Investigating the unique predictability and boundary conditions of applicant physical attractiveness and nonverbal behaviors on interviewer evaluations in job interviews

Abstract

Through the lens of the dramaturgical perspective, the present study investigated (1) the unique predictability of applicant non-verbal cues (physical attractiveness and non-verbal behaviours) on interviewer evaluation, and (2) whether situational variables (i.e., customer-contact requirement and sex-type consistency) moderate the relationships between applicant non-verbal cues and interviewer evaluations. Data were collected from 177 interview sessions held in 39 firms in Taiwan. Results showed that applicant physical attractiveness explained unique variance in interviewer evaluations beyond that explained by applicant verbal content. Moreover, the effect of physical attractiveness became weaker when jobs possessed lower customer-contact requirements, or when the applicant`s gender was inconsistent with the interviewer`s sex-type belief relative to the job. No main or moderating effects, however, were found for non-verbal behaviours on interviewer evaluations.