Attractive rivals may undermine the expectation of career advancement and enhance jealousy. An experimental study |
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| Authors: | Abraham P. Buunk Pilar González-Navarro Lucas Monzani |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Psychology, University of Groningen, Grote Kruisstraat 2/1. 9712 TS, Groningen, The Netherlands;2. Faculty of Social and Behavioral Sciences, University of Cura?ao Jan Noorduynweg 111, Willemstad, Cura?ao;3. IDOCAL. Facultad de Psicología, University of Valencia, Avd. Blasco Iba?ez, 21. 46010, Valencia, Spain;4. Ian O. Ihantowycz Institute for Leadership, Ivey Business School at Western University, 1255 Western Road, London, Ontario, Canada, N6G 0N1 |
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| Abstract: | This experiment with 119 adult females examined the effect of a rival’s attractiveness on jealousy and career advancement expectations in a simulated work setting where individuals had to compete for a job promotion. We hypothesized that an attractive rival would evoke relatively more jealousy and lower career advancement expectations, especially in individuals high in Intrasexual Competitiveness (ISC). In addition, we examined the moderating effects of characteristics attributed to the rival in terms of popularity, professionalism, and unfriendliness. The results showed that, overall, an attractive rival induced more jealousy and lower career advancement expectations than an unattractive rival. Especially among women who attributed unfriendliness to their rival, the attractiveness of the rival induced higher levels of jealousy and lower career advancement expectations. Among women high in ISC, the rival’s attractiveness induced lower career advancement expectations. It is recommended that managers and human resource officials pay particular attention to how physical attractiveness may interfere with female employees’ professional development, and to the important role of emotions in the workplace. |
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| Keywords: | jealousy physical attractiveness experiment job promotion career advancement |
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