Research proposal structure and methodology

Attractive Workers Getting Hired

The modern business world is a social construct, where interaction between various group members of diversified power show patterns which can then be measured and used in predictors. One of these patterns is the higher chance for interviewees who are deemed attractive to do well in interviews and get placed for employment sooner than those who are viewed as unattractive by their professional peers. This research uses the constructs of social psychology with its emphasis on group dynamics as formation of individual identity and that of status characteristics theory where power dictates status in order to explore the potential of attractiveness as a primary source of judgment in interviews. Prior research has shown some evidence in terms of attractiveness in professional performance analysis of current employees, but lacks strong evidence in terms of the interview context. Therefore, this study will focus on comparing measurable levels of attractiveness with how fast individuals find employment.

Introduction

All who live within the modern social world understand the basic concept that "The bias in favor of physically attractive persons is quite robust," (Shahani et al. 1993:317). People expect attractiveness to appear in a variety of social roles; a fact which is constantly perpetuated within the media. Many tend to believe that the professional world is able to transcend such biases. Yet, evidence shows that this may not exactly be the case with attractiveness having a high correlation with positive performance analysis of employees and interviewees within the context of the interview process.

Thus, this study aims to explore the level of influence perceived attractiveness has within the success of the interview process. By exploring the interview process as a social construct, elements of group dynamics come into play in the construction of what is perceived to be attractive. This is then formulated into a bias which can negatively affect the interviewee's chances of finding employment if that individual is deemed unattractive. When compared with similarly skilled individuals, unattractive individuals may have a harder and longer time finding employment within the modern workplace. This is especially true for women, who already have to deal with confining gender roles. The findings of this study can then help paint a picture of a more realistic, and biased, business environment still hold onto discriminatory biased based on physical appearance. With such a raw understanding of the truth of the situation, measures can then be taken to help make the process of finding employment a more level playing field, where people who are both attractive and unattractive can find success and thrive. Within the context of this research, it is hypothesized that attractiveness is a crucial element to the hiring of employees into particular organizations. Therefore, participants who are judged as attractive by our judges will most likely be hired faster than other individuals who were deemed as unattractive.

There are relatively few studies in regards to the perception of attractiveness within the specific context of the employment interview. In fact, most recent studies focus on attractiveness in academic performance as well as perceived performance of employees already on the job, but not how physical attractiveness relates to the actual context of the interview before the candidate has entered into the position. Even modern research acknowledges this, "Few studies have explored the attractiveness bias in real employment interviews," (Shahani 1993:319). Additionally, many studies which aim to judge attractiveness use limited methodologies in order to discover their findings. For example, several studies (Chia et al. 1998 & Shahani et al. 1993) used only photographic recording of individuals to later judge attractiveness. Yet, other studies, (Riggio 1991) show that there are more dynamic elements to judging physical attractiveness that go beyond facial beauty. Facial features are on of the top predictors of overall attractiveness but Riggio (1991) also found behavior and style to be other strong predictors. Therefore, the use of mere photographs is failing to accommodate for the other dynamic elements of what we typically deem attractive.

The field of social psychology posits several major conceits which can be drafted to fit the reasons why attractiveness is so appealing within a business context and then be used as a stepping stone for further research. The field aims "to discover general laws about human behavior," (Weatherall 2006:55). This branch of psychology looks at individuals within the larger context of the group as a way to study interactions between the two as well as the influence of those interactions in the determining of behavior. It is clear, that to understand a particular pattern in human behavior, social psychology helps provide background context to explain how various groups then interact with each other. In the case of attractiveness, the organizational group that is in charge of hiring can tend to exercise its power as a way to express common human patterns, such as favoring attractive looking people. Therefore, social psychology can help us dissect the dynamics of such universal patterns as they appear in specific groups, like a professional organization and its potential employees. Within the dynamics of social psychology, individuals often use physical characteristics and external behavior cues in order to judge the worth of an individual within the group. According to research, "those inferences create social stereotypes, which, in turn, produce person prototypes, or social stereotypes applied to individuals," (Chia et al. 1998:471). The social context of the group will have an immense effect on what individuals perceive as the norms or desired traits and characteristics. What the group deems as attractive is what will then be used as the general reference point for further judgment. Therefore, "Physical attractiveness, for example, is a status characteristic because being attractive is considered more desirable than being unattractive," (Eckes & Trautner 2000:310). The vision of attractiveness used to judge interviewees then is a social construct of the organizational environment. This means that, the vision of attractiveness could change from one organization to another, providing a multitude of possibilities based on the interviewees changing levels of attractiveness as they enter into different professional environments. Studies and research conducted within the field of social psychology indicate "that ratings of attractiveness are positively linked to the favorability of initial impressions -- how likable and socially attractive is -- and to attractiveness as a dating partner," (Riggio 1991:427). Another component of attractiveness is the various levels and elements which go into an attractive person. For example, research has shown that "attractiveness is a multidimensional construct -- made up of several different and some what independent components," (Riggio 1991:435). Therefore, there are several elements on which to judge a particular individual's attractiveness. Studies that explore the dynamic of attractiveness have however shown that facial beauty, behaviors, and style were the strongest predictors in determining attractiveness (Riggio 1991). Thus, attractiveness and how it is judged within a particular organization is directly reflective of the social environment of that organization.

Research that has been conducted on the perceptions of attractiveness in the determination of hiring has shown some interesting patterns revealing a mixed bias towards physical appearance. In the context of the interview, there is an underlying assumption "that people distort their self-disclosures in order to maintain or enhance their social image," (Catania 1999:26). Thus, many individuals tend to naturally play up what they think others will perceive as attractive, rather than providing a true glimpse of their real character and capabilities. Thus, individuals might embellish certain performances in prior employment situations, or alter their dress to appeal to what is deemed attractive in a business environment. Several studies have found that "attractive people are evaluated more favorably by others, are perceived as having more favorable personality characteristics, are considered more desirable among dating partners, and because of their beauty, may be more successful in many types of social interactions than people are considered unattractive," (Riggio 1991:424). Therefore, attractive people tend to be more socially outgoing or accepted based on the social construction of their role within the larger group, a staple of the concepts found within social psychology. Research indicates that when studies explore the judgment of interviewees by a control group, "The most common finding in the interview literature is that unattractive applicants are rated less favorably than attractive applicants," (Shahani et al. 1993:318). Thus, this concept can be seen as a larger social pattern that permeates across several social categories. Other studies have shown that there is considerable and measurable "evidence of a favorable bias towards attractive interviewees," (Shahani et a. 1993:325). This solidifies the existence of a strong possible bias against those who are deemed unattractive within the given social situation.

Social Psychology can then also help account for the way identities are created within group contexts. According to research, "because the social positions we occupy have immediate consequences for our sense of self, group schemas play a major part in processes of identification," (Howard 2000:369) . In the case of this research, attractive people may understand that they are attractive, and the use that knowledge in the formulation of their own identities with that as an assigning attribution within group dynamics. Therefore, if one perceives oneself as attractive, behavior might be modified which would then fit notions of what is deemed outgoing or attractive behavioral patterns, further increasing the positive perception of the individual in question. According to research, "The basic premise of symbolic interaction is that people attach symbolic meaning to objects, behaviors, themselves, and other people, and they develop and transmit these meanings through interaction," (Howard 2000:371). Through the interaction of both the interview and the later employment experience, the group is then allocating symbolic meanings of attractiveness levels on each and every individual within it. Thus, it is clear that "sexuality has become a central dimension of identity formation," (Howard 2000:373). Interviewees may then also construct an identity where they view themselves as unattractive, and their behavior will be negatively affected. His can then produce a sense of anxiety or stress within the context of the interview. Prior research has shown that "context-specific anxiety has a significant impact on the success or failure of the interview process," (Young et al. 2004:50).

The bias towards attractive people only continues after interviewees are hired. According to research, later performance evaluations can also reflect the same bias towards attractive workers that was first experienced within the context of the interview itself; "The evaluator's personal characteristics and biases may affect the performance appraisal process," once an employee is taken on into the organization (McBey 1994:25). Therefore, the judgment of the employee's performance also becomes relevant to their socially allocated role as either attractive or unattractive. "Physical attractiveness has also been shown to affect expected and perceived job performance, personnel selection, responsibility for undesirable behavior," among many more potential discriminations (Chia et al. 1998:472). Yet, some studies show through analysis that the majority of "beautiful people" tend to only be average at achievements and performances, both academically and professionally. This is contrast to the largely held idea that they are perceived to be higher achievers and better workers. According to a 1998 study (Chia et al.:475), although beautiful people were proven to be only average achievers, "The findings for the perception of achievement related-traits and initiative, however, indicate that the more attractive persons were indeed perceived to have more achievement-related traits and greater initiative." Therefore, it is clear that although the actual achievement potential of more attractive people proves only average, it is the perception of others that raises that average to a higher potentiality in order to excuse picking them above other candidates.

To complicate matters even further, women face more of an expected standard to be attractive. According to status characteristics theory "gender acts as a diffuse status characteristic, a general characteristic that is associated with an individual's relative status in society," (Eckes 2000:310). Thus, gender also plays a large role within the interview process. It also establishes greater importance of attractiveness and how it is perceived within the group. In a majority of larger social situations "there is evidence that males are considered more competent than females," a fact which places more weight on the attractiveness of female interviewees, for men are considered to be capable regardless of their attractiveness (Eckes & Trautner 2000:310). Prior studies have shown that in a professional setting, here is a stronger attraction bias against women then as seen in their male counterparts. In fact, one study (Chia et al. 1998:475) found that although "unattractive men consistently received the most favorable ratings," in terms of performance perception, "unattractive women consistently received the most unfavorable ratings." Women face much stronger criticism in terms of the attractiveness of their appearance, which then has an effect on the way their performance is perceived. Thus, unattractive women have been found to be less likely to nail a job in comparison to attractive women. Women also face much more criticism in terms of small changes to their appearance, as seen especially in terms of varying weight fluctuations. According to one study, "weight and body shape were 'the central dominants' of a woman's perception of her own physical attractiveness -- a perception that may accurately reflect the high importance of body build or figure in male's attraction to women," (Alley et al. 1994:536). Additionally, many women are forced into specific work categories based on their sex which then solidify gender stereotypes within the workplace. In the social construction of individual identities, "Gender also impacts self-presentation," (Catania 1999:29). This can then have an impact on the formulation of identity characteristics and traits.

Method

The participants will be divided into two general demographics. The first are the newly graduated individuals looking for careers who will be interviewed on camera as to have their appearance judged. Follow up with this group will then include measuring the rate at which these individuals find jobs. They will be in their early to mid twenties, largely single, and recruited through associated with their university. The second group will be younger undergraduate students who are still in school. Within the study there are also several variables to consider. In this design, the independent variable will be the judged value of attractiveness exuded by the individuals of the first group. This will be decided by giving the judges a scale between 1 to 5 to rate the level of attractiveness, 1 being unattractive and 5 being attractive.

At the very beginning initial stages, the first group of participants that will have their attractiveness rated will be greeted by the study staff and brought into the interview room. Then a small interview will take place in regards to what type of professional field they are looking to enter into, this interview will be taped and used within the later judging process. Since prior research has found that facial beauty, behavior, and style are all strong predictors of attractiveness, it is important to capture all three in the interview process (Riggio 1991). Thus, a close up of their face and a short clip that highlights their behavior and style will be a crucial element of the short video taken of the first group of participants. Then all follow up information will be taken so that researchers can contact them in set periods of time to check on their employment status. After one week, two weeks, and one month, researchers will then contact the participants to see if they have been hired, and if so, when that hiring took place. Once an individual has been hired, research staff can thank them for their cooperation and provide compensation for their service within the study.