Theoretical Foundation
The matters of physical attractiveness suggests that what is beautiful must be good in all aspects. Such notion of beauty encompasses a notion the person’s physical attractiveness is beneficial in several situations including in getting a job. Apparently, the effect of beauty is beastly in terms of attractiveness is imperative in the context of employment. The study by Johnson et al. (2010) demonstrates that biases in rating a person’s employment suitability involve physical attractiveness and this assertion was determined by tracking down the “beauty is beastly” effect. The study was based on a theoretical underpinnings introduced by Heilman and Stopeck (1985) suggesting that when women apply for masculine jobs the context of “beauty is beastly” occurs or the Lack of Fit model.
This means that occupational sex biases emerge as a result of incongruity between a person’s attributes and skills that are often associated with gender including perception nature and requirements of the job (Johnson et al.). Furthermore, the theoretical model also asserts that a poor fit to the job creates an expectation of failure while a good fit assessment is likely to result to success. More importantly, the Lack of Fit model is influenced congruity where one involves the characteristics of the person applying for the job and the characteristics of the job being applied for. This also means that the advantages and disadvantages in employment is determined by the type of job.
Tested Hypothesis
The study aims to test four hypotheses where the central theme suggests that attractiveness benefits male regardless of the job being applied for. However, female attractiveness becomes an advantage if they apply for feminine jobs, but a disadvantage when applying for masculine jobs. Based on the central theme, the study assumes that (1) attractiveness is positively related to employment suitability, (2) attractiveness is positively related to employment suitability of men applying for masculine as compared to feminine jobs, (3a) attractiveness is positively related to employment suitability of men applying for both masculine and feminine jobs, (3b) attractiveness is negatively related to employment suitability of women applying masculine jobs. In addition to the given hypothesis, the study also seeks to determine if physical appearance is likely more relevant for certain jobs than the others.
Employed Methodology
In terms of the method employed in the study, quantitative approach was used as the primary model in obtaining and interpreting data. The participants are composed of psychology students from a small private university located in the Southwest. A total of 67 students participated in the study composed of 28 females and 39 males with a mean age of 20.30 years old. The students will have participated in the job ratings process where 21 males and 21 females also participated in the photograph ratings process. In terms of ethnicity, the sample is composed of 7.1% African Americans, 30.1% Asian, 33.3% Hispanic, and 40.5% Caucasians with a total percentile of more than 100% because some of the students have reported to have association in more than one category. There were 33 jobs selected for the study, which was rated using a scale of 1 to 7 for the importance of appearance. In the photograph rating 204 photos of students were rated according to appearance, characteristics, and assumed level of intelligence.
Findings
Using a similar method, the participants rated the photographs according to employment suitability. After which, the final data was tested against the given hypothesis using ANOVA based on factors such as sex-type of job either feminine of masculine and physical appearance as being important or unimportant. A three-way interaction was also used to test each hypothesis. The findings suggests that (1) attractive applicants are suitable for employment, (2) attractiveness is not significant for male applying for masculine than feminine jobs, which opposes the hypothesis, (3a) attractive women are found to be more suitable for feminine jobs, (3b) attractiveness is negatively related to suitability of women applying for masculine jobs. Lastly, the findings also suggest that attractiveness relatively important where physical appearance was perceived as important as compared to jobs where physical appearance was perceived as unimportant (Johnson et al.).
Implications of the Result
The study primarily demonstrates that the beauty is beastly effect has a likelihood of influencing employment decisions. However, it is also important to remember that in real job situations, making a mistake in hiring an individual is likely to entail a high cost for the part of the employer. This means that hiring decisions should rely on individuating information rather than stereotypes. Some people may argue that attractiveness is also a legitimate criterion for hiring. On the other hand, it is no surprise that attractiveness can also become a subject of interest of the employer given that assumption that visual cues has a predictive validity for job performance. For instance, a face-to-face interview would likely favor the more attractive applicant more than the other in situations where the all applicants have presumably equal qualifications. Consequently, biases on physical appearances impede the right to equal opportunities.
Works Cited
Johnson, Stefanie K. et al. "Physical Attractiveness Biases In Ratings Of Employment Suitability: Tracking Down The “Beauty Is Beastly” Effect". The Journal of Social Psychology 150.3 (2010): 301-318. Web. 16 June 2016.
