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Confirming First Impressions in the Employment Interview

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Abstract

Examined behavioral styles used by interviewers to confirm their 1st impressions of job applicants. Three interviewers in a corporate setting formed 1st impressions based on application blank and test score information. They then conducted audiotaped interviews. Coders independently coded 79 interviews and found that 1st impressions were related to confirmatory behavior. Interviewers followed up positive 1st impressions, for example, by showing positive regard toward applicants, "selling" the company and giving job information, and gathering less information. Applicants' communication style and rapport with interviewers also differed. Significant differences in confirmatory behaviors also occurred among the 3 interviewers. A number of interviewer behaviors, especially positive regard, were related to applicant behavior in interviews. Although previous studies of expectancy confirmation have produced mixed results, the present results suggest that interviewers in natural settings do use confirmatory strategies, underscoring the importance of additional research on "self-fulfilling prophecies." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
... the hypothesis was framed using the psychological concept of Zero acquaintance Judgment (ambady et al., 2000;Dougherty et al., 1994;Naumann et al., 2009) which describes how we initially judge strangers along a continuum of social value (likability); through irving Goffman's dramaturgy (1973;1974) which theorizes how social relations, including interpersonal judgments, are affected by spaces; and through an affordance strength model which was used as an analytical framework to gauge design differences between urban transitory spaces (Gieryn, 2002;ruecker et al., 2016). Methods are outlined which rationalize an experiment to address the hypothesis involving several observational and experimental pre-studies. ...
... ZaJ are judgments of strangers and are extremely common-almost automatic-in everyday life, further, they are more important to social interaction and social well-being than one may initially think. once a ZaJ is made by an observer, it is hard to change and these judgments affect potential further social interactions (Dougherty et al., 1994). ZaJ frames the initial interpersonal judgment scenario while highlighting that first impressions are abundant and count. ...
... this is despite their apparent contribution to such a rich social context. similarly, Dougherty et al. (1994) investigated ZaJ concerning employment interviews conducted at the headquarters of a large energy corporation. praetorius et al. (2015) examined judgments between teacher and learners in the classroom, and Johar and Mukhopadhyay (2005) study researched room-mate scenarios and street rallies. ...
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This research examines the overlooked phenomenon of first impressions between strangers in urban and psychological research. These rapid social judgments have a significant impact on potential future relations and contribute to a sense of welcomeness and belonging in communities. They occur abundantly in urban transitory spaces such as streets, malls, public squares, park(let)s and other in-between arenas where we frequently encounter strangers. This study formed and tested a theoretical hypothesis about how the composition of such spaces affects first impressions through survey-experiment and causal-comparative analysis. The discussion highlights and introduces the relevance of first impressions to urban discourse while offering a pathway to spatially investigate them. The findings have implications for convivial design and psychological research.
... Criminal record checks have also been flagged for their potential to increase bias and adverse impact (Kuhn, 2013(Kuhn, , 2020. When employers review information about applicants before the interview, this can influence how interviewers carry out their interviews and inform their impressions of applicants (Dougherty et al., 1994;. ...
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The current study examines the riskiest forms and sources of potential bias in the employment interview. A mixed methods survey focused on interviewers' attention to various potentially biasing applicant characteristics, how interviewers learn about such characteristics, the traits of interviewers who are sensitive to such characteristics, and how knowledge of such characteristics affects interviewers' opinions of applicants. Participants were 680 professional interviewers from the U.S., U.K., and Canada. High risks of bias were associated with six applicant characteristics (as targets of bias), three interviewer characteristics (as predisposing toward bias), and three sources of information in the interview process. Interviewers commonly rationalized their judgments in job‐relevant terms. These results have implications for understanding and limiting the risk of common selection biases.
... Because of the sensitivity of the model to initial condition, the components of trustworthiness that enable us to make initial assessments of trustworthiness can dictate the long term outcome of a professional relationship. This confirms research findings on the importance of first impressions, where first impressions often dictate the manner in which we treat new employees [60] and the effect of accurate first impression on long run relationships [61]. ...
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Interpersonal trust is a critical factor in the success and effectiveness of organizations, influencing information sharing, decision-making, task distribution, and overall team performance. However, trust levels within organizations often exhibit a bimodal distribution, with some relationships characterized by high trust and others by low trust. This study seeks to understand the factors and dynamics contributing to this bimodal distribution and explore how leaders can positively influence the development of trust in their organizations. Using an abductive approach to theory development, we map artifacts from the interpersonal trust literature using DSRP to identify essential components for constructing a system dynamics model. Our analysis of the resultant model explores the dynamics of various interpersonal scenarios commonly encountered within professional organizations. We find that the initial assessment of trustworthiness plays an important role in the development of interpersonal trust and provides a leverage point for the resulting dynamics. The objective of this study is to provide leaders with a deeper understanding of interpersonal trust development, equipping them with the knowledge to effectively foster trust and positively impact their organizations.
... In der Personalauswahl belegen mehrere Studien den Confirmation Bias für das Verhalten der Interviewer/innen im Einstellungsinterview. Der erste Eindruck führt dazu, dass die Betroffenen ihr Verhalten im (unstrukturierten) Interview so anlegen, dass sie am Ende ihre eigenen Vorbewertungen der Bewerber/innen aufrechterhalten können (Dipboye, 1982;Dougherty et al., 1994). Studien zum Confirmation Bias, bezogen auf Einstellung zu Personalauswahlmethoden, scheinen bislang nicht vorzuliegen. ...
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Zusammenfassung: Die vieldiskutierte Diskrepanz zwischen Forschung und Praxis zeigt sich in der Personalauswahl u. a. in einer geringen Verbreitung sehr valider Auswahlmethoden. Eine wichtige Ursache hierfür mag darin liegen, dass Informationen über Auswahlmethoden in der Praxis in selektiver Weise verarbeitet werden. In zwei Online-Experimenten wird untersucht, inwieweit die Verarbeitung von Informationen über Intelligenztests und strukturierte Einstellungsinterviews, durch Menschen, die beruflich mit der Personalauswahl zu tun haben, einem Confirmation Bias unterliegt. Beide Studien belegen den Confirmation Bias. Die untersuchten Personen präferieren Informationen, die ihre Voreinstellung zu beiden Methoden unterstützen. Zudem erscheinen ihnen Informationen über beide Personalauswahlmethoden glaubwürdiger, überzeugender und nützlicher, wenn sie der eigenen Einstellung entsprechen.
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This advanced public speaking textbook is designed to encourage you as a speaker and to help you sharpen your skills. It is written to feel like you are sitting with a trusted mentor over coffee as you receive practical advice on speaking. Grow in confidence, unleash your personal power and find your unique style as you learn to take your speaking to the next level--polished and professional.
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The intent of this book is to review the research on selection interviews from an integrative perspective. The book is organized around a conception of the interview as a multistage process. The process begins as the interviewer forms initial impressions of the applicant from previewing paper credentials and from initial encounters with the applicant. The actual face-to-face interview follows, consisting of verbal, nonverbal, and paralinguistic exchanges between interviewer and applicant. The process concludes with the interviewer forming final impressions and judgments of the applicant's qualifications and rendering a decision (e.g., hire, reject, gather more information). The book follows from this general sequence of events, with each chapter focusing on a stage of the interview. In exploring the phases of the interview, the text draws freely from basic research on social cognition, decision making, information processing, and social interaction. Chapter 1: An overview of selection interview research and practice Chapter 2: Cognitive processes of the interviewer Chapter 3: First encounters: Impression formation in the preinterview phase Chapter 4: Social interaction in the interview Chapter 5: Final impressions: judgments and decisions in the post interview phase Chapter 6: Alternative models of the interview process Chapter 7: Evaluating the selection interview Chapter 8: Legal issues in selection interviews Chapter 9: Strategies for improving selection interviews Chapter 10: Other functions of the interview Chapter 11: Concluding comments References Author Index Index
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We conducted a field study to test eight propositions derived from a process model of the selection interview (Dipboye, 1982; Dipboye & Macan, 1988). According to the model, interviewers' preinterview impressions of an applicant bias the subsequent conduct of the interview and processing of information in the direction of confirming these initial impressions. To test predictions from the model, we surveyed managers and the applicants they interviewed in each of 164 interviews. In support of the model, interviewers' preinterview evaluations were positively related to postinterview evaluations of applicant qualifications and process variables predicted to mediate this relation. Results also supported the model in that interviewers with favorable preinterview impressions were more likely to attribute good interview performances to the applicants' qualifications for the job and poor performances to external factors. Contrary to the model, confidence failed to moderate the above findings, and preinterview impressions were not predictive of applicant reports of interviewers' time spent in questioning. Some possible implications of the model for future research and for improving interview practice are discussed.
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To examine the effects of previewing paper credentials on interviewers' gathering and recall of information and the reliability and accuracy of their assessments, approximately 40 undergraduates, serving as student interviewers, interviewed and evaluated 2 student applicants seeking extra course credit. Interviewers either previewed an application before interviewing each applicant or interviewed without a preview. A control group previewed an application without interviewing. Previewing the application increased the amount of correct nonapplication information gathered. Interviewers who did not preview the applications, however, made more reliable evaluations of the applicants' fit to the job and performance in the interview. Interviewers in the preview group also had higher variability on measures of information gathering. No effects of the application preview were found on the differential accuracy with which interviewers estimated the self-descriptions of the interviewees on the Adjective Check List and the Strong Vocational Interest Blank. (34 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
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Employed an information-processing perspective to analyze the judgments of individual employment interviewers in a corporate setting. Linear policy-capturing equations were estimated from 3 interviewers' ratings of 120 job applicants in live and audiotaped interviews. The equations were evaluated across interviewers to identify sources of predictive validity and consistency in information use. In competition with the interviewers from whom they were derived, regression models displayed higher predictive validities in a majority of instances. Following training on selected rating dimensions, interviewers' predictive validities improved. After interviewer training, the regression models of the training dimensions yielded higher predictive validities than all 3 interviewers. Results suggest specific directions for enhancing the effectiveness of interviewing in the employee-selection process. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
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In 4 separate investigations, female undergraduates were provided with hypotheses about the personal attributes of other individuals (targets). Ss then prepared to test these hypotheses (i.e., that their targets were extraverts or that their targets were introverts) by choosing a series of questions to ask their targets in a forthcoming interview. In each investigation, Ss planned to test these hypotheses by preferentially searching for behavioral evidence that would confirm the hypotheses. Moveover, these search procedures channeled social interaction between Ss and targets in ways that caused the targets to provide actual behavioral confirmation for Ss' hypotheses. A theoretical analysis of the psychological processes believed to underlie and generate both the preferential search for hypothesis-confirming behavioral evidence and the interpersonal consequences of hypothesis-testing activities is presented. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Article
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We conducted a field study to test eight propositions derived from a process model of the selection interview (Dipboye, 1982; Dipboye & Macan, 1988). According to the model, interviewers' preinterview impressions of an applicant bias the subsequent conduct of the interview and processing of information in the direction of confirming these initial impressions. To test predictions from the model, we surveyed managers and the applicants they interviewed in each of 164 interviews. In support of the model, interviewers' preinterview evaluations were positively related to postinterview evaluations of applicant qualifications and process variables predicted to mediate this relation. Results also supported the model in that interviewers with favorable preinterview impressions were more likely to attribute good interview performances to the applicants' qualifications for the job and poor performances to external factors. Contrary to the model, confidence failed to moderate the above findings, and preinterview impressions were not predictive of applicant reports of interviewers' time spent in questioning. Some possible implications of the model for future research and for improving interview practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
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Research on employment interviews has not replicated the finding that people tend to seek information about others to confirm preinteraction beliefs. The present study used a free question generation methodology, rather than the previously used experimenter-provided list of questions, to assess the effects of preinterview impressions on questioning strategies. Student interviewers reviewed realistic resumés, application blanks, and job descriptions, which manipulated impressions of applicant suitability, prior to generating the questions they planned to use in an ensuing interview. Results indicated that both men and women adopted confirmatory questioning strategies in that they planned to ask a significantly greater number of questions seeking negative information of low-suitability applicants than of high-suitability applicants, regardless of applicant sex. This same confirmatory effect was observed for both men's and women's use of positive questions for same-sex applicants. However, male and female interviewers adopted disconfirmatory questioning strategies when interviewing applicants of the opposite sex. Potential explanations for these effects are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Article
A model is presented in which it is proposed that interviewers' pre-interview evaluations of applicants tend to be self-fulfilling. These self-fulfilling effects are mediated by both the tendency of interviewers to convey their opinions of the interviewee in their conduct of the interview and their tendency to notice, recall, and interpret information in a manner that is consistent with pre-interview evaluations. Possible moderators of the effects of pre-interview evaluations also are discussed.
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This exploratory study compared communication behaviors and patterns in successful and unsuccessful initial recruiting interviews. Subjects were 28 university seniors interviewing for jobs with seven corporate recruiters who held interviews on campus. The interviews were videotaped and subsequently analyzed for applicant and interviewer behavior. Applicant behavior was significantly different when successful interviews were compared with unsuccessful ones. Unsuccessful interviews were approximately two-thirds as long as successful interviews. Successful applicants dominated the conversations more. When interviewers attempted to structure the conversation, unsuccessful applicants tried to structure the conversation in return. Successful applicants tended to be submissive when the interviewer dominated and to dominate when the interviewer was submissive. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)