Candidate evaluations and the use of consensus information: Differential reliance on appearances based on self-monitoring propensity

Broadly, the task of this paper is to examine the connection between social and individual opinion. More specifically, does consensus information, as manifested in the relative attractiveness of candidate appearances, affect candidate evaluations? If so, are differences significant, and are all individuals equally affected? By employing an experimental design and incorporating the personality construct of self-monitoring, I find that significant differences do in fact appear. These differences result from the relative weight individuals assign to social sources of information in decision processes. High self-monitors are found to be quite sensitive to consensus information (attractive or unattractive appearances) whereas low self-monitors are less so. By conceiving physical appearances as consensus information, a unique understanding of the bond linking individual to collective opinion emerges.