A Possible Failure of the Anita Loos Effect

Years ago, author and screenwriter Anita Loos wrote Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, which was made into a Marilyn Monroe movie years ago. This effect was later used to  explain why blondes disproportionately appear on magazine covers and on Fox News; and the fear of which may be a contributing factor to some of the anti-blonde sentiment.

Anyway, D. I. Kyle asked 136 college students to rate a job application resumé featuring a picture of a 40-year old blonde woman applying for an accounting position. Some of the applications featured the woman with her natural hair coloring, while others had her hair tinted brunette or red-headed.

In general, subjects who were given pictures of the woman as a brunette tended to rate her as more competent and be inclined to offer a larger salary than if her photograph depicted her as a blonde or redhead. I guess college students playing potential employment assessors tend not to live up to the Anita Loos Effect.

Kyle also found that the woman in the picture tended to be rated higher if she was not wearing make-up. Apparently, this was interpreted as a sign of more seriousness or competence.

Several things I'm considering:

1.   Which cues the women participating as raters used in rating the person; and whether they showed a different pattern from the men? This might impact hiring practices, particularly if women predict employment success better than men.

2.  Would this result be replicated using a younger woman as the possible test stimulus?

3.  Should I tint my hair a chestnut color?