Do facial averageness and symmetry signal health?

We investigated whether the attractive facial traits of averageness and symmetry signal health, examining two aspects of signalling: whether these traits are perceived as healthy, and whether they provide accurate health information. In Study 1, we used morphing techniques to alter the averageness and symmetry of individual faces. Increases in both traits increased perceived health, and perceived health correlated negatively with rated distinctiveness (a converse measure of averageness) and positively with rated symmetry of the images. In Study 2, we examined whether these traits signal real, as well as perceived, health, in a sample of individuals for whom health scores, based on detailed medical records, were available. Perceived health correlated negatively with distinctiveness and asymmetry, replicating Study 1. Facial distinctiveness ratings of 17-year-olds were associated with poor childhood health in males, and poor current and adolescent health in females, although the last association was only marginally significant. Facial asymmetry of 17-year-olds was not associated with actual health. We discuss the implications of these results for a good genes account of facial preferences.

Blitz rape and confidence rape: implications for clinical intervention.

Corroborating a typology of rape proposed 10 years earlier, a recent demographic study of 1,000 incidents of rape concluded that the two predominant types of assault were blitz and confidence rape. Blitz rape is characterized by sudden surprise attack by an unknown assailant using force or the threat of violence to gain control over the victim. In confidence rape, the assailant is known to some degree, however slight, and gains control over his victim by winning her trust. The characteristic details that differentiate one type of rape from the other suggest that the psychological impact on the victim will differ according to the type of rape. Specific clinical approaches for the mental health care of each victim group need to be provided. The immediate concerns of blitz rape victims center around their sense of safety, their fear that the rapist may return, and their dismay at having failed to ward off their attacker. They may respond like typical trauma victims with nightmares, flashbacks, sleep and appetite disturbances, heightened startle responses, anxiety, and depression. Treatment--usually sought soon after the rape--may include psychotherapy, medication, and behavioral desensitization. The confidence rape victims' chief concerns are guilt and self-blame. The rape may be revealed only years later. There is often significant delay between the rape and the victims' request for help. The victims need to be assured that they are deserving of help and need the meaning and definition of rape clarified. Providing services may require active and sustained involvement on the part of clinicians. Confidence rape victims will have strong doubts about their ability to discern who is truly trustworthy.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Blitz rape and confidence rape: a typology applied to 1,000 consecutive cases.

The case records of 1,000 consecutive rape victims seen at a crisis center were analyzed to identify important categories of rape victimization. The most noteworthy finding was a replication and extension of the blitz rape and confidence rape typology. The distinction between these two types of rape corresponded to a series of significant differences in the victims' characteristics, the rape settings, the victims' activities before they were raped, the assailants' characteristics, and the victims' immediate responses to the assaults. The authors discuss the implications of these differences with respect to specific strategies of outreach and treatment for victims of different types of rape.

Social issues and body image concerns of port wine stain patients undergoing laser therapy.

When applying lasers to treatment of port wine stains and other flaws of appearance, the physician needs to have an appreciation of the psychological and social aspects of body image as well as the physical aspect. A number of aspects of our society impinge upon port wine stain patients to make their condition psychologically burdensome. Fortunately, the 82 patients in our sample have received extraordinary support from family members in coping with their affliction. As a group they do not display an unusual degree of emotional disturbance in comparision with a normal control population. However, their initial expectations tend to be unrealistically perfectionistic, and many seem to be unwilling to absorb the fact that laser treatment is accompanied by certain hazards and limitations. An especially conscientious adherence to the canons of informed consent with these patients is therefore recommended.

Aesthetic surgery: how it affects the way patients are perceived by others.

Writings on the psychological effects of aesthetic surgery have evidenced a subtle but important difference of opinion. One viewpoint emphasizes the intrapsychic significance of surgery, while another places great weight on the surgical patient's social feedback from peers. This research was designed to determine whether aesthetic surgery, by altering a patient's appearance, can change the social perceptions and dispositions of those who encounter the patient. A controlled experiment was carried out in which subjects viewed preoperative or postoperative photographs and made a variety of judgments of those pictured. The individuals in the postoperative pictures were judged to have more desirable personalities, to be better potential marriage partners, and to have happier lives than the same individuals photographed before surgery. Since all the impressions were from photographs, actual personality was not a factor in this study. The greatly improved social reception given the individuals in the postoperative pictures is explained by the surgical improvement in their appearance. Thus, the surgeon's work should be viewed as altering not only the patient, but also the patient's social world.