Orientations Toward Personnel Selection: Differential Reliance on Appearance and Personality

In two studies we examined the hypothesis that the psychological construct of self-monitoring would identify people who adopt distinctly different strategies in personnel selection. In both experiments, undergraduates examined information about the physical appearance and personalities of two applicants for a specific job and then decided which applicant should receive a job offer. In Study 1 information about the applicants' physical attractiveness and job-appropriate dispositions was varied. In Study 2 job appropriateness of the applicants' physical appearance and of their personalities were both varied. In each study, high self-monitoring individuals placed greater weight on information about physical appearance than did low self-monitoring individuals. By contrast, low self-monitoring individuals put greater weight on information about personal dispositions than did high selfmonitoring individuals. We discuss the implications for understanding personnel selection as well as for decision making in interpersonal contexts.