AbstractFragale et al., suggested that there is a relationshipbetween status and perceived warmth. Working from these findings this report searchesfor a relationship between status and perceived warmth and gender and perceivedwarmth.

Participants were asked to read an excerpt about ‘L’ and judge ‘L’swarmth on a scale. The data from this research showed high status wasassociated with high warmth and low status was associated with low warmth.Gender did not have any effect on warmth scores. The Collins Dictionary’s definition of warmth is “someonewho has warmth is friendly and enthusiastic in their behaviour towards otherpeople.” Fragale et al., carried out research that indicated that an individualwith high status is perceived as warm no matter power level, and an individual withhigh power and low status is perceived as cold.

They conducted two experiments.In the first there was 100 participants, undergraduate students from the US, 43%were male and 57% were female. They were asked to rate job occupations on whetherthey were likely to possess dominance and warmth characteristics. It was foundthat individuals with higher status were correctly predicted to receive higherperceived warmth compared to higher power that was negatively associated with perceivedwarmth. In the second experiment, they improved their method by manipulating “thepower and status of a fictional individual rather than using the job occupationsfrom the first experiment.

114 undergraduate students from a US university tookpart in this experiment, 42% were male and 58% were female. They were asked torate fictional character ‘L’ on a scale on warmth and dominance. The data fromthe second experiment supported the results from the first, high power and highstatus were perceived as dominant and warm, high status/low power were perceivedas very warm, low status/high power was perceived as dominant and cold, and lowstatus/low power were submissive and warm. Our study    Methods Participants:In total, the number of participants was 89, 78 ofthem were female, 10 were male, and one participant did not state their gender.

The age range of the participants was between 19-49, the mean age of theparticipants was 21.57 (SD= 5.13). All participants were undergraduatepsychology students living or studying in the U.K. Design/Materials:The research was conducted in an independentmeasures design, in each condition there were different participants. Therewere 6 conditions in total, 45 participants in the high-status condition and 43in the low status condition.

In the male condition there was 30 participants,in the female there was 30, and 28 in the unspecified condition.  Procedure:The participants were asked in a class setting toread an extract about a fictional character, ‘L’ and answer a shortquestionnaire about ‘L’. Consent forms were filled out and participants werebriefed about their right to withdraw. Participants were not given the extractand questionnaire to read and complete. The questionnaire askedparticipants to judge whether ‘L’ possessed certain qualities (e.g. cordial,disrespectful, impolite).

They were asked the rate ‘L’ on a 5-point Likertscale from not at all (1) to very (5). The scores from this scale gave a warmthscore between 8 and 40. Questions 5 to 8 on the questionnaire were reversedscored and added to the scores from questions 1-4 and a warmth score wasproduced. ResultsThe results from a Kolmogorov-Smirnov test andLevene test showed that the data had homogeneity of variance and normality. TheKolmogorov-Smirnov test showed normal distribution, (p>.

05) a Levene testwas also non significant, (p=.303). A two way independent analysis of variancewas carried out 3 (unspecified, female, male) x 2 (high status, low status). Itwas found there was a significant effect of status on perceived warmth,F(1,83)=126.84, p<.001. The data showed that high status, (n=46) producedhigher perceived warmth (M=32.

98, SD=4.27), and low status (n=43) produced lowperceived warmth (M=21.02, SD=5.

7). The data however, did not show asignificant effect of gender on perceived warmth, it also did not show asignificant interaction between status and gender on perceived warmth, F(2,83)=1.52, p=.225.