Unspoken Cultural Influence: Exposure to and Influence of Nonverbal Bias

摘要

The authors examined the extent to which nonverbal behavior contributes to culturally shared attitudesand beliefs. In Study 1, especially slim women elicited especially positive nonverbal behaviors in populartelevision shows. In Study 2, exposure to this nonverbal bias caused women to have especially slimcultural and personal ideals of female beauty and to have especially positive attitudes toward slimwomen. In Study 3, individual differences in exposure to such nonverbal bias accounted for substantialvariance in pro-slim attitudes, anti-fat attitudes, and personal ideals of beauty, even after controlling forseveral third variables. In Study 4, regional differences in exposure to nonverbal bias accounted forsubstantial variance in regional unhealthy dieting behaviors, even after controlling for several thirdvariables.