"Sweet smell of success"? The impact of pleasant artificial scents on evaluations of job applicants

Abstract

19 male and 26 female undergraduates interviewed male or female applicants for an entry-level management position. Applicants were actually confederates of the researcher who wore or did not wear a measured amount of a popular perfume or cologne. Following the interview, Ss rated each applicant on a number of job-related dimensions and personal characteristics. Results indicate that both sex of S and the presence or absence of scent affected the ratings of the applicants. Males assigned lower ratings to these persons when they wore perfume or cologne than when they did not; females showed the opposite pattern. Moreover, this was true both for job-related and personal characteristics. Results may reflect greater difficulty on the part of males than females in ignoring extraneous aspects of job applicants' appearance or grooming. (10 ref) (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)