THE INFLUENCE OF PHYSICAL APPEARANCE ON PERSONNEL SELECTION

2003 ◽  
Vol 31 (6) ◽  
pp. 613-623 ◽  
Author(s):  
Micheal L. Shannon ◽  
C. Patrick Stark
Keyword(s):  
Personnel Selection ◽  
Physical Appearance ◽  
Job Applicants ◽  
Hiring Decisions ◽  
Decision Level ◽  
Management Positions ◽  
Selection Decision ◽  
Final Selection

Previous research suggests that physical appearance variables may play a role in employment hiring decisions. This study examined the influence of two physical appearance variables, beardedness and attractiveness, on personnel selection. Fifty undergraduate participants were given the task of evaluating and selecting between nine equally qualified male job applicants applying for a fictitious management trainee position. A photograph was attached to each of the nine applications. Photographs differed systematically on level of beardedness and attractiveness. Results indicated that the level of attractiveness of the photographs significantly affected the evaluation of the application to which it was attached, but did not significantly affect the subjects' final selection decision. Level of beardedness of the photographs was not found to have a significant effect on evaluation of the applications. However, there was a trend in the data that suggested that bearded applicants, although evaluated equally with nonbearded applicants, were selected for management positions at lower rates. Implications and limitations of these results are also examined.

Assessing personality at risk in personnel selection and development

2009 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Filip De Fruyt ◽  
Barbara J. De Clercq ◽  
Joshua Miller ◽  
Jean‐Pierre Rolland ◽  
Sung‐Cheol Jung ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
At Risk ◽  
Career Development ◽  
Construct Validity ◽  
Personnel Selection ◽  
Normative Data ◽  
Practical Utility ◽  
Selection Interview ◽  
Selection Decision ◽  
Final Selection

This paper demonstrates the validity and usefulness of a count technique to screen for potential personality dysfunctioning in NEO‐PI‐R ratings obtained in selection and professional development assessments. The usefulness of this screening technique for Industrial, Work and Organizational (IWO) psychologists is demonstrated in five different samples that were administered the NEO‐PI‐R for selection or development purposes. Three additional samples served as normative data to compute FFM PD count cut‐offs that can be used for selection and career development decisions. Evidence for the construct validity of 6 out of 10 FFM PD counts was provided, and all FFM PD compound scales were significantly related to important criteria, including the final selection decision, the results of a behaviourally oriented selection interview and self‐rated work competencies. The practical utility and limitations of this count technique for personnel selection and development are discussed. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

scholarly journals Judging good appearance in personnel selection

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (87) ◽  
pp. 656-675
Author(s):  
Altair dos Santos Paim ◽  
Marcos Emanoel Pereira
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
Human Resources ◽  
Random Sample ◽  
Personnel Selection ◽  
Racial Bias ◽  
Selection Process ◽  
Physical Appearance ◽  
Racial Diversity ◽  
Job Applicants ◽  
Selection Of

ABSTRACT Judgement of what one views as good appearance in the selection of job applicants may reveal racial bias in access to the labor market. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of racism in judging physical appearance in personnel selection. The non-random sample was composed of seventy-four (74) participants, of whom forty-two were human resources professionals (57%). The instruments used were an assessment of résumés, a set of prejudice scales, an inventory of racism in the labor market, an indicator of good appearance and a sociodemographic questionnaire. Three hypotheses were tested. Hypothesis 1, which postulated a preference for white candidates was confirmed. Hypothesis 2 was corroborated, because the professionals showed a higher tendency to choose candidates with a fairer complexion. Hypothesis 3, which made reference to good appearance was rejected, because the participants elected hygiene as a further element present in the judgment in selecting candidates. Finally, it is considered that the selection process should be based on the acceptance of racial diversity, a key element for the development of creative and innovative organizations.

THE INFLUENCE OF FACIAL HAIR ON IMPRESSION FORMATION

1990 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 169-175 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Ann Reed ◽  
Elizabeth M. Blunk
Keyword(s):  
Impression Formation ◽  
Physical Attractiveness ◽  
Semantic Differential ◽  
Job Applicants ◽  
Hiring Decisions ◽  
Job Applicant ◽  
Facial Hair ◽  
Management Positions

The influence of facial hair on the perception of a job applicant by persons in business was examined in this study. Subjects were 228 persons in management positions who made hiring decisions. Subjects were shown ink sketches of six male job applicants. The sketches varied on three facial hair dimensions-clean shaven, moustached, and bearded. Sketches were evaluated on semantic differential scales. Results indicated consistently more positive perceptions of social/physical attractiveness, personality, competency, and composure for men with facial hair.

Public Personnel Selection: Issues and Choice Points

1987 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 243-257 ◽  
Author(s):  
William R. McKinney
Keyword(s):  
Personnel Selection ◽  
Test Scores ◽  
Social Representation ◽  
Job Applicants ◽  
Technical Expertise ◽  
Top Down ◽  
The Public ◽  
Selection Decision ◽  
Compliance With The Law

This study was undertaken to explore the role of a written selection examination in defining the composition of the workforce while complying with the legislative mandates for validity in the selection decision. Results of the investigation suggest that, in the public domain, two general choices exist with regard to personnel selection: an organization may select job applicants on the basis of raw test scores from the top down; or, it may group the applicants based on race, and then standardize the scores before selection from the top down. Each agency should consider the legal and social implications of the two approaches. The decision taken will reflect each agency's desire for technical expertise, social representation, or both, within its workforce, and for compliance with the law.

scholarly journals Employment Lapses and Subsequent Hiring Disadvantages: An Experimental Approach Examining Types of Discrimination and Mechanisms

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 237802312110198
Author(s):  
Katherine Weisshaar
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
Job Performance ◽  
Experimental Approach ◽  
Cognitive Biases ◽  
Job Applicants ◽  
Survey Experiment ◽  
Hiring Decisions ◽  
Positive Information ◽  
Employment Gaps ◽  
Types Of Information

Employment interruption is a common experience in today’s labor market, most frequently due to unemployment from job loss and temporary lapses to care for family or children. Although existing research shows that employment lapses cause disadvantages at the hiring interface compared to individuals with no employment disruptions, competing theories predict different mechanisms explaining these hiring penalties. In this study, the author uses an original conjoint survey experiment to causally assess perceptions of fictitious job applicants, focusing on a comparison of unemployed applicants and nonemployed caregiver applicants, who left work to care for family, to currently employed applicants. The author examines whether disadvantages for job applicants with employment gaps are receptive to positive information (and therefore represent a form of “informational bias”) or are resistant to information (reflecting “cognitive bias”) and further assesses which types of information affect or do not affect levels of bias in fictitious hiring decisions. Results show that positive information on past job performance and social skills essentially eliminates disadvantages faced by unemployed job applicants, but nonemployed caregiver applicants remain disadvantaged even with multiple types of positive information. These findings suggest that unemployed applicants face informational biases but that nonemployed caregiver applicants face cognitive biases that are rigid even with rich forms of positive or counter-stereotypical information. This study has implications for understanding the career consequences of employment disruption, which is especially relevant to consider in light of labor market disruptions during the recent pandemic.

Context in Selection of Men and Women in Hiring Decisions: Gender Composition of the Applicant Pool

2005 ◽  
Vol 96 (2) ◽  
pp. 349-360 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jos Van Ommeren ◽  
Giovanni Russo ◽  
Reinout E. De Vries ◽  
Mark Van Ommeren
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Job Applicants ◽  
Effect Sizes ◽  
Gender Composition ◽  
Lower Probability ◽  
Hiring Decisions ◽  
Sex Composition ◽  
Applicant Pool ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Selection Of

The hypothesis that the sex composition of an applicant pool affects the hiring probabilities of individual job applicants was tested using gender-distinctive information on accepted and rejected job applicants in The Netherlands. The evidence supports this hypothesis, although the effect sizes are moderate. Both men and women have a lower probability of being hired when the applicant pool contains fewer applicants from their own sex.

Overcoming Discrimination in Sport Management: A Systematic Approach to Affirmative Action

1989 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 151-157 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jed Friend ◽  
Arnold LeUnes
Keyword(s):  
Affirmative Action ◽  
Systematic Approach ◽  
Sport Management ◽  
Job Analysis ◽  
Professional Baseball ◽  
Hiring Decisions ◽  
Job Descriptions ◽  
Affirmative Action Policy ◽  
Managerial Performance ◽  
Management Positions

Recently the issue of fairness in the recruitment, selection, and placement aspects of personnel management for professional baseball teams has been questioned. The only seemingly correct solution to the lack of minorities in sport management positions has been oriented toward developing and implementing affirmative action programs. This paper discusses an approach to affirmative action that emphasizes (a) job analysis, (b) job descriptions, and (c) prediction of managerial performance. It therefore serves as a caveat for those organizations that feel an adequate affirmative action policy, as a single entity, is the proper remedy for correcting past discriminatory hiring decisions.

Will it be Disclosure or Fabrication of Personal Information?

2010 ◽  
pp. 231-254 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xun Li ◽  
Radhika Santhanam
Keyword(s):  
Personal Information ◽  
Personal Data ◽  
Job Applicants ◽  
Accurate Information ◽  
Hiring Decisions ◽  
Job Applicant ◽  
Privacy Concerns ◽  
Willingness To Disclose ◽  
Information Sensitivity ◽  
Theoretical Foundations

Individuals are increasingly reluctant to disclose personal data and sometimes even intentionally fabricate information to avoid the risk of having it compromised. In this context, organizations face an acute dilemma: they must obtain accurate job applicant information in order to make good hiring decisions, but potential employees may be reluctant to provide accurate information because they fear it could be used for other purposes. Building on theoretical foundations from social cognition and persuasion theory, we propose that, depending on levels of privacy concerns, organizations could use appropriate strategies to persuade job applicants to provide accurate information. We conducted a laboratory experiment to examine the effects of two different persuasion strategies on prospective employees’ willingness to disclose information, measured as their intentions to disclose or falsify information. Our results show support for our suggestion As part of this study, we propose the term information sensitivity to identify the types of personal information that potential employees are most reluctant to disclose.

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