Studying the Influence of Candidates’ Attractiveness and Perceived Personality in Selection Decisions: Experimental Approach

In this case, I discuss the combined influence of candidates’ overall attractiveness and their perceived personality in selection decisions. The theoretical background is briefly described and focuses on the conceptual and methodological advancements made by social psychologists in measuring perceived attractiveness and personality self-assessment. These have been innovatively implemented within the management domain concerned with selection decisions. The relationships among the highlighted variables, depicted in a moderated mediation model, have been tested through a laboratory experiment involving 150 professional recruiters. The contribution is mainly focused on the decisions that were made with respect to the validation of measures and of the stimulus material. Each decision includes the related lesson learned from its outcome and suggestions for future research.