Experimental Studies of Discrimination in the Evaluation of Job Applicants' Resumes: I. Relative Importance of Sex, Attractiveness, and Scholastic Standing. Paper No. 430.

College students and college recruiters rated bogus resumes of twelve senior industrial management students who were allegedly seeking employment. In addition to subject population, three variables were systematically varied in each resume: applicant's sex, physical attractiveness, and scholastic standing. The dependent variable was subjects' perceptions of the applicant's suitability for the position of head of a furniture department in a large department store. Significant effects showed that applicants with high scholastic standing were preferred to applicants with low scholastic standing, male applicants were preferred to female applicants, attractive applicants were preferred to unattractive applicants, and applicants were rated more favorably by college students than by recruiters. It appears that the training and experience of college recruiters did not reduce the tendency to discriminate among job applicants on the basis of sex or physical attractiveness. (Author)