Adults' Perceptions of the Behavior of Competent and Dysfunctional Children Based on the Children's Physical Appearance

This study explored adults' judgments of competent and dysfunctional children's behavioral adjustment based solely on children's physical appearance. Adults rated photographs of preschoolers (6 boys, 6 girls) who previously had been classified as socially competent or dysfunctional on...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Behavior modification 1997-10, Vol.21 (4), p.457-469
Main Authors: Serketich, Wendy J., Dumas, Jean E.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescents
Adult
Adults
Aggression - psychology
Anger
Anxiety - diagnosis
Anxiety - psychology
Attitude towards mental illness
Beauty
Behavior
Biological and medical sciences
Child
Child Behavior
Child Behavior Disorders - diagnosis
Child Behavior Disorders - psychology
Child, Preschool
Children & youth
College Students
Dysfunctional Behavior
Evaluation Criteria
Female
Humans
Male
Medical sciences
Negative Attitudes
Perceptions
Personal appearance
Personality Assessment
Physical Appearance
Physical Attractiveness
Physical Characteristics
Preschool Children
Psychology
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Social Adjustment
Social Perception
Social psychiatry. Ethnopsychiatry
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Summary:This study explored adults' judgments of competent and dysfunctional children's behavioral adjustment based solely on children's physical appearance. Adults rated photographs of preschoolers (6 boys, 6 girls) who previously had been classified as socially competent or dysfunctional on the basis of independent, standardized teacher ratings. Participants, who were not given any information about the stimulus children, rated their photographs one at a time on measures of attractiveness, aggression, anxiety, social competence, and overall adjustment. Results indicated that dysfunctional children were easily distinguished from their competent peers. Specifically, dysfunctional children were rated as less attractive, more aggressive, more anxious, less socially competent, and more likely to have an emotional or behavioral problem than competent children. These findings (especially strong for aggressive boys), remained significant when group differences in attractiveness were statistically controlled. Implications for interpreting the current literature on attractiveness and for modification of childhood behavior disorders are discussed.
ISSN:0145-4455
1552-4167
DOI:10.1177/01454455970214004