Running on Empty: The Effects of Food Deprivation on Concentration and Perseverance -- Thomas DeJong & Adam Smit
This study examined the effects of short‑term food deprivation on two cognitive abilities, concentration and perseverance.  Undergraduate students (N = 51) were tested after one of three levels of food deprivation: no deprivation, 12 hrs, or 24 hrs.  The hypothesis was that food deprivation would impair both concentration scores and perseverance time on an impossible puzzle.  Food deprivation had no significant effect on concentration scores, consistent with other research (Green et al., 1995, 1997).  However, participants in the 12‑hr deprivation group spent significantly less time on the perseverance task than those in the control and 24‑hr deprivation groups, suggesting that food deprivation may effect some aspects of cognition.

How Competency Affects Perceptions of Physical Attractiveness -- Rachelle Vanderploeg & Nicole Noteboom
This study examined how competency, defined as intelligence, affects perceptions of physical attractiveness.  Participants (43 undergraduates) viewed a photograph followed by a video of an individual that was manipulated to be either competent or incompetent in an interview setting. A questionnaire indicated whether the individual received higher scores for physical attractiveness after viewing either the competent or incompetent video as compared to the rating following only the photograph. The prediction that higher scores would be given for attractiveness when the individual was viewed as competent and lower scores for attractiveness when they were viewed as incompetent was supported. The relationships between competence and perceived physical attractiveness were discussed.

Effects of Sleep Disruption on Accuracy and Speed of Recall -- Tracy B. Petersen & Luann J. Kosters
The effects of sleep disruption on short-term recall speed and accuracy were studied in 74 college students.  Participants were awakened and answered several digit-series recall questions at one of 3 times: shortly after they went to bed, after 2 hrs of sleep, or after 5 hrs of sleep.  As expected, the control condition was faster and more accurate than the other conditions.  Participants awakened after 5 hrs had significantly higher accuracy scores than the 2-hour condition. Contrary to the hypothesis, the 5-hr condition took longer to answer each question than the control or 2-hr condition participants. Thus, people disrupted after a longer period of sleep may take more time to answer short-term memory questions but will be more accurate.  The study supports previous research indicating sleep deprivation caused by sleep disruption can negatively affect cognitive functioning upon awakening.

Effects of Positive Music Lyrics on Female Body Image -- Tamara A. Griess & Matthew E. Wolthuizen
The media have long influenced the body image of females (Wood, 2000).  The social comparison theory has examined this relationship in areas of visual imagery such as magazine and television ads, movies, and more recently music videos (Posavac, 1998).  However, there has been little research conducted on the lyrics of music and how they alone affect body image.  The present study examined whether women who listened to positive lyrics about physical beauty would have a higher body image score than those who listened to music without lyrics or those who heard no music.  The findings indicated no significant differences among the three groups. Further research will be needed to explore under what conditions music lyrics may affect body image.

The Effects of Personal Space Violations on Immediate Recall -- April A. Crull & Shannon R. Snieder
Research has demonstrated that arousal can strongly affect memory, especially during the encoding process (Geen, 1971).  We hypothesized that the arousal caused by a personal space violation would impair immediate word‑pair recall scores compared to mere presence or alone conditions.  Participants memorized a word‑pair list alone or with another person either 1.52 m or 12.7cm away, completed a distraction task for 7 min, and free‑recalled one word of each pair.  No significant effects were found for presence conditions, but women scored significantly higher than men.  Results indicated that arousal might not affect memory in every situation, especially when the arousal is justified.

The Effect of Room Environment on Self‑Disclosure between Unacquainted Peers -- Annette R. Elgersma & Rebecca J. Hathaway
People regularly reveal information about themselves, but how much is revealed may depend upon the environment in which self‑disclosure is occurring.  In the present study, 20 unacquainted male‑female pairs discussed 5 questions that ranged from low to high intimacy while being observed behind a two‑way mirror.  Half of the pairs discussed the questions in a "soft" room environment (soft chairs, low lighting, music), and half in a "hard" room (hard chairs, bright lights, no music).  Significantly higher levels of self‑disclosure were observed in the soft room than in the hard room.  There was no significant interaction between gender and room condition.  Therefore, levels of self‑disclosure are apparently affected by room environment.       

The Effect of Babyface Characteristics in the Elderly on Ratings of Physical Attractiveness and Likeability -- Jennifer Hoogeveen & Marissa Moncur
The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether babyfaced (a round face, fuller eyes, a small nose bridge, thin eyebrows, and ample lips) elderly persons were perceived as more physically attractive and likeable than non‑babyfaced elderly persons (Zebrowitz, 1997).  Participants (52 undergraduates) rated babyfaced and non‑babyfaced elderly men and women on physical attractiveness and likeability.  No significant differences were discovered in the ratings of attraction or likeability between babyface and non‑babyface conditions.  Exploratory analyses revealed that a) women photos received higher rates than men photos, b) female participants gave higher attractiveness ratings than male participants, and c) women photos received higher ratings from female participants than they did from male participants on attraction.

Effects of Chair Comfort and Arrangement on Experiment‑Related Suspiciousness -- Heidi Kooiman & Tina Van Wyk
An experimental study was conducted to assess the effects of chair comfort and chair arrangements on suspiciousness of the experiment.  Specifically, we predicted that a more “comfortable” environment (soft chairs in a circular arrangement) would lead to lower suspicion scores.  While seated in the chair conditions, 66 undergraduates completed a 5 min filler task then filled out a questionnaire measuring suspicion.  Results indicate that chair comfort and arrangement significantly affected participants’ suspiciousness.  Further research on room condition comfort and seating arrangement, group size, and demographic factors would benefit the study of experimental environments on participants’ suspiciousness.  How experimental environments are set up can affect the participants’ suspiciousness and can in turn affect how honestly and completely they participate in the experiment.

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