Women Retain More News Than Men From Attractive Anchor

The blond women of Fox NewsA January 2011 study from Indiana University confirms very different responses from women and men news viewers, when the topic is female broadcasters. Forbes Woman clues us in.

To test viewers, a broadcast journalist “was dressed in a tight-fitting dark blue jacket and skirt that accented her waist-to-hip ratio,” for one of two versions of a taped newscast.  “She also wore bright red lipstick and a necklace.” For the second she wore “a shapeless and loose-fitting dark blue jacket and skirt,” and no makeup. Test subjects were quizzed on their impression of the reporter and their retention of the newscast.

As expected, male viewers love babes on TV but not on the news shows, where they are seriously interested in retaining information. The test responses from men surveyed by researchers Maria Elizabeth Grabe and Leila Samson conclude that “emphasis on the sexual attractiveness of female news anchors distracts from memory formation for news content.”

This is not the first time that men admit they can not look at beautiful women and think clearly at the same time. Tests results confirmed the fact that men retained less information watching the anchor dressed in clothes that accented her waist-to-hip ratio.

There are men who seriously argue that this reality is one more reason to keep women out of Wall Street, corporate board rooms and any other place where critical thinking is made. Men can’t think clearly in the presence of Smart Sensuality women.

If you assume that the women responders have their claws out, when discussing attractive female new broadcasters, think again.

Female test subjects had an opposite effect, being shown to have “encoded more news information presented by the sexualized than unsexualized anchor condition.”

It’s easy to generalize that women are judging other women, preferring the better-dressed, more attractive woman. Studies confirm that our impressions of each other are made in seconds, before we open our mouths to show our brainpower.

Dr. Laura Berman told Forbes: “It makes sense. A woman sitting at home sees a smart, articulate, and attractive woman, she wants to connect with her, she trusts her.”

Berman continues that the female response is less about women judging other women and more about women judging themselves.  Unconsciously there is some negative evaluation of the less attractive woman dressed in baggy clothes. But the stronger response is that we aspire to be more like the attractive and articulate woman, the sensual brainiac.

To be clear, the women retained more news information when the more sensual, hour-glass emphasizing broadcaster presented. Men retained less information. via Forbes Woman

Back to FOX News and their preference for blond anchors. What is the balance of men to women viewers at FOX? At first glance, there may be more women than we assume. We’re digging in, trying to find fresher information than this dated 2005 Pew Research Beyond Red vs. Blue.