May the Best (Looking) Man Win: The Unconscious Role of Attractiveness in Employment Decisions

[Excerpt] In 1972, Karen Dion, Ellen Berscheid, and Elaine Walster set out to determine whether people hold “stereotyped notions of the personality traits possessed by individuals of varying attractiveness.” The results of the study were astonishing: based only on the photographs provided, participants predicted attractive subjects would be happier, possess more socially desirable personalities, practice more prestigious occupations, and exhibit higher marital competence. Their findings were published in an article entitled “What is Beautiful is Good” and gave rise to an enduring theory of the same name. In the decades since the Dion et al. experiment, the “what is beautiful is good” hypothesis has played a particularly meaningful role in occupational studies. Given the high-stakes nature of job acquisition, many researchers have asked, for example, whether attractive job candidates are more likely to be hired than their peers. In short, attractive individuals will receive more job offers, better advancement opportunities, and higher salaries than their less attractive peers—despite numerous findings that they are no more intelligent or capable. This article aims to explore the sources and potential resolution of appearance-based employment decisions. In other words, now that we know appearance-based employment discrimination exists, where does it come from and what do we do about it? Part I examines the psychology of attractiveness, exploring what registers as attractive and what unconscious responses attractiveness commonly evokes. It begins with a definition of beauty in terms of both biological and performed traits and concludes with a discussion of beauty facts versus fictions. Part II provides an overview of existing legal remedies to victims of appearance-based discrimination and explains why legal reform is an ill-suited solution. After ruling out the law, this article concludes that appearance-based employment decisions should be curbed internally, via management and human resources efforts

What does your profile picture say about you? The accuracy of thin-slice personality judgments from social networking sites made at zero-acquaintance

The myocardium exhibits heterogeneous nature due to scarring after Myocardial Infarction (MI). In Cardiac Magnetic Resonance (CMR) imaging, Late Gadolinium (LG) contrast agent enhances the intensity of scarred area in the myocardium. In this paper, we propose a probability mapping technique using Texture and Intensity features to describe heterogeneous nature of the scarred myocardium in Cardiac Magnetic Resonance (CMR) images after Myocardial Infarction (MI). Scarred tissue and non-scarred tissue are represented with high and low probabilities, respectively. Intermediate values possibly indicate areas where the scarred and healthy tissues are interwoven. The probability map of scarred myocardium is calculated by using a probability function based on Bayes rule. Any set of features can be used in the probability function. In the present study, we demonstrate the use of two different types of features. One is based on the mean intensity of pixel and the other on underlying texture information of the scarred and non-scarred myocardium. Examples of probability maps computed using the mean intensity of pixel and the underlying texture information are presented. We hypothesize that the probability mapping of myocardium offers alternate visualization, possibly showing the details with physiological significance difficult to detect visually in the original CMR image. The probability mapping obtained from the two features provides a way to define different cardiac segments which offer a way to identify areas in the myocardium of diagnostic importance (like core and border areas in scarred myocardiu

Brand Ownership As a Central Component of Adolescent Self-esteem: The Development of a New Self-esteem Scale

This article outlines the development of a new scale to measure adolescent self-esteem. The new scale addresses weaknesses in existing measures that have failed to consider the growth of the consumer society in the Western world and the impact of this on the formation of adolescent self-esteem. The development of this scale includes extensive qualitative research with over 100 high school pupils, which led to a series of quantitative data collection and analysis processes to develop the scale. In the final stage, data were collected from 889 pupils and analyzed to confirm the validity and reliability of the new measure. The result of this work is a 21-item self-esteem scale comprising of four distinct, yet interrelated factors: self-evaluation, social ability, social comparison effects, and notably, brand ownership. The findings provide an updated and upgraded measure of self-esteem that takes into consideration the specific audience of adolescents living in a consumer culture. The scale development process demonstrates that when considering the formation of self-esteem, the influence of the use and possession of commercial brands is as relevant as the traditional factors/components such as academic achievement or sporting prowess

Social shopping for fashion

In spite of the significance of social shopping in the context of fashion consumption, its definitions, boundaries, and explanations have not yet been systematically established in literature. The purpose of Study 1 was to develop a reliable and valid scale of social shopping for fashion. With the scale, Study 2 aimed to develop and test a structural model of social shopping process. In Study 1, a three-step procedure for scale development was followed: item generation, scale purification, and scale validation. As a result, a five-dimensional scale, along with sixteen behavioral items, was developed representing distinctive dimension of social shopping for fashion. The result suggests that social shopping for fashion involves dynamic and complex direct/indirect interpersonal exchanges and activities. Study 1 adds significant value to the literature in three ways. First, the scale is the first attempt to synthesize dispersed concepts of social shopping. Second, by providing a reliable and valid measure of social shopping for fashion, the results advance the area of research. Third, the scale is useful for a wide range of marketing and retailing applications. In Study 2, an online survey was conducted with a random sample consisting of a total of 5,280 undergraduates aged 18 to 29 years old enrolled at a large southeastern university. A total of 858 responses were analyzed using structural equation modeling. A structural model including motivational forces and consequences of social shopping behavior was developed and tested. The results indicated that social comparison orientations were generally found to be motivators of social shopping for fashion, and social shopping contributed to shopping satisfaction. The results, however, suggest that each dimension is driven by different dimensions of social comparison orientation and generates different types of satisfaction. This study increases the understanding of social shopping by simultaneously examining a causal model depicting comprehensive motivational forces and consequences of social shopping behavior. The results contribute to building a rigor of social comparison theory and consumer satisfaction theory in the context of fashion consumption. The results also provide industry professionals with strategic cues for creation of shopping environments wherein consumers’ social needs are better served and satisfied

How May I Impress You? A Content Analysis of Online Impression Management Tactics of YouTube Beauty Vloggers

This research aims at investigating how YouTube beauty vloggers utilize impression management tactics to convey the intended image in an online environment by analyzing their self-presentational behaviors. Two individual coders coded one hundred videos that top trending on YouTube, featuring some single human vloggers who used English as the primary presentation language. Results revealed that first, vloggers had engaged with all four self-presentational behavioral strategies (verbal expressions, nonverbal cues, artifactual displays, and purposive behaviors) in the seemingly amateur videos. Second, a commonly shared feature of top trending vlogs was that they were all designed with abundant and diverting content, indicating that viewers favored the content more than the structure of the vlog. Third, most presenters demonstrated extraverted and likeable personality traits. Fourth, viewers preferred to watch the vlogs with natural props and in simpler environmental settings. Lastly, vloggers chose to use more acquisitive impression management tactics than protective ones in top trending vlogs, and the results showed that viewers also displayed consent to receiving more positive framing

“Feeling my Sister’s Pain”: Perceived Victim Suffering Moderates the Impact of Sexualized Music Videos on Fijian Women’s Responses to Men’s Intimate Partner Violence against Women

To better understand how sexualized music videos affect women’s responses to intimate partner violence (IPV), we examined the role of individual variability in perceived victim pain and perceived victim culpability in moderating and mediating (respectively) the priming effects of sexual music videos on women. Female Fijian college students (n = 243) were randomly assigned to one of three viewing conditions: stereotyped sexual music videos, non-stereotyped/non-sexual music videos, or neutral videos. All participants then read a portrayal of a male-toward-female IPV episode and their perceptions of the female victim and male perpetrator were assessed. Only women who minimized the victim’s pain were adversely affected by exposure to the stereotyped sexual videos. Specifically, for women who perceived low victim pain, those in the stereotyped video condition perceived the victim as more culpable and reported greater perpetrator-directed favorable responding than those in the other two conditions. For these women who perceived low victim pain, perceptions of victim culpability mediated the impact of video type on perpetrator-favorable responding. The findings help us better understand susceptibility to the negative impact of stereotypical sexual videos and highlight areas, such as emphasizing the suffering of victims and reducing myths about victim culpability, which may be worthy of particular emphasis in interventions

The disavowment of Black women’s bodies: the rise of the Brazilian butt lift

In this project, I want to breakdown the fascination and phenomena of the Black woman's body, precisely the assumption that being a Black woman or girl automatically means you will have a very pronounced butt. I wanted to understand from other Black women's perspectives what it means to feel more valuable when they have the ideal 'thick black woman' body and how that affects them in their daily decisions. I look to social media as a foundation to see the impact that Instagram, YouTube, and cultural expectations influence the decisions of young girls and women. This desire to have a larger, rounder behind has taken on a life of its own, as we see with the surge of the very dangerous and sometimes deadly plastic surgery procedure the Brazilian butt lift (BBL). The BBL is not new to the world of plastic surgery and augmentation, but it has seen an increasing rise in social media access. More and more women are seeking out the BBL, traveling, and even documenting their journeys to share with other women who may be interested in the procedure. What I am most interested in is the 'why' why are these women, specifically Black women willing to put themselves in a position that could end with pain or death, especially in a society that is so quick to marginalize them and their bodies. From the historical approach, I examine how the Black woman's body has been violently used for medical purposes and how this new phenomenon of the BBL is, in a way repeating this history

Nonverbal Communication in Relation to Women's Experiences of Self and Body: A Mixed Methods Examination

Understanding how nonverbal behaviour imparts information about women’s attractiveness and body image is important, given that peers are a source of information about appearance (e.g., Tiggemann, 2011). Research has demonstrated that negative messages from peers are associated with body dissatisfaction and disordered eating among females (e.g., Vincent & McCabe, 2000) but less is known about nonverbal communication. The current research examined women’s nonverbal behaviour, physical appearance, and body image within interactions. An explanatory sequential mixed method design was used. The initial quantitative study examined the relationship between immediacy and women’s body attractiveness, facial attractiveness, and body image in peer-dyad interactions (n = 80 dyads). Participants were videotaped interacting in a laboratory setting for 15 minutes and then completed self-report measures of their interaction partner for immediacy and attractiveness. They also completed self-report measures of their body image, internalization of the thin ideal, and appearance comparison. The researcher measured body mass index. Results indicated that as perceptions of body and facial attractiveness and body image of an interaction partner decrease, so does the immediacy shown towards the partner. Following the quantitative component, a follow-up qualitative study explored women’s experiences of their bodies and themselves in relation to nonverbal communication in interactions with peers. It was conducted according to Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (Smith, Flowers, & Larkin, 2009). A subset of participants (n = 4) was invited to review their videotaped conversation and participate in a semi-structured interview with the researcher. Results indicated that women experience complex processes within interactions, including comparing and judging as well as body consciousness and that both the egocentric and sociocentric parts of the self are involved. Results also illuminated women’s experience of resisting the influence of adhering to society’s ideals of appearance. Together, the findings indicate that weight-based bias is present within everyday interactions among women. It is hoped that this research will bring attention to biases that are routinely communicated in subtle ways to decrease it and positively impact women’s experiences of themselves and their bodies

Data, Data Everywhere, and Still Too Hard to Link: Insights from User Interactions with Diabetes Apps

For those with chronic conditions, such as Type 1 diabetes, smartphone apps offer the promise of an affordable, convenient, and personalized disease management tool. How- ever, despite significant academic research and commercial development in this area, diabetes apps still show low adoption rates and underwhelming clinical outcomes. Through user-interaction sessions with 16 people with Type 1 diabetes, we provide evidence that commonly used interfaces for diabetes self-management apps, while providing certain benefits, can fail to explicitly address the cognitive and emotional requirements of users. From analysis of these sessions with eight such user interface designs, we report on user requirements, as well as interface benefits, limitations, and then discuss the implications of these findings. Finally, with the goal of improving these apps, we identify 3 questions for designers, and review for each in turn: current shortcomings, relevant approaches, exposed challenges, and potential solutions