Faculty Publications

The Role Of Physical Appearance In Managerial Decisions

Document Type

Article

Journal/Book/Conference Title

Journal of Business and Psychology

Volume

8

Issue

2

First Page

181

Last Page

198

Abstract

This study was designed to examine stereotypical beliefs about the physical appearance of employees and the effects of these beliefs on decision-making. Current stereotypes about obese and very thin people were assessed, and the effect of beliefs about obese and very thin people on subjects' evaluations of employee performance was measured. The findings indicated that subjects used information about employees' weight and body build differently, depending on whether they were responding to questions about discipline, the likelihood of recurrence of behavior, or their desire to work with certain employees. Overall, the results suggest that subjects exclude nondiagnostic aspects of employees (e.g., weight and body build) in some types of work decisions. © 1993 Human Sciences Press, Inc.

Department

Department of Marketing

Original Publication Date

12-1-1993

DOI of published version

10.1007/BF02230384

Link to Full Text

Comments?

Share

COinS