"By adopting the physical postures associated with feelings of power and confidence, less attractive people can minimize behavioral differences in the job search," says Tu. With this technique, the less attractive people were able to match the level of nonverbal presence that their more attractive counterparts displayed naturally. In the second study, the researchers asked certain participants to strike a "power pose" by standing with their feet shoulder-width apart, hands on hips, chest out and chin up during their pitch. In the first study, managers determined the good-looking people to be more hirable because of their more effective nonverbal presence. The researchers conducted two studies that evaluated 300 elevator pitches of participants in a mock job search. "What we found was that while good looking people have a greater sense of power and are better nonverbal communicators, their less-attractive peers can level the playing field during the hiring process by adopting a powerful posture." "We wanted to examine whether there's an overall bias toward beauty on the job, or if attractive people excel professionally because they're more effective communicators," says Min-Hsuan Tu, Ph.D., assistant professor of organization and human resources in the UB School of Management. They build a greater sense of power and have more opportunities to improve nonverbal communication skills throughout their lives.
It found that while a "beauty premium" exists across professions, it's partially because attractive people develop distinct traits as a result of how the world responds to their attractiveness. The study, forthcoming in Personnel Psychology, was recently published online.