Influence of Physical Appearance vs. Interview Skill Within the Hiring Process
Presentation Type
Poster Presentation
Mentor/Supervising Professor Name
Garcia, Melissa
Abstract (Description of Research)
This study investigates how interview performance and attire affect recruiting decisions, especially with a focus into whether professional attire skews HR assessments independent of an applicant's competence. For the foundation of our study, we looked at earlier studies on the "what is beautiful is good" stereotype and appearance-based prejudice. The participants of the between-subjects experimental design of the research project will view one of the four pre-recorded interview conditions varying by dress (professional vs. casual) and interview performance (strong vs. weak). Afterwards, participants will grade the candidate on their apparent professionalism, competency, and their best fit for the imaginary company. It is hypothesized that the candidate who dresses professionally will get much better ratings—even if their interview performance is poor—highlighting the possibility of appearance-based prejudice in hiring policies. Based on the data collected, we will use the results of this study to inform more fair employment policies by uncovering how clothing may replace objective criteria in performance assessments.
Influence of Physical Appearance vs. Interview Skill Within the Hiring Process
This study investigates how interview performance and attire affect recruiting decisions, especially with a focus into whether professional attire skews HR assessments independent of an applicant's competence. For the foundation of our study, we looked at earlier studies on the "what is beautiful is good" stereotype and appearance-based prejudice. The participants of the between-subjects experimental design of the research project will view one of the four pre-recorded interview conditions varying by dress (professional vs. casual) and interview performance (strong vs. weak). Afterwards, participants will grade the candidate on their apparent professionalism, competency, and their best fit for the imaginary company. It is hypothesized that the candidate who dresses professionally will get much better ratings—even if their interview performance is poor—highlighting the possibility of appearance-based prejudice in hiring policies. Based on the data collected, we will use the results of this study to inform more fair employment policies by uncovering how clothing may replace objective criteria in performance assessments.