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Applicant–employee similarity and attraction to an employer
Author(s) -
Devendorf Shelba A.,
Highhouse Scott
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
journal of occupational and organizational psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.257
H-Index - 114
eISSN - 2044-8325
pISSN - 0963-1798
DOI - 10.1348/096317907x248842
Subject(s) - attraction , attractiveness , similarity (geometry) , interpersonal attraction , psychology , social psychology , perception , physical attractiveness , interpersonal relationship , computer science , artificial intelligence , philosophy , linguistics , neuroscience , psychoanalysis , image (mathematics)
Considerable research has supported the similarity–attraction effect, wherein similarity on various dimensions predicts interpersonal attraction. The present study extended this notion to workplace attraction, by examining whether applicant similarity to prospective co‐workers enhances attraction to the potential employer. Similarity between college‐aged women and prototypical employees at well‐known retail stores was assessed. Both perceived similarity and prototype similarity predicted perceptions of employer attractiveness. Although perceived similarity produced larger effect sizes, prototype similarity showed promise as an indirect measure of person‐to‐person fit.