Dearman, Jasmine

English

ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University

The Pretty Problem: A Look at The Presence and Effects of Attractiveness Bias Author: Jasmine Dearman – Honors College Sponsor: Dr. Jan Ligon – School of Social Work   While studies have been conducted to investigate bias by such factors as race, gender, or and sexual orientation, the literature indicates that fewer studies have looked at bias based on physical appearance, or what has been referred to as “physical attractiveness bias (Patry, 2008). Some researchers have found that perception of attractiveness can lead to a greater likelihood of being hired (Hosoda Stone-Romero, & Coats, 2003), being judged as more talented (Ryan), more positive male reactions to uninvited sexual advances by females (Struckman-Johnson & Struckman-Johnson, 1994), or being judged innocent in a court of law (Patry, 2008). This study will investigate how people perceive the likelihood of an attractive person to perform certain actions or be in certain situations versus an average looking person. Volunteers will be asked to view six sets of facial photographs containing two photos side by side. There will be three sets of males and three sets of females, each set of three containing a pair of White, African Americans and Asian people of similar age in appearance. Volunteers will be shown the same pair of photos in the same sequence. For each pair, the volunteer will be asked to choose which person would be the most likely to succeed in college, employment/career, and as a leader.  Our hypothesis is that the attractive people are more likely to be selected. .    Citations: Hosoda, M., Stone-Romero, E. F. and Coats, G. (2003), The Effects Of Physical Attractiveness On Job-Related Outcomes: A Meta-Analysis Of Experimental Studies. Personnel Psychology, 56: 431–462. doi:10.1111/j.1744-6570.2003.tb00157.x Patry, Marc W. "Attractive but Guilty: Deliberation and the Physical Attractiveness Bias ."  SAGE Journals 102.3 (2008): 727-33. SAGE Journals. SAGE Publications, 1 June 2008. Web. 17 Jan. 2017. Ryan, Charlene, and Eugenia Costa-Giomi. "Attractiveness Bias In The Evaluation Of  Young Pianists' Performances." Journal Of Research In Music Education 52.2 (2004): 141-154. Academic Search Complete. Web. 17 Jan. 2017. Struckman-Johnson, C. & Struckman-Johnson, D. Sex Roles (1994) 31: 387. doi:10.1007/BF01544197  

The Pretty Problem: A Look at The Presence and Effects of Attractiveness Bias

Georgia State University

The Pretty Problem: A Look at The Presence and Effects of Attractiveness Bias 
Author: Jasmine Dearman – Honors College 
Sponsor: Dr. Jan Ligon – School of Social Work  
 While studies have been conducted to investigate bias by such factors as race, gender, or 
and sexual orientation, the literature indicates that fewer studies have looked at bias based on 
physical appearance, or what has been referred to as “physical attractiveness bias (Patry, 2008). 
Some researchers have found that perception of attractiveness can lead to a greater likelihood of 
being hired (Hosoda Stone-Romero, & Coats, 2003), being judged as more talented (Ryan), more 
positive male reactions to uninvited sexual advances by females (Struckman-Johnson & 
Struckman-Johnson, 1994), or being judged innocent in a court of law (Patry, 2008). This study 
will investigate how people perceive the likelihood of an attractive person to perform certain 
actions or be in certain situations versus an average looking person. 
Volunteers will be asked to view six sets of facial photographs containing two photos 
side by side. There will be three sets of males and three sets of females, each set of three 
containing a pair of White, African Americans and Asian people of similar age in appearance. 
Volunteers will be shown the same pair of photos in the same sequence. For each pair, the 
volunteer will be asked to choose which person would be the most likely to succeed in college, 
employment/career, and as a leader.  Our hypothesis is that the attractive people are more likely 
to be selected. 
.  
  
Citations: 
Hosoda, M., Stone-Romero, E. F. and Coats, G. (2003), The Effects Of Physical Attractiveness 
On Job-Related Outcomes: A Meta-Analysis Of Experimental Studies. Personnel 
Psychology, 56: 431–462. doi:10.1111/j.1744-6570.2003.tb00157.x 
Patry, Marc W. "Attractive but Guilty: Deliberation and the Physical Attractiveness Bias ."  
SAGE Journals 102.3 (2008): 727-33. SAGE Journals. SAGE Publications, 1 June 2008. 
Web. 17 Jan. 2017. 
Ryan, Charlene, and Eugenia Costa-Giomi. "Attractiveness Bias In The Evaluation Of  
Young Pianists' Performances." Journal Of Research In Music Education 52.2 (2004): 
141-154. Academic Search Complete. Web. 17 Jan. 2017. 
Struckman-Johnson, C. & Struckman-Johnson, D. Sex Roles (1994) 31: 387. 
doi:10.1007/BF01544197 
 


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The Pretty Problem: A Look at The Presence and Effects of Attractiveness Bias

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