Robert L. Dipboye

Physical Attractiveness Biases in Ratings of Employment Suitability: Tracking Down the “Beauty is Beastly” Effect

ABSTRACT The “what is beautiful is good” heuristic suggests that physically attractive persons benefit from their attractiveness in a large range of situations, including perceptions of employment suitability. Conversely, the “beauty is beastly” effect suggests that attractiveness can be detrimental to women in certain employment contexts, although these findings have been less consistent than those for the “what is beautiful is good” effect. The current research seeks to uncover situations in which beauty might be detrimental for female applicants. In two studies, we found that attractiveness can be detrimental for women applying for masculine sex-typed jobs for which physical appearance is perceived as unimportant.

Effects of Charismatic Content and Delivery on Follower Task Performance The Moderating Role of Task Charisma Conduciveness

The current study examined the moderating effect of task type on the effectiveness of charismatic leadership. Using a laboratory study, the content (visionary, nonvisionary) and delivery (expressive, unexpressive) of a leadership speech were manipulated, along with the charisma conduciveness of performance tasks. Based on the propositions asserted by Shamir and Howell, the authors suggest that charisma-conducive tasks are low in analyzability (more complex) and require greater levels of initiative and creativity. In addition, the authors expected that the effects of charismatic leadership on task performance should be more pronounced in terms of quality than quantity of performance. As expected, visionary content and expressive delivery resulted in higher attributions of charismatic leadership. In addition, visionary content led to better quality of performance on more charisma-conducive tasks.

Effects of Trainer Reputation and Trainees' Need for Cognition on Training Outcomes

The authors examined the effects of trainer reputation and trainees need for cognition on training outcomes. Participants (N = 75) read a sheet describing a trainer as either effective or ineffective or they were given no information. Participants then viewed a videotaped lecture, evaluated the lecture, and completed a self-efficacy scale and knowledge test. The authors did not find an interaction of trainer reputation and need for cognition on clarity ratings. Participants with low need for cognition were influenced by the trainer reputation, whereas participants with high need for cognition were not. Self-efficacy mediated the relationship between the interaction of trainer reputation and need for cognition on declarative knowledge.