Effects of Harmony Between Personal and Apparel Coloring on Perceptions of a Woman's Employment Potential

Abstract

The hypothesis that a woman job applicant wearing appropriate colors for her personal coloring would be perceived as having greater employment potential than a woman dressed in inappropriate colors was tested. The purposive sample consisted of 120 corporate personnel recruiters. Respondents rated a fictitious job applicant on a Likert-scaled employment potential questionnaire. A 2 X 2 factorial design was used to assess the effects of color appropriateness and job sought on employment potential. Analyses of variance indicated no direct effects of color appropriateness on perceptions of competence, independence, creativity, leadership, or loyalty. Color appropriateness interacted with job to affect perceptions of creativity; however, managerial applicants dressed in appropriate colors were judged less creative than counterparts wearing inappropriate colors. Color appropriateness also interacted with both job sought and gender of respondent to affect perceived loyalty, with improved ratings accruing only to women seeking sales positions who were rated by females. It was suggested that benefits of color analysis may lie in the aesthetic domain rather than in the domain of economic organization.