Deck 15: Weight and Appearance

Question 1

Regarding treatment of overweight people in organizations

A) employers may make virtually any decision they desire.
B) assigning overweight people to jobs where they are not seen by customers or clients makes good business sense.
C) employers should make job-related decisions on the ability to perform the job.
D) employers need to first think of an excuse and then get rid of them.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Which of the following is true of research results about weight?

A) Preferences for thinner people does not exist among those who are fat.
B) Overweight children view social discrimination as the most immediate consequence of their weight.
C) In all cultures, overweight is undesirable.
D) In one study, there was no relationship between time spent watching television and obesity.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

In the Bonnie Cook case, in which Bonnie was denied employment at a State of Rhode Island agency:

A) Bonnie had successfully worked for the organization twice before.
B) Bonnie had worked for the organization before but her unsatisfactory performance kept her from being rehired.
C) Bonnie sued under Rhode Island legislation prohibiting weight discrimination.
D) Bonnie failed the pre-hire medical examination.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Similar to most other non-dominant group members, overweight people

A) experience disparate treatment even when their qualifications are similar to those who are not overweight.
B) can use Title VII if they experience employment-related discrimination.
C) can change the aspect of their identity that results in unfair treatment.
D) can often hide their condition or at least minimize it by choosing clothes that do not call attention to their weight.

Question 5

People are most likely to negatively view ______ as being a condition that could be controlled but is not due to lack of self-discipline.

A) visual impairment
B) hearing loss
C) weight
D) speech impairment

Question 6

The prevalence of overweight has increased primarily due to

A) more people building muscle.
B) increased consumption of water.
C) weight is being measured more frequently for more people.
D) changes in leisure activities.

Question 7

Abercrombie and Fitch has had multiple diversity concerns including

A) selling merchandise that perpetuated stereotypes about Hispanics.
B) favoring Filipinos in hiring practices.
C) using race-coded job channeling.
D) targeting the obese by employing only those who are obese.

Question 8

When attempting to reduce benefits costs, which is the best solution for employers?

A) They should encourage overweight people to lose weight.
B) They should refuse to hire overweight applicants.
C) They should require overweight applicants to take a medical exam to ensure their blood pressure is normal and that they do not have diabetes or other obesity-related health problems.
D) They should introduce wellness programs, focusing on health.

Question 9

Obesity is not a problem in developing countries, as people there have fewer resources and food than in the U.S.

Question 10

Some appearance requirements instituted by organizations are discriminatory and illegal.

Question 11

Which of the following is true of overweight and obesity at work?

A) Overweight people have lower absence than others.
B) Overweight people strongly resist discrimination at work by boycotting and protesting.
C) Overweight is erroneously associated with negative personal attributes.
D) Overweight people are not likely to be discriminated against at work.

Question 12

It is illegal in most states to fire someone because he or she is overweight.

Question 13

Thin people may be in worse health than fat people.

Question 14

Which of the following are potential outcomes of having a large-sized, fit aerobics instructor in San Francisco?

A) The employing organization can pay him or her lower wages with no negative outcomes.
B) Having such an employee may be viewed negatively by many overweight people who want someone who is an example of they want to become.
C) Because the U.S. population is increasing in size, having such an aerobics instructor may be a competitive advantage.
D) The employer must be certain that the proportion of the employees who are large-sized is equal to the proportion of the residents of San Francisco who are large sized.

Question 15

Genetics play a role in a person's propensity to be overweight or obese.

Question 16

A new employee with a physical deformity applied to work at a restaurant chain as a hostess. She had considerable experience as a hostess, and was hired. Although she worked as a hostess for a few weeks, she was soon assigned to work as a cook. The manager told her she would never be able to work as a hostess again because customers had complained about her appearance. Which of the following is true of this situation?

A) This is a case of appearance discrimination related to a disability, and thus is illegal under the ADA.
B) This is the manager's prerogative; customers are always right.
C) Although this is an unfortunate situation, the manager had no choice.
D) The manager did the right thing but the wrong way. The manager needed to find a more acceptable excuse.

Question 17

If fat employees experience discrimination,

A) costs related to turnover, absence, and low morale could exceed higher medical and benefits costs related to having fat workers.
B) they have no legal recourse.
C) because weight is largely controllable, they should attempt to reduce the discrimination by losing weight.
D) tell them to not be so sensitive and simply ignore the situation.

Question 18

When assessing appearance requirements, employers should consider which of the following?

A) Whether the applicant or employee puts too much emphasis on being overly neat and clean.
B) Is the requirement necessary to the safe operation of the business?
C) Recognize that the issue is simply appearance and not to get it confused with race, cultural, and ethnic issues.
D) That is a dangerous thing to consider thus employers should not look at a person until after the person is hired regardless of what the person will be doing on the job.

Question 19

One-third of the U.S. population is overweight or obese.

Question 20

Research studies on obesity and healthcare have found that

A) overweight people are more likely to receive preventive care than others.
B) medical professionals do not typically hold the same negative perceptions that discriminating employers hold about those who are overweight.
​
C) most nurses believe that obesity could be prevented by self-control.
D) ​the attitude of medical students toward obese patients changed in a positive direction after working with obese patients.

Question 21

Race-coded job channeling means that employers steer applicants to certain jobs according to employer preferences for Whites in certain positions and minorities in others based on the applicants' interests, skills, or experience.

Question 22

Some studies find that both men and women who are taller than average are advantaged in employment situations.

Question 23

Non-Hispanic Whites are more likely to carry excess weight than non-Hispanic Blacks and Hispanics.

Question 24

In research, physical attractiveness was found to be positively related to hiring, performance evaluations, and promotion for women, but not men.

Question 25

Research indicates that most nurses agree that obesity could be prevented by self-control.

Question 26

Like people with disabilities, fat people are more likely to be hired because employers know they have fewer employment options and are thus less likely to turn over.

Question 27

Because no Federal laws strictly prohibit appearance discrimination, those who are unattractive or overweight have no recourse.

Question 28

Because overweight workers use more sick days than workers who are not overweight, employment discrimination against them is good business sense.

Question 29

The retailer Abercrombie and Fitch has experienced problems with racially offensive merchandise.

Question 30

Mortality rates for extremely thin people are higher than those for other people.