title: The gender typicality of faces and its impact on visual processing and on hiring decisions.
abstract: Past research has shown that the gender typicality of applicants' faces affects leadership selection irrespective of a candidate's gender: A masculine facial appearance is congruent with masculine-typed leadership roles, thus masculine-looking applicants are hired more certainly than feminine-looking ones. In the present study, we extended this line of research by investigating hiring decisions for both masculine- and feminine-typed professional roles. Furthermore, we used eye tracking to examine the visual exploration of applicants' portraits. Our results indicate that masculine-looking applicants were favored for the masculine-typed role (leader) and feminine-looking applicants for the feminine-typed role (team member). Eye movement patterns showed that information about gender category and facial appearance was integrated during first fixations of the portraits. Hiring decisions, however, were not based on this initial analysis, but occurred at a second stage, when the portrait was viewed in the context of considering the applicant for a specific job.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Duisburg-Essen, <location>Germany</location>
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: von Stockhausen
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Koeser
authors.forename: Sabine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sczesny
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005133:Eye Movements; D005145:Face; D005260:Female; D057227:Femininity; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D057228:Masculinity; D010551:Personality; D010560:Personnel Selection; D013240:Stereotyping; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: eye tracking; facial features; gender stereotypes; hiring decisions; person perception