Scholarly record

EVALUATION OF COMPONENTS OF FACIAL APPEARANCE OF REPRESENTATIVES ETHNO-CULTURAL GROUPS AS A MANIFESTATION OF THE DISCRIMINATORY ATTITUDE

Vera Labunskaya, Anastasia Bzezyan

Abstract

The aim of our research. The article deals with the phenomenon of evaluation of ethno-cultural types of facial appearance from a position of the psychology of social knowledge, categorization of which is carried to a greater extent, on the basis of ordinary designations ("Caucasian facial appearance", "Slavic facial appearance", "Asian facial appearance"). These designations types of facial appearance penetrate into various spheres of life and are one of reasons of discrimination against members of ethno-cultural groups. The research purpose is a definition of features of evaluation of various components of ethno-cultural types of facial appearance as a manifestation of the discriminatory attitude. Hypothesis of research: the estimations of facial appearance may be caused by its belonging to a certain ethno-cultural type and may differ in result of the influence of a gender of the object of evaluation. Research Methods. The technique “Estimated and intensional interpretation of facial appearance and its correspondence to gender and age constructs” developed by V.A. Labunskaya. In the questionnaire facial appearance types: “Slavic facial appearance”, “Caucasian facial appearance”, “Asian facial appearance” are the objects of evaluation. We have offered the participants of research to estimate the degree of correspondence of judgments to a certain type of facial appearance according to the 10 scoring system. In this research the judgments are grouped according to the main functions of facial appearance: esthetic functions, emotional and esthetic functions, the function of regulation of relations and relationship, function of construction of the gender. Study participants were assessed three components of appearance: face, figure, estimations of appearance (clothes, hairstyle, make-up, and other accessories). For the purpose of definition of distinctions between estimations of “Slavic facial appearance”, “Caucasian facial appearance”, “Asian facial appearance” we have used Wilcoxon’s nonparametric Z-criterion (SPSS 16.00 program). Research subjects: Students - 37 women and 15 men at the age from to 25 years. Results of research. The discriminatory attitude to groups with a certain type of facial appearance is expressed in various levels of estimations of components of facial appearance and in such its integrated characteristics as attractiveness of facial appearance to another person, masculinity–femininity presentation. The revealed manifestations of discrimination belong to the sphere of prejudices. These prejudices are that Russian students (the majority of the research participants) consider that both men and women having “Slavic type of facial appearance” are more beautiful, attractive, charming, attractive to another person, more masculine or feminine, than the persons of “Caucasian or Asian type of facial appearance”. The discriminatory attitude presented in different types of estimations was shown to people with “Asian type of facial appearance” in a greater degree.

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DOI resolver: doi.org/10.5593/sgemsocial2014/B11/S1.022

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