Social Perceptions of Male Pattern Baldness. A Review

Henss, Ronald

doi:10.1159/000049641

Cited by 21 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 23 publications

(35 reference statements)

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“…A review of experimental research on the social perception of MPB (Henss, 2001) showed that male hair loss, by and large, has a negative impact on the perception of physical attractiveness ("handsome appearance") but an ambiguous effect on the perception of social attractiveness ("likeable impression"). This conflicts with the PAS prediction of a consistently negative impact on both attractiveness dimensions (Dion et al, 1972).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bald and Bad?

Kranz

Nadarevic

Erdfelder

2019

Experimental Psychology

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Abstract. According to (a) the beauty ideal of a full head of hair and (b) the physical attractiveness stereotype (PAS; “what is beautiful is good”), bald men should appear less attractive than nonbald men, not only physically but also socially. To explain inconsistent results on this prediction in previous research, we suggest two antagonistic processes: the automatic activation of the PAS at the implicit level and its suppression at the explicit level, the latter process selectively triggered by individuating information about the target person. In line with this account, we only found negative social attractiveness ratings for bald men by same-aged women when individuating target information was lacking (Experiment 1). In contrast, irrespective of whether individuating information was available or not, we reliably found evidence for the PAS in different implicit paradigms (the implicit association test in Experiment 2 and a source monitoring task in Experiment 3). We conclude that individuating information about bald men suppresses PAS application, but not PAS activation.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bald and Bad?

Kranz

Nadarevic

Erdfelder

2019

Experimental Psychology

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“…Mannes (2013) also finds that hairless scalps are associated with increased perceptions of dominance and that men with hairless scalps are perceived to be taller and stronger than they actually are. Methodologically, Henss (2001) criticizes the ecological validity of studies that rely on line drawings or schematic computer-composed faces, a problem that we do not face as we use real political leaders' faces.…”

Section: Baldnessmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Because good scalps are a sign of health compared with the sparse or brittle hair seen during disease or starvation (Randall, 2008, p. 314), medicine has a long history of concern with baldness. For example, Hippocrates (400 BC) notes that eunuchs do not become bald (Henss, 2001), while the oldest recorded medical prescription (dating back to the Egyptians 5,000 years ago) is for treatment against baldness (Parrotto, 1961, cited in Muscarella & Cunningham, 1996). Today, we know that disposition toward balding is positively correlated with a higher ratio of DHT/testosterone (Knussmann, Christiansen, & Kannmacher, 1992), while baldness itself is associated not with total testosterone but with the amount of testosterone that is not bound to proteins in the blood (i.e., free testosterone; Demark‐Wahnefried et al., 1997).…”

Section: Theoretical Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

Masculinity cues, perceptions of politician attributes, and political behavior*

Chan

Skali

Stadelmann

et al. 2020

Economics & Politics

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How are masculine-looking politicians perceived by voters? Are these judgments accurate? We asked Australian survey participants to rate images of unknown-to-them Swiss politicians. We find that politicians with prominent markers of masculinity (including facial hair, baldness, and higher facial width-to-height ratio) are perceived as less honest and competent. To determine whether these perceptions correlate with political behavior, we exploit two unique features of Swiss politics. First, to check for politician-voter congruence, we match each politician's voting record to that of their constituents on identically worded legislative proposals. We find that bearded politicians are less likely to behave according to constituents' preferences. Second, by exploiting the mandatory disclosure of lobby group affiliations, we show that bearded politicians are less likely to be captured by interest groups. Our results suggest that more masculinelooking politicians are recognized by both voters and lobby groups as less amenable to being controlled.

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“…The answer seems to be that Pliny, in the first century, saw a fox whose urine made the places on which plants would normally grow turn ‘barren and bald for a year’, thereby creating an effect rather like alopecia 1 . Next I read a review article on social perceptions of male pattern baldness 2 …”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…1 Next I read a review article on social perceptions of male pattern baldness. 2 The first part dealt with the effects of hair loss on those who were losing it; not surprisingly, very few of them enjoyed the process. Then came a useful summary of the many published investigations into the ways in which other people react to those who are losing their hair.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%