Page 35 - Discrimination at Work The Psychological and Organizational Bases

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D1PBOYE AND COLELLA
Shore and Caren Goldberg examine biases in the workplace against older
employees, a topic that will receive increasing attention as the baby boom
generation ages. The authors propose a model in which social comparison
processes are at the core of age discrimination. In "Workplace Discrimi­
nation Toward Persons With Disabilities: A Call for Some New Research
Directions," Adrienne Colella and Dianna Stone review the research on dis­
crimination against persons with both physical and mental impairments.
The authors review the published research on disability and suggest new
directions for future research, such as greater attention to the roles of emo­
tions and paternalism and a broader range of outcomes.
The chapters in part II are concerned mostly with groups for which
there are policies and laws providing some level of protection. However,
unfair discrimination occurs on the basis of other factors in addition to
those that have been afforded legal protection. The chapters by Eugene
Stone-Romero, "A Stigma That Can Lead to Workplace Discrimination:
Personality," and Robert Dipboye, "Looking the Part: Bias Against the
Physically unattractive as a Discrimination Issue" expand the discussion
by exploring discrimination on the basis of personality and physical ap­
pearance. Stone-Romero uses Erving Goffman's (1963) theory of stigma to
discuss character stigma resulting from attributions to individuals of traits
that mark them as undesirable. Stone-Romero considers the potential of
personality measures used to assess fit to the job and organization to stig­
matize individuals as deficient in competence or character. The physical
appearance of employees (or what Goffman called the "abominations of
the flesh") can also serve as a major source of bias in decisions regarding
hiring, promotion, and treatment. There is considerable evidence of bias
against the physically unattractive in both the laboratory and field (Stone,
Stone, & Dipboye, 1992). Dipboye considers whether this is an important
bias that deserves separate attention and its potential role as a mediator of
other forms of bias.
The third part of the book addresses the implications of research and
theory in dealing with discrimination. This part will consider some of the
issues and unanswered questions associated with attempts to solve the
problem of discrimination. In chapter 13, "Achieving Diversity and Re­
ducing Discrimination in the Work Place Through Human Resource Man­
agement Practices," Winfred Arthur and Dennis Doverspike examine the
potential of selection, recruitment, training and development, and compen­
sation to reduce discrimination. In "Using Law and Psychology to Inform
Our Knowledge of Discrimination," Ramona Paetzold examines the im­
plications of psychological research and theory for discrimination law and
argues for changes in the law to reflect the findings of research. In chap­
ter 15, "Combating Organizational Discrimination: Some Unintended