Embedded Files
Conjoint Analysis experiment performed on Qualtrics.
Research Question
Research Question
Do beauty face filters affect the perception of job qualification?
Previous Research
Previous Research
✓ Makeup makes women seem more competent¹
✓ Physically-attractive people are seen as more competent and thus paid more²
X qualifications, rather than attractiveness, had a greater influence on a manager’s perception of the candidate’s suitability³
Our Hypothesis
Our Hypothesis
Face filters improve the perception of one’s job qualifications, which could be beneficial when seeking job opportunities.
More specifically, effects are more prominent in women than in men and also in front-facing roles than in back-facing roles.
Survey Details
Survey Details
Control: 12 candidate photos, unedited
Treatment: 12 candidate photos (same as control), but FaceTuned to the same degree
Randomization of filtered vs. unfiltered headshot, sex, ethnicity, years of experience, job type and college per candidate.
Measurement Units
Measurement Units
People (survey takers) from MTurk
Located in the US
Each person can only take it once
Respondent Demographic (N = 407)
62% males (n = 251)
88% white (n = 357)
Outcome Measures
Outcome Measures
Average Treatment Effect (ATE) of individual features on the probability that a candidate will be chosen, averaging across all other features
Estimated using linear regression
Coefficients between 0 and 1, represent change in probability of being chosen
CONSORT Document
CONSORT Document
Results
Results
Full Data Regressions. (1) Baseline model: effect of filter on probability being chosen. (2) Full model: effect of filter, gender, experience, front-facing roles, top colleges on the probability of being chosen. (3) Full model with interaction effects: full model + interactions on filter & gender an filter & front-facing job
Constant: unfiltered, female, non-White, 5 years of experience, top 50-100 college
43.4% chance of being chosen.
Interpretation:
Interpretation:
Significant effects:
Ethnicity (white) and years of experience (more) have a significant impact on being chosen across all models
No significant effect of filter on candidates being chosen (0.012)
Greater effect of filters when interacted with gender and front-facing role (0.046)
(Non-significant) interactions
Lower chance of being chosen if candidate is male w/ a filtered photo (compared to baseline)
Higher chance of being chosen if candidate is applying for a front-facing role & photo is filtered (compared to baseline)
Visualization of descriptive marginal means (MMs). Each feature is in a different color. Vertical axis 0 represents baseline level, and 95% confidence intervals shown. Statistically significant effects demarcated in dark orange.
REFERENCES
¹ Klatt, J., Eimler, S. C., & Krämer, N. C. (2016). Makeup your mind: The impact of styling on perceived competence and warmth of female leaders. The Journal of Social Psychology, 156(5), 483–497. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224545.2015.1129303
² Busetta, G., Fiorillo, F. & Palomba, G. The impact of attractiveness on job opportunities in Italy: a gender field experiment. Econ Polit 38, 171–201 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40888-020-00194-5
³ Ford, R., Price, G., Hofmeyr, K. B., & Chiba, M. (2018). Brains versus beauty in the knowledge economy. SA Journal of Human Resource Management, 16. https://doi.org/10.4102/sajhrm.v16i0.897
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse