Examining the impact of vocal attractiveness on team performance

This study examines the impact of vocal attractiveness on team performance. One goal of the study is to examine the differential impact of team composition variables when the criterion is an objective measure versus a subjectively rated measure of performance. A second goal is to examine vocal attractiveness as a team composition variable and its isolated effects on both performance measures. The subjectively rated performance measure is peer evaluations and the objective performance measure is scores on an HR simulation that uses a computer algorithm to measure success. Participants are 378 undergraduate students enrolled in a third-year business course in Human Resources Management. The participants were placed into 107 teams of three to complete a semester-long decision-making simulation acting as members of an HR department. The results show that team vocal attractiveness explains additional variance in team performance ratings, above and beyond that explained by affect and cognitive ability. The examination of vocal attractiveness replicates and extends the findings in DeGroot & Motowidlo (1999) to the team level as the effect of vocal attractiveness on team performance was mediated by personal reactions to teammates.