In the News – Bald is Tough
Snippet from the article:
Sometime in his late 30s, after his hair had been thinning for several years, Dr. Albert Mannes decided to shave what was left of his mane. He then noticed a curious thing: “Strangers were more standoffish, more deferential,” he recalls.
“I found that people treated me differently once I started shaving my head, which made me wonder whether my experience was unique,” says Mannes.
This led Mannes, a lecturer at the Wharton School, at the University of Pennsylvania, to design three experiments that tested other people’s perception of men with shaved heads. His findings appear in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science.
All three studies found similar results: A man’s shorn scalp was linked with dominance. In other words, men with shaved heads were perceived as powerful by others.
Read the rest — Guys with shaved heads seem tougher, study says
These are interesting studies about how society sees completely bald men with shaved heads.
Albert Mannes. Shorn Scalps and Perceptions of Male Dominance Social Psychological and Personality Science 1948550612449490, first published on July 16, 2012 as doi:10.1177/1948550612449490
Albert Mannes, PhD albert.mannes@gmail.com
The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Abstract
Three studies contribute to the literature on dominance and nonverbal behavior (Ellyson & Dovidio, 1985) by examining how a man’s choice to shave his head influences person perception. In Study 1, men with shaved heads were rated as more dominant than similar men with full heads of hair. In Study 2, men whose hair was digitally removed were perceived as more dominant, taller, and stronger than their authentic selves. Study 3 extends these results with nonphotographic stimuli and demonstrates how men experiencing natural hair loss may improve their interpersonal standing by shaving. Theories of signaling, norm violation, and stereotypes are examined as explanations for the effect. Practical implications for men’s psychological, social, and economic outlooks are also discussed.