Psychology of Women Quarterly, 32 (2008), 326–335. Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Printed in the USA. Copyright C 2008 Division 35, American Psychological Association. 0361-6843/08

DOES CLEAVAGE WORK AT WORK? MEN, BUT NOT WOMEN, FALSELY BELIEVE CLEAVAGE SELLS A WEAK PRODUCT
Peter Glick, Karyna Chrislock, Korinne Petersik, Madhuri Vijay, and Aleksandra Turek Lawrence University

We examined whether men, but not women, would be distracted by a female sales representative’s exposed cleavage, leading to greater perceived efficacy for a weak, but not for a strong product. A community sample of 88 men and 97 women viewed a video of a female pharmaceutical sales representative who (a) had exposed cleavage or dressed modestly and (b) pitched an …ver más…

More specifically, women’s breasts are a particularly salient sexual characteristic that can be emphasized or deemphasized through clothing, as the focus on Hillary Clinton’s attire suggests. The current study examines the effects of low-cut attire

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Does Cleavage Work at Work?
(exposure of cleavage), compared to modest dress, on a professional woman’s persuasiveness and on how others evaluate her. It is important to note that our focus is not on physical attractiveness, but on whether a woman’s self-presentation emphasizes sexuality. Considerable evidence shows that physical attractiveness benefits both women and men (Eagly, Ashmore, Makhijani, & Longo, 1991), generally leading to better career outcomes (e.g., salary) for female and male professionals (Frieze, Olson, & Russell, 1991), although this may not always be true for powerful women in managerial positions, who have sometimes been rated as less competent if attractive (Heilman & Stopek, 1985a, 1985b). Few studies, however, have manipulated the sexiness of women’s appearance in a work context. In one relevant study (Rudman & Borgida, 1995), men viewed television commercials showing scantily clad women (as compared to control commercials for similar products) as part of a media research study. The men were subsequently recruited to interview a female