 25, 172–188.
Patterson, M. L. (1995). A parallel process model of noverbal communication.Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 19, 3–29.
Rai, S. N., & Srivastava, R. K. (1975). Effects of visual and verbal information and indirect person-perception.Psychological Studies, 20, 25–30.
Schneider, D. J., Hastorf, A. H., & Ellsworth, P. C. (1979).Person perception. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
Suwelack, D., & Bente, G. (1995). Zur nonverbalen Kommunikationskultur der Geschlechter.Zeitschrift für Individualpsychologie, 20, 133–145.
Trautner, H. M. (1991, July). Children's and adults awareness of sex-sterotyped postures. Paper presented at the Eleventh Biennal Meetings of the ISSBD, Minneapolis.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bente, G., Feist, A. & Elder, S. Person perception effects of computer-simulated male and female head movement. J Nonverbal Behav 20, 213–228 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02248674
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02248674