Page 317 - Discrimination at Work The Psychological and Organizational Bases

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were regressed on attractiveness, a strong effect was found for both men
and women in which every unit increase in attractiveness yielded an in­
crease of $2,600 in the men's salary and an increase of $2,100 a year in the
women's salary. DIPBOYE
In addition to general physical attractiveness, there are specific physical
appearance factors, often related to attractiveness, that have been shown
to be related to occupational success. At least two surveys have shown a
relationship of height and weight to occupational success. Quinn (1978)
used data from national surveys at the University of Michigan and found
that taller men earned more money and held more prestigious jobs than
shorter men. Also, men and women who were underweight and over­
weight earned less than those who were average in weight. Frieze, Olson,
and Good (1990) surveyed 859 male MB As and 355 female MB As who grad­
uated from the University of Pittsburgh between 1973 and 1982. Weight
and height were particularly important correlates of salary for the male
MBAs, with the salary differences between overweight and normal weight
employees increasing over time.
Physical Attractiveness as a Factor in Selection Judgments

A possible reason for the greater occupational success of physically attrac­
tive persons is that they are given advantages in the initial screening and
selection into jobs. In support of this hypothesis, research suggests that the
appearance of the applicant seems to influence the interviewer's selection
decisions at all phases of the selection process (Carlson, 1967; Carroll, 1966;
Kinicki & Lockwood, 1985; Raza & Carpenter, 1987; Rynes & Gerhart, 1990;
Springbett, 1958).
In one of the first field demonstrations of attractiveness effects, Carroll
(1966) examined the relationship of attractiveness to the success of gradu­
ating business students in finding employment. Handsomeness of the ap­
plicant was rated by three judges from photographs. Of 19 characteristics
used as predictors in this study (e.g., age, grades, major), only appearance,
marital status, and work experience were related to success in job-hunting;
the strongest relationship was for appearance. The more handsome the ap­
plicant, the more visit offers received, the higher the job-visit ratio, and the
higher the score on a composite criterion of job-hunting success.
More recently, Rynes and Gerhart (1990) examined evaluations of MBA
graduates by recruiters. Recruiters rated the applicants on three kinds of
measures: (a) trait scales (e.g., general knowledge, leadership), (b) overall
employability, and (c) employability in your firm. Two placement officials
independently rated each applicant's physical attractiveness and height on
a 3-point scale (average, significantly above, significantly below average).