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Christopher Norvilus
Dr. Hoehl
COM 380- Nonverbal Communication
8 March 2017
Brief Reading 5- Sex and Relationship Affect Social Self-Grooming

In the article Sex and Relationship Affect Social Self-Grooming, the researchers

examine correlates of preening with an impression management activity. Those correlates were

the persons sex and who he or she was with in the social setting where the observations took

place (56). Preening is noted by the researchers to have functions of boosting self-esteem,

relieving boredom, reducing physical discomfort, and manage positive impressions in the

presence of others (57). Researchers note that the purpose of this study was to explore

preening as an impression management technique used by people in a social setting (58).

In the study, the first variable of the sex of the person was looked at. It was thought that

women would preen more than men (57). The empirical evidence shows that females emphasize

appearance more than males possibly because they are more concerned about positive social

impressions (57). The second variable dealing with the social environment was expected to

vary as a function of the permanence of the association between the people (57). It is most

important to note that as relationships progress from the first meeting to stable, permanent, and

enduring associations, physical appearance may become less important (57).

The method of the study was clearly outlined in terms of the subjects and procedure. For

the subjects, there were 77 individuals consisting of 32 males and 43 females who were all in

their mid-twenties in age (58). The subjects were randomly selected from an approximately 500

group of individuals who were available during the observational phase of the study (58). The
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procedure of the study had the data collection completed in two different stages (58). The first

stage was the observation of preening behaviors in which preening by subjects was

unobtrusively observed and timed in the restrooms of five restaurants and bars located within the

university community (58). There were four different observers but only one observer did the

actual timing of preening (58). The actual observation process is described in great detail within

the article. The second stage of the data collection was the interview phase (58). Data was

collected as the subject left the bathroom and the observer followed and identified the subject to

a person who served as interviewer (58-59). Once the subject was identified to the interviewer,

the observer recorded the subjects sex and amount of preening (59). Questions asked by the

interviewer included how long the subject had been in the establishment, the nature of the

relationship between the subject and the person (s) sitting with him or her, and how long the

subject had known the other person (s) with him or her (59). It is important to note that no

subject reported being aware of the observations that had occurred or experiencing any adverse

reactions to the project (59).

The results of the study indicated that: females preen for longer periods of time than

males, people who are married or close friends preen less than other groups, couples on their

first, second, third, or fourth date preen more than those who have been dating longer, and the

longer people know one another, the less time they spend preening (59). Impression

management via preening was hypothesized to be more critical in the early stages of

relationships and was proven true (60). Discussion of the study and results note that the study

itself is significant because this is one of very few investigations to explore self-grooming

among humans and that it provides an empirical demonstration of human social preening and

some of its mediators (59).

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The methodology of the study was well-done and very thorough. My only concern is that

participants may have felt ambushed or invaded by the study even having volunteered and

therefore given slightly untrue or biased answers. In the discussion section of the article, it is

noted that concern might arise about the potential privacy invasion in the study (60). This may

be a direct cause of why participants may have chosen to answer with slight bias or

untruthfulness. While the participants were willing, the subject matter is undeniably sensitive and

because of that, participants may have felt pressured to answer a certain way that was in line with

societal norms. The persuasiveness of the article was clear because the concept is easily

applicable to any reader or student of the study. The persuasiveness may have seemed high as

well because of the way the results were in line with not only the hypotheses, but largely in line

with societal norms and stereotypes. Future research could include identifying how strategies

people connect as central to a positive impression change across the life of relationships (60).

This would be interesting to look at because it would allow researchers to discover whether or

not people even seeing preening as necessary at all the remain in a positive impression in their

relationship. Some may preen because they genuinely like to, but do they even think it is

necessary to keep their relationship interesting?