Health: Mood News.(applicants attractiveness plays key role in selection)

MOOD news

Attractive Applicants

T

he belief that some professions, such as engineering, are better suited for men can make it hard for women to break in. Attractiveness, however, can help. Jim Jawahar and Jonny Mattsson, psychologists at Illinois State University, asked participants to review applications for four supposed job seekers pursuing several positions. Attached photographs revealed them as either very high or very low in attractiveness, as judged by a separate panel. Since all the applicants were similarly qualified, each had a 25 percent chance of getting hired. Yet men got about two thirds of the jobs at a car dealership, whereas women won 60 percent of openings for a school social worker. (Hiring rates were similar for both sexes seeking pharmacist positions, which were considered gender-neutral.) Good looks mattered, but only for such sex-typed jobsoand especially when hiring for a position typically associated with the opposite sex of the applicant. In general, positive attributes are ascribed to attractive individuals,I Jawahar says.

50%

of people in creative fields, versus 20 percent in others, have had depression.

Creative Blues