Body art and its impact on employment selection decisions : is there a bias towards candidates with visible tattoos?

This thesis investigates whether the presence of visible body art biases selection decision making, and whether the impact of such bias varies as a function of job type. The study utilised a 2 (Job type: blue-collar vs. white-collar) x 2 (Body art: visible tattoo vs. without tattoo) within-subjects experimental research design. Results identified a significant effect, that is, that the presence of a visible tattoo had an impact on job type. This showed for the blue-collar role, the job applicant with visible tattoo was preferred, whereas, there was no difference in job applicant evaluations for the white-collar role. Findings would suggest that in fact, visible body art may work in a candidates favour in certain roles and not in others. This is an interesting and somewhat counterintuitive finding which goes against what the literature suggests, hence it is novel and important