Showing papers in "Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin in 2010"

The Attractive Female Body Weight and Female Body Dissatisfaction in 26 Countries Across 10 World Regions: Results of the International Body Project I

Abstract: This study reports results from the first International Body Project (IBP-I), which surveyed 7,434 individuals in 10 major world regions about body weight ideals and body dissatisfaction. Participants completed the female Contour Drawing Figure Rating Scale (CDFRS) and self-reported their exposure to Western and local media. Results indicated there were significant cross-regional differences in the ideal female figure and body dissatisfaction, but effect sizes were small across high-socioeconomic-status (SES) sites. Within cultures, heavier bodies were preferred in low-SES sites compared to high-SES sites in Malaysia and South Africa (ds = 1.94-2.49) but not in Austria. Participant age, body mass index (BMI), and Western media exposure predicted body weight ideals. BMI and Western media exposure predicted body dissatisfaction among women. Our results show that body dissatisfaction and desire for thinness is commonplace in high-SES settings across world regions, highlighting the need for international attention to this problem.

System Justification, the Denial of Global Warming, and the Possibility of “System-Sanctioned Change”

Abstract: Despite extensive evidence of climate change and environmental destruction, polls continue to reveal widespread denial and resistance to helping the environment It is posited here that these responses are linked to the motivational tendency to defend and justify the societal status quo in the face of the threat posed by environmental problems The present research finds that system justification tendencies are associated with greater denial of environmental realities and less commitment to pro-environmental action Moreover, the effects of political conservatism, national identification, and gender on denial of environmental problems are explained by variability in system justification tendencies However, this research finds that it is possible to eliminate the negative effect of system justification on environmentalism by encouraging people to regard pro-environmental change as patriotic and consistent with protecting the status quo (ie, as a case of "system-sanctioned change") Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed

Feeding Your Feelings: Emotion Regulation Strategies and Emotional Eating

Abstract: The process by which emotions affect eating behavior emerges as one of the central unresolved questions in the field of emotional eating. The present studies address the hypothesis that the regulation strategies people use to deal with these emotions are responsible for increased eating. Negative emotions were induced and intake of comfort food and non-comfort food was measured by means of taste tests. Emotion induction was preceded by measuring individual differences in emotion regulation strategies (Study 1) or by instructions to regulate emotions in either an adaptive (reappraisal) or maladaptive (suppression) manner (Study 2). Study 3 also entailed a control condition without any regulation instructions. Relative to reappraisal and spontaneous expression, suppression led to increased food intake, but only of the comfort foods. Emotions themselves were not responsible for this effect. These findings provide new evidence that the way in which emotions are regulated affects eating behavior.

Negative Intergroup Contact Makes Group Memberships Salient: Explaining Why Intergroup Conflict Endures

Abstract: Drawing from the intergroup contact model and self-categorization theory, the authors advanced the novel hypothesis of a valence-salience effect, whereby negative contact causes higher category salience than positive contact. As predicted, in a laboratory experiment of interethnic contact, White Australians (N = 49) made more frequent and earlier reference to ethnicity when describing their ethnic contact partner if she had displayed negative (vs. positive, neutral) nonverbal behavior. In a two-wave experimental study of retrieved intergenerational contact, American young adults (N = 240) reported age to be more salient during negative (vs. positive) contact and negative contact predicted increased episodic and chronic category salience over time. Some evidence for the reverse salience-valence effect was also found. Because category salience facilitates contact generalization, these results suggest that intergroup contact is potentially biased toward worsening intergroup relations; further implications for theory and policy making are discussed.

Compassionate Liberals and Polite Conservatives: Associations of Agreeableness With Political Ideology and Moral Values

Abstract: Political conservatism has been characterized by resistance to change and acceptance of inequality, with liberalism characterized by the polar opposite of these values. Political attitudes are heritable and may be influenced by basic personality traits. In previous research, conservatism (vs. liberalism) has been associated positively with Conscientiousness and negatively with Openness-Intellect, consistent with the association of conservatism with resistance to change. Less clear, however, are the personality traits relating to egalitarianism. In two studies, using a personality model that divides each of the Big Five into two aspects, the present research found that one aspect of Agreeableness (Compassion) was associated with liberalism and egalitarianism, whereas the other (Politeness) was associated with conservatism and traditionalism. In addition, conservatism and moral traditionalism were positively associated with the Orderliness aspect of Conscientiousness and negatively with Openness-Intellect. ...

The Price of Power: Power Seeking and Backlash Against Female Politicians

Abstract: Two experimental studies examined the effect of power-seeking intentions on backlash toward women in political office. It was hypothesized that a female politician’s career progress may be hindered by the belief that she seeks power, as this desire may violate prescribed communal expectations for women and thereby elicit interpersonal penalties. Results suggested that voting preferences for female candidates were negatively influenced by her power-seeking intentions (actual or perceived) but that preferences for male candidates were unaffected by power-seeking intentions. These differential reactions were partly explained by the perceived lack of communality implied by women’s power-seeking intentions, resulting in lower perceived competence and feelings of moral outrage. The presence of moral-emotional reactions suggests that backlash arises from the violation of communal prescriptions rather than normative deviations more generally. These findings illuminate one potential source of gender bias in politics.

Ingroup Glorification, Moral Disengagement, and Justice in the Context of Collective Violence

Abstract: What aspects of ingroup identification can lead people to resist justice for the victims of their ingroup’s mistreatment? In three studies carried out in the United States and United Kingdom, in which participants read reports of mistreatment of prisoners and civilians by coalition troops in the Iraq war, ingroup glorification, but not ingroup attachment or other individual-difference variables, was a key predictor of lesser demands for justice, but only when the perpetrators belonged to the ingroup. This effect of glorification was mediated by two moral disengagement mechanisms focusing on the outgroup: minimization of the emotional suffering of the victims’ families and explicit dehumanization of the victim group. These findings further reinforce the difference between glorification and other forms of ingroup identification, demonstrating that glorification is problematic in maintaining and fostering intergroup relations because of its connection to moral disengagement.

Same or Different? Clarifying the Relationship of Need for Cognition to Personality and Intelligence:

Abstract: Need for cognition (NFC) refers to an individual’s tendency to engage in and enjoy effortful cognitive processing. So far, little attention has been paid to a systematic evaluation of the distinctiveness of NFC from traits with similar conceptualization and from intelligence. The present research contributes to filling this gap by examining the relation of NFC to well-established personality concepts (Study 1) and to a comprehensive measure of intelligence in a sample with broad educational backgrounds (Study 2). We observed NFC to be positively correlated with openness, emotional stability, and traits indicating goal orientation. Using confirmatory factor analysis and event-related potentials, incremental validity of NFC and openness to ideas was demonstrated, showing that NFC is more predictive of drive-related and goal-oriented behavior and attentional resource allocation. Regarding intelligence, NFC was more associated with fluid than with crystallized aspects of intelligence. Altogether, the results ...

Eye Gaze as Relational Evaluation: Averted Eye Gaze Leads to Feelings of Ostracism and Relational Devaluation

Abstract: Eye gaze is often a signal of interest and, when noticed by others, leads to mutual and directional gaze. However, averting one’s eye gaze toward an individual has the potential to convey a strong interpersonal evaluation. The averting of eye gaze is the most frequently used nonverbal cue to indicate the silent treatment, a form of ostracism. The authors argue that eye gaze can signal the relational value felt toward another person. In three studies, participants visualized interacting with an individual displaying averted or direct eye gaze. Compared to receiving direct eye contact, participants receiving averted eye gaze felt ostracized, signaled by thwarted basic need satisfaction, reduced explicit and implicit self-esteem, lowered relational value, and increased temptations to act aggressively toward the interaction partner.

When in Rome . . . Learn Why the Romans Do What They Do: How Multicultural Learning Experiences Facilitate Creativity

Abstract: Research suggests that living in and adapting to foreign cultures facilitates creativity. The current research investigated whether one aspect of the adaptation process—multicultural learning—is a critical component of increased creativity. Experiments 1-3 found that recalling a multicultural learning experience: (a) facilitates idea flexibility (e.g., the ability to solve problems in multiple ways), (b) increases awareness of underlying connections and associations, and (c) helps overcome functional fixedness. Importantly, Experiments 2 and 3 specifically demonstrated that functional learning in a multicultural context (i.e., learning about the underlying meaning or function of behaviors in that context) is particularly important for facilitating creativity. Results showed that creativity was enhanced only when participants recalled a functional multicultural learning experience and only when participants had previously lived abroad. Overall, multicultural learning appears to be an important mechanism by which foreign living experiences lead to creative enhancement.

A Culture of Genius: How an Organization’s Lay Theory Shapes People’s Cognition, Affect, and Behavior

Abstract: Traditionally, researchers have conceptualized implicit theories as individual differences—lay theories that vary between people. This article, however, investigates the consequences of organization-level implicit theories of intelligence. In five studies, the authors examine how an organization’s fixed (entity) or malleable (incremental) theory of intelligence affects people’s inferences about what is valued, their self- and social judgments, and their behavioral decisions. In Studies 1 and 2, the authors find that people systematically shift their self-presentations when motivated to join an entity or incremental organization. People present their “smarts” to the entity environment and their “motivation” to the incremental environment. In Studies 3a and 4, they show downstream consequences of these inferences for participants’ self-concepts and their hiring decisions. In Study 3b, they demonstrate that the effects are not due to simple priming. The implications for understanding how environments shape cognition and behavior and, more generally, for implicit theories research are discussed.

Reducing the Expression of Implicit Stereotypes: Reflexive Control Through Implementation Intentions

Abstract: The authors tested the effectiveness of implementation intentions as a strategy for limiting the behavioral expression of implicit stereotypes. Implementation intentions are if-then plans that link an intended response to an anticipated situational cue, thereby enabling a reflexive form of control. The authors examined whether two different types of implementation intentions could improve response accuracy on the Shooter Task, a reaction time measure of implicit stereotyping. In Study 1, participants used a distraction-inhibiting implementation intention designed to engage control over the perception of goal-irrelevant stimuli (e.g., race). In Study 2, participants used a response-facilitating implementation intention designed to promote goal-directed action. Across studies, implementation intentions improved accuracy, thereby limiting the behavioral expression of implicit stereotypes. Furthermore, process dissociation analyses indicated that the distraction-inhibiting implementation intention increased controlled processing while reducing automatic stereotype activation, whereas the response-facilitating implementation intention increased only controlled processing. Implications for goal strategy approaches to reducing prejudice are discussed.

Can’t Control Yourself? Monitor Those Bad Habits

Abstract: What strategies can people use to control unwanted habits? Past work has focused on controlling other kinds of automatic impulses, especially temptations. The nature of habit cuing calls for certain self-control strategies. Because the slow-to-change memory trace of habits is not amenable to change or reinterpretation, successful habit control involves inhibiting the unwanted response when activated in memory. In support, two episode-sampling diary studies demonstrated that bad habits, unlike responses to temptations, were controlled most effectively through spontaneous use of vigilant monitoring (thinking "don't do it," watching carefully for slipups). No other strategy was useful in controlling strong habits, despite that stimulus control was effective at inhibiting responses to temptations. A subsequent experiment showed that vigilant monitoring aids habit control, not by changing the strength of the habit memory trace but by heightening inhibitory, cognitive control processes. The implications of these findings for behavior change interventions are discussed.

Perceiving Your Group’s Future to Be in Jeopardy: Extinction Threat Induces Collective Angst and the Desire to Strengthen the Ingroup

Abstract: Collective angst reflects concern about the ingroup’s future vitality. In four studies, the authors examined the impact of ingroup extinction threat on the experience of collective angst. In Study 1, collective angst was elicited in response to a physical or symbolic ingroup extinction threat compared to a no-threat control group. In Study 2, the extent to which French Canadians expressed collective angst because of the perceived extinction threat posed by English Canada predicted desire to engage in ingroup strengthening behaviors. In Studies 3 and 4, the impact of a historical extinction threat was assessed. The extent to which Jewish people expressed thinking about (Study 3) or were reminded of the Holocaust (Study 4) resulted in an increased desire to engage in ingroup strengthening behaviors. Collective angst acted as a mediator of these effects. Implications of extinction threat for both intragroup and intergroup behavior are discussed.

The Role of Cultural Identity Clarity for Self-Concept Clarity, Self-Esteem, and Subjective Well-Being

Abstract: Knowing oneself and experiencing oneself as clearly defined has been linked to positive self-esteem and psychological well-being; however, this association has been tested only at the level of personal identity. The authors propose that a clear cultural identity provides the individual with a clear prototype with which to engage the processes necessary to construct a clear personal identity and, by extension, to achieve self-esteem and well-being. For samples of undergraduate students, Anglophone Quebecers, Francophone Quebecois, Chinese North Americans, and Aboriginal Canadians, cultural identity clarity was positively related to self-concept clarity, self-esteem, and markers of subjective well-being. The relationship between cultural identity clarity and both self-esteem and well-being was consistently mediated by self-concept clarity. Interventions designed to clarify cultural identity might have psychological benefits for individuals facing cultural identity challenges.

Are Two Narcissists Better Than One? The Link Between Narcissism, Perceived Creativity, and Creative Performance

Abstract: The current research examines the link between narcissism and creativity at the individual, relational, and group levels of analysis. It finds that narcissists are not necessarily more creative than others, but they think they are, and they are adept at persuading others to agree with them. In the first study, narcissism was positively associated with self-rated creativity, despite the fact that blind coders saw no difference between the creative products offered by those low and high on narcissism. In a second study, more narcissistic individuals asked to pitch creative ideas to a target person were judged by the targets as being more creative than were less narcissistic individuals, in part because narcissists were more enthusiastic. Finally, a study of group creativity finds evidence of a curvilinear effect: Having more narcissists is better for generating creative outcomes (but having too many provides diminishing returns).

Who Am I Without You? The Influence of Romantic Breakup on the Self-Concept:

Abstract: Romantic relationships alter the selves of the individuals within them. Partners develop shared friends and activities and even overlapping self-concepts. This intertwining of selves may leave individuals’ self-concepts vulnerable to change if the relationship ends. The current research examines several different types of self-concept change that could occur after a breakup and their relation to emotional distress. Across three studies, using varied methodologies, the authors examined change in both the content (Study 1a and 1b) and the structure of the self-concept, specifically, reduced self-concept clarity (Studies 1 through 3). As predicted, individuals experienced self-concept content change and reduced self-concept clarity post-breakup. Additionally, reduced clarity uniquely predicted post-breakup emotional distress.

Predicting Whether Multiculturalism Positively or Negatively Influences White Americans’ Intergroup Attitudes: The Role of Ethnic Identification:

Abstract: Multiculturalism, or the belief that racial and ethnic differences should be acknowledged and appreciated, has been met with both positive reactions (e.g., decreased prejudice) and negative reactions (e.g., perceptions of threat) from dominant group members. The present research proposes that multiculturalism can either positively or negatively influence White Americans’ intergroup attitudes depending on their degree of ethnic identification. In Studies 1 and 2, White Americans primed with multiculturalism exhibited higher social dominance orientation (Study 1) and greater prejudice (Study 2), especially when they identified strongly with their ethnicity. In Study 3, perceptions of threat to group values were found to mediate the relation between multiculturalism, ethnic identification, and prejudice among White Americans. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for threat perceptions, ethnic identification, and conceptions of diversity.

Turning to God in the Face of Ostracism: Effects of Social Exclusion on Religiousness

Abstract: The present research proposes that individuals who are socially excluded can turn to religion to cope with the experience. Empirical studies conducted to test this hypothesis consistently found that socially excluded persons reported (a) significantly higher levels of religious affiliation (Studies 1, 2, and 4) and (b) stronger intentions to engage in religious behaviors (Study 2) than comparable, nonexcluded individuals. Direct support for the stress-buffering function of religiousness was also found, with a religious prime reducing the aggression-eliciting effects of consequent social rejection (Study 5). These effects were observed in both Christian and Muslim samples, revealing that turning to religion can be a powerful coping response when dealing with social rejection. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

The “Shoulds” and “Should Nots” of Moral Emotions: A Self-Regulatory Perspective on Shame and Guilt

Abstract: A self-regulatory framework for distinguishing between shame and guilt was tested in three studies. Recently, two forms of moral regulation based on approach versus avoidance motivation have been proposed in the literature. Proscriptive regulation is sensitive to negative outcomes, inhibition based, and focused on what we should not do. Prescriptive regulation is sensitive to positive outcomes, activation based, and focused on what we should do. In the current research, consistent support was found for shame's proscriptive and guilt's prescriptive moral underpinnings. Study 1 found a positive association between avoidance orientation and shame proneness and between approach orientation and guilt proneness. In Study 2, priming a proscriptive orientation increased shame and priming a prescriptive orientation increased guilt. In Study 3, transgressions most apt to represent proscriptive and prescriptive violations predicted subsequent judgments of shame and guilt, respectively. This self-regulatory perspective provides a broad interpretive framework for understanding and extending past research findings.

Testing an Integrative Model of Respect: Implications for Social Engagement and Well-Being:

Abstract: Prior research demonstrates that feelings of respect affect important aspects of group functioning and members’ psychological well-being. One limitation is that respect has been variously defined as reflecting individuals’ status in the group, degree to which they are liked by the group, and how fairly they are treated in interactions with group members. These different conceptions are integrated in the dual pathway model of respect. The authors tested the model’s prediction that fair treatment from group members shapes attitudes toward the group and self via two distinct pathways: status and inclusion. Findings from a field study supported the model and yielded new insights: Whereas perceptions of status predicted social engagement, liking was more important in predicting well-being (especially among dominant subgroups). Discussion focuses on the utility of the dual pathway model for understanding how respect perceptions are formed and how they affect the welfare of groups and individuals.

Stigmatizing Materialism: On Stereotypes and Impressions of Materialistic and Experiential Pursuits

Abstract: Five studies examined the stigmatization of materialism. Participants expressed negative stereotypes of materialistic people, considering them to be more selfish and self-centered than experiential people (Study 1). Participants also viewed materialistic pursuits as more extrinsically motivated than experiential pursuits (Study 2). These stereotypes led respondents from varied demographic backgrounds to form less favorable impressions of individuals who were associated with prototypically materialistic versus experiential purchases, a result that was statistically mediated by impressions that materialistic purchases were more extrinsically motivated (Study 3). These differential impressions are primarily attributable to the denigration of materialistic people rather than the admiration of experiential people (Study 4). The stigmatization of materialism led participants to like less and enjoy interacting less with their conversation partners when discussing materialistic rather than experiential purchases (Study 5). The authors discuss these findings' implications for self-perception, accurate social perception, and well-being.

Implicit Theories of Body Weight: Entity Beliefs Can Weigh You Down

Abstract: The current research extended the implicit theory approach to a weight management context and merged it with value expectancy theory. Three studies investigated the hypothesis that individuals are especially unlikely to self-regulate effectively after dieting setbacks when they believe body weight to be fixed (entity theory) rather than malleable (incremental theory). Study 1 examined avoidant coping after a hypothetical dieting setback. Study 2 examined the implicit theory-avoidant coping relation after naturally occurring challenges to participants' weight-loss goals. Across both studies, entity theorists, relative to incremental theorists, reported more avoidant coping after setbacks. In Study 2, avoidant coping, in turn, predicted difficulty achieving weight-loss success. Study 3 manipulated implicit theories of weight to test the causal effects of implicit theories on effortful regulation. Entity theorists, relative to incremental theorists, reported less persistence following setbacks. Across the three studies, expectations about the potential for future dieting success mediated the link between implicit theory and self-regulation.

The Role of Prejudice and the Need for Closure in Religious Fundamentalism

Abstract: Religious fundamentalism has been consistently linked to prejudice toward a variety of outgroups. This article proposes that this is partially the case because fundamentalist ideology provides a sense of consistency and closure. Outgroups that challenge the epistemic certainty that fundamentalism provides are rejected in an effort to protect this certainty. Results from two studies, including one using a nationally representative sample, found that the need for closure was related to fundamentalism and partially mediated the relationship between fundamentalism and the derogation of lesbians and gays (Study 1) and value violators in general (Study 2). Furthermore, in Study 2, it was found that only some aspects of the need for closure explain the fundamentalism—prejudice relationship. Results are discussed in relation to past need for closure and ideology research as well as what this means for the study of fundamentalism.

Direct Contact as a Moderator of Extended Contact Effects: Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Impact on Outgroup Attitudes, Behavioral Intentions, and Attitude Certainty:

Abstract: Cross-group friendships (the most effective form of direct contact) and extended contact (i.e., knowing ingroup members who have outgroup friends) constitute two of the most important means of improving outgroup attitudes. Using cross-sectional and longitudinal samples from different intergroup contexts, this research demonstrates that extended contact is most effective when individuals live in segregated neighborhoods having only few, or no, direct friendships with outgroup members. Moreover, by including measures of attitudes and behavioral intentions the authors showed the broader impact of these forms of contact, and, by assessing attitude certainty as one dimension of attitude strength, they tested whether extended contact can lead not only to more positive but also to stronger outgroup orientations. Cross-sectional data showed that direct contact was more strongly related to attitude certainty than was extended contact, but longitudinal data showed both forms of contact affected attitude certainty i...

Giving Birth to Empathy: The Effects of Similar Experience on Empathic Accuracy, Empathic Concern, and Perceived Empathy

Abstract: This study examined how having had a similar experience to a target person’s experience affected three facets of empathy: empathic concern, empathic accuracy, and perceived empathy. Women who had never been mothers, who were pregnant with their first child, or who had just given birth to their first child (20 in each group) served as perceivers, watching videotapes of new-mother targets (N = 20) and providing measures of emotional and cognitive empathy. When perceivers had experienced the same life events as the targets, they expressed greater empathic concern and reported greater understanding of targets. However, experience had a much smaller effect on empathic accuracy, limited to comparisons between new-mother and never-pregnant perceivers and only for accuracy at guessing stereotypic attitudes, not individual thoughts. Perceived empathy, in contrast, appeared to be influenced by targets’ knowledge of whether perceivers had experienced similar events.

What Is Beautiful Is Good Because What Is Beautiful Is Desired: Physical Attractiveness Stereotyping as Projection of Interpersonal Goals

Abstract: The authors posit that the attribution of desirable interpersonal qualities to physically attractive targets is a projection of interpersonal goals; people desire to form and maintain close social bonds with attractive targets and then project these motivations onto those targets. Three studies support this model. Tendencies to see attractive novel targets depicted in photographs (Study 1), attractive romantic partners (Study 2), and attractive friends (Study 3) as especially interpersonally receptive and responsive were explained by perceivers' heightened desires to bond with attractive individuals. Additional findings regarding response latencies (Study 1) also supported this model. Many instances of the "beautiful is good" effect may not reflect stereotyping as it is typically construed. Rather, they may reflect projection of heightened desires to bond with beautiful people.

Enacted Support's Links to Negative Affect and Perceived Support Are More Consistent With Theory When Social Influences Are Isolated From Trait Influences

Abstract: Social support theory typically explains perceived support's link to mental health as reflecting the role of specific supportive actions (i.e., enacted support).Yet enacted support typically is not linked to mental health and perceived support as predicted by theory. The links are examined among enacted support, affect, and perceived support when links reflected (a) aspects of support and affect that generalized across relationship partners and time (i.e., trait influences) and (b) aspects that reflected specific relationship partners (i.e., social influences). Multivariate generalizability analyses indicated that enacted support was linked to low negative affect as predicted by theory only when correlations reflected social influences. When correlations reflected trait influences, enacted support was linked to high negative affect. Furthermore, perceived and enacted support were strongly linked when correlations reflected social influences but not trait influences. Thus, findings for enacted support fit social support theory better when social influences were isolated from trait influences.

Need Threat Can Motivate Performance After Ostracism

Abstract: Ostracism threatens fundamental needs of belonging, self-esteem, control, and meaningful existence, which should motivate participants to respond to this threat. However, research has yet to examine the role of need threat in producing motivation after ostracism. In the current work, participants completed a "cognitive ability" (antisaccade) task following Cyberball-induced ostracism or inclusion. In two experiments, it was found that when ostracized, participants do not see antisaccade performance as a means of responding to the concerns produced by need threat; they respond only to the social threat, leading to worse performance than included participants (Experiments 1 and 2). However, when participants see an avenue of response (the Cyberball players can compare antisaccade performances), ostracized participants outperform included participants (Experiment 2). Moreover, this effect was mediated by the need for belonging, suggesting that ostracized participants were motivated to elevate their inclusionary status by demonstrating their worth on the cognitive ability task.

Sexual Orientation Perception Involves Gendered Facial Cues

Abstract: Perceivers can accurately judge a face’s sexual orientation, but the perceptual mechanisms mediating this remain obscure. The authors hypothesized that stereotypes casting gays and lesbians as gender “inverts,” in cultural circulation for a century and a half, lead perceivers to use gendered facial cues to infer sexual orientation. Using computer-generated faces, Study 1 showed that as two facial dimensions (shape and texture) became more gender inverted, targets were more likely to be judged as gay or lesbian. Study 2 showed that real faces appearing more gender inverted were more likely to be judged as gay or lesbian. Furthermore, the stereotypic use of gendered cues influenced the accurate judgment of sexual orientation. Although using gendered cues increased the accuracy of sexual orientation judgments overall, Study 3 showed that judgments were reliably mistaken for targets that countered stereotypes. Together, the findings demonstrate that perceivers utilize gendered facial cues to glean another’s sexual orientation, and this influences the accuracy or error of judgments.