No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the authors.
What You See May Not Be What You Get: Relationships Among Self-Presentation Tactics and Ratings of Interview and Job Performance
Abstract
The image candidates portray in the interview, via appearance, impression management, and verbal and nonverbal behavior, has been hypothesized to influence interviewer ratings. Through the lenses of social influence and interdependence theories, this meta-analysis investigated (a) the magnitude of the relationship between these 3 self-presentation tactics and interviewer ratings, (b) whether these tactics also are correlated with later job performance, and (c) whether important theoretical moderators (e.g., the level of interview structure, the rating source, the use of field or experimental designs) affect these relationships. Results reveal that what you see in the interview may not be what you get on the job and that the unstructured interview is particularly impacted by these self-presentation tactics. Additionally and surprisingly, moderator analyses of these relationships found that the type of research design (experimental vs. field) does not moderate these findings.
... In areas as diverse as romantic relationships (Karremans and Verwijmeren, 2008), teaching (LaFrance and Broadbent, 1976), negotiations (Van Swol, 2003), and children-parent interactions (Bernieri et al., 1988), researchers have investigated the meaning and interpretations of body posture, gestures, and eye contact. In work psychology, research has predominantly focused on how nonverbal behavior affects the outcome of employment (selection) interviews (Barrick et al., 2009). The main assumption here is that applicants may be capable of tactically adopting various nonverbal behaviors to shape the interviewers impression of them. ...
... Whereas most earlier employment interview research focused on its psychometric properties (i.e., reliability and validity of interviewers evaluations) (McDaniel et al., 1994), more recent research has shifted the attention to the interview process and to the interaction between interviewers and applicants (Levashina et al., 2014). One main research area deals with how applicants use verbal and nonverbal self-presentation or impression management tactics to make a favorable impression in interviews (Motowidlo and Burnett, 1995;Barrick et al., 2009). The most frequently studied nonverbal behaviors in interviews include eye contact, smiling, and -to a lesser extent -gestures and body posture. ...
... These behaviors are: holding eye contact with the interviewer, smiling, nodding when the interviewer is speaking, creating a smaller interpersonal distance by leaning forward, supporting speech with gestures (hand movements). Meta-analytic research showed that these nonverbal immediacy behaviors have a positive effect on interviewer ratings of applicants (Barrick et al., 2009;Levashina et al., 2014). This group was therefore included to serve as a good benchmark for the potential effect of mimicry. ...
This paper reveals the characteristics and effects of nonverbal behavior and human mimicry in the context of application interviews. It discloses a novel analyzation method for psychological research by utilizing machine learning. In comparison to traditional manual data analysis, machine learning proves to be able to analyze the data more deeply and to discover connections in the data invisible to the human eye. The paper describes an experiment to measure and analyze the reactions of evaluators to job applicants who adopt specific behaviors: mimicry, suppress, immediacy and natural behavior. First, evaluation of the applicant qualifications by the interviewer reveals how behavioral self-management can improve the interviewer’s opinion of the candidate. Secondly, the underlying mechanics of mimicry behavior are exposed through analysis of seven nonverbal actions. Manual data analysis determines the frequency features of the actions and answers how often the actions are performed and how often they are mimicked during application interviews. Two of the seven actions are here deemed negligible due too low frequency features. Finally, machine learning is employed to analyze the data in great detail and distinguish the four behavior categories from each other. A Random Forest classifier is able to achieve 55.2% accuracy for predicting the behavior condition of the interviews while human observers reach an accuracy of 32.9%. The feature set for the classifier is reduced to 130 features with the most important features relating to the correlations between the leaning forward actions of the interview participants.
... On the other hand, interviewees can also use verbal IM such as emphasizing their own strengths or downplaying potential failures. In line with this, previous research repeatedly found that the use of such IM behaviors correlates with interview ratings (see Barrick et al., 2009, or Levashina et al., 2014 for meta-analytic evidence). Furthermore, it is possible for interviewees to use the preparation time to think about possibilities to use IM for their answers to make a more positive impression. ...
... Specifically, it may be that the lack of a real application context and the lack of incentives meant that interviewees had no reason to use deceptive IM. At this point, however, we want to mention that the generally rather low level of deceptive IM could also be due to the high level of structure in AVIs given that previous research suggests that structure reduces the amount and the impact of IM in interviews (Barrick et al., 2009) for both, deceptive IM (Levashina & Campion, 2007) as well as honest IM (Bourdage et al., 2018). Specifically, previous research found that standardization of the interview and of the evaluation process reduces the impact of IM (Barrick et al., 2009) and of other biasing factors (e.g., Kutcher & Bragger, 2004) on interview ratings. ...
... At this point, however, we want to mention that the generally rather low level of deceptive IM could also be due to the high level of structure in AVIs given that previous research suggests that structure reduces the amount and the impact of IM in interviews (Barrick et al., 2009) for both, deceptive IM (Levashina & Campion, 2007) as well as honest IM (Bourdage et al., 2018). Specifically, previous research found that standardization of the interview and of the evaluation process reduces the impact of IM (Barrick et al., 2009) and of other biasing factors (e.g., Kutcher & Bragger, 2004) on interview ratings. However, given that the provision of behavioral ratings anchors as a means to increase standardization contributes to the accuracy, reliability, and validity of interview ratings (e.g., Huffcutt et al., 2013;Melchers et al., 2011;Taylor & Small, 2002), we followed bestpractice recommendations (e.g., Campion et al., 1997;Taylor & Small, 2002) when we used a highly standardized evaluation process and behavioral rating anchors. ...
Asynchronous video interviews (AVIs) are increasingly used to preselect applicants. Previous research found that interviewees in AVIs receive better interview ratings compared to other forms of interviews. It has been suggested that this difference could be due to the preparation time given for each AVI question. A pilot study confirmed that preparation time in AVIs is indeed beneficial for interview performance. Furthermore, our main study replicated the significant effect of preparation time on interview performance and revealed that it was mediated by active response preparation, whereas no mediation effects were found for strain and for the use of impression management. Finally, preparation time had no direct effect on fairness perceptions but a positive indirect effect via honest impression management.
Practitioner points
• It was previously suggested that applicants receive better interview ratings in asynchronous video interviews (AVIs) than in synchronous interviews because of the preparation time that is provided for each question in an AVI.
• Our results confirmed that preparation time in AVIs indeed leads to better interview performance ratings.
• The positive effects of preparation time were due to active response preparation (i.e., interviewees made notes and structured their answers).
• Longer preparation time did not affect dishonest impression management or fairness perceptions but might affect the validity of AVIs.
... Other-focused tactics such as ingratiation are directed at the target (i.e., interviewer or hiring organization), with the goal of emphasizing similarities or inspiring liking from the target. Ingratiation tactics may include directly or indirectly flattering the interviewer, opinion conformity, favor doing, and even feigned helplessness (Barrick et al., 2009). Defensive IM tactics include excuses and justifications (Schlenker & Weigold, 1992) or any behavior that repairs one's image when it has been damaged (Tsai et al., 2010). ...
... Two meta-analyses have examined the relationships between IM use and interview ratings. Barrick et al. (2009) found overall IM to be strongly correlated with interview performance (r = .47), also noting that all forms of IM tactics were meaningfully associated with interviewer ratings. ...
... Additionally, in interview settings, organizational members (i.e., interviewers) should theoretically be evaluating candidates based on standards of behaviors that are deemed acceptable within the norms of the interviewer's culture. If culture influences individuals' preferences and use of influence tactics (Kipnis et al., 1984;Schermerhorn & Bond, 1991) and IM impacts interview ratings (Barrick et al., 2009), we should expect interviewers' ratings to be associated with IM behaviors that are consistent with the interviewer's cultural orientation. However, the first step is to conceptually map out which cultural values are likely to be associated with which IM behaviors. ...
With organizations being increasingly multinational and multicultural, there is a need for understanding the implications of having job applicants and interviewers from various cultural backgrounds interacting in an employment interview. We propose a theoretical model for understanding how cultural values translate into preferences for, and use of, impression management (IM) tactics in employment interviews. Building upon previous cross-cultural IM models and relying on GLOBE cultural framework, we suggest that various cultural dimensions are associated with subsequent differences in applicants' use of both honest and deceptive forms of self-focused, other-focused, and defensive IM tactics in interviews. Our model also predicts that cultural distance, and indirectly difference between applicant IM use and interviewers' expectations, will determine how interviewers evaluate applicant interview performance. We highlight the importance of organizations taking responsibility in developing culturally conscientious selection methods to avoid potentially biased hiring decisions.
Practioner points
• Cultural differences impact our behaviors (applicants) and expectations for those behaviors (interviewers) in interviews.
• Our model proposes links between cultural dimensions and specific impression management tactics.
• Cultural distance between Interviewer-Interviewee impacts how evaluations are attributed to applicants (i.e. similar-to-me bias, expectancy theory).
• Practitioners need to be aware of unintentional systematic cultural biases within their selection process.
• Culturally diverse interviewer panels are recommended.
... Employment interviews present an opportunity for job applicants to make a good impression on their potential employer, by engaging in impression management (IM) tactics. Broadly defined, IM describes the process by which individuals attempt to control the impressions others form of them (Barrick et al., 2009) and is a key category of behaviors that applicants engage in during interviews (Huffcutt et al., 2011). IM can take various forms, such as trying to connect personally to the interviewer or making sure one's skills and past accomplishments are highlighted (Stevens & Kristof, 1995). ...
... There have been at least three previous meta-analyses examining the relations between IM and interview ratings : Peck & Levashina, 2017, and in certain cases included other tactics such as smiling and physical appearance (Barrick et al., 2009). In all cases, however, the measures used in most of the included primary studies were a mix of deceptive and honest IM. ...
... 243). In line with previous meta-analyses (e.g., Barrick et al., 2009), we included both mock (e.g., practice interviews or interviews conducted solely for the purpose of research) and real interviews, as well as interviews that were conducted in-person, through videoconference, virtual media, or over the telephone if they were found. ...
... Extant work reveals that when assessing performance during both structured and unstructured interviews, interviewers form impressions of candidates based on their verbal and nonverbal behavioral cues (e.g., Barrick et al., 2009). Candidates are largely judged based on their responses to questions, and verbal behaviors (i.e., what is said) are proposed to relate to personality and changes in emotional states (Cohn et al., 2004). ...
... Social influence is a contextual factor present for every interpersonal interaction (Barrick et al., 2009). That is, the social context elicits strong effects on behavior and the presence of others often leads an individual to behave in a way that will evoke desired response (Barrick et al., 2009). ...
... Social influence is a contextual factor present for every interpersonal interaction (Barrick et al., 2009). That is, the social context elicits strong effects on behavior and the presence of others often leads an individual to behave in a way that will evoke desired response (Barrick et al., 2009). In the context of a job interview, an interviewer's verbal and nonverbal behaviors serve a communicative function to reinforce some responses while discouraging others (Levy et al., 1998). ...
Interview anxiety is common among interviewees and has the potential to undermine an applicant's interview performance. Nevertheless, there is much that we do not understand about the role of anxiety in job interviews. In this paper, we advance a conceptual model that highlights the multidimensional nature of interview anxiety by incorporating its cognitive, behavioral, and physiological components, termed the Tripartite Interview Anxiety Framework (TIAF). This model highlights the role of person, interviewer, and contextual characteristics in shaping interview anxiety, elucidates the underlying relations between interview anxiety and performance, and delineates critical moderators of these important relations. In doing so, the TIAF simultaneously advances the theory of interview anxiety, promotes further work in this area, and highlights implications for practice.
... However, in the 2010s, research focus on impression management in interviews shifted by making the important realization that impression management may actually contribute to interview criterionrelated validity. In a meta-analysis, Barrick, Shaffer, and DeGrassi (2009) found that impression management tactics and verbal and nonverbal behaviors are predictive of interview ratings, with low structured interviews being more influenced. However, both impression management and verbal/nonverbal behaviors showed some predictive validity for job performance (r = .15 ...
... respectively). Barrick et al.'s (2009) metaanalysis also confirmed the generality of research linking physical attractiveness to many job outcomes, including interview performance (e.g., Hosoda, Stone-Romero, & Coats, 2003). Barrick et al. found that applicant appearance appears to have a strong correlation with interview ratings for low and medium structured interviews (r = .88 ...
... Lastly, we were interested in determining whether Facebook IM tactics were related to job-search outcomes. Prior research suggests that IM is positively related to a variety of job-search outcomes: Barrick et al. (2009) found that IM tactics used during interviews were positively related to interviewer ratings, and (to a lesser extent) job performance. More recently, Bourdage et al. (2018) found a positive relationship between IM used in job interviews (particularly honest self-promotion and ingratiation) and job offers received. ...
... For instance, assertive honest tactics were positively related to job seekers confidence during their current job search and to job offers received (in correlations but not in regressions). These results demonstrate that Facebook IM tactics, specifically assertive honest tactics (e.g., posting positive statements about one's personal/professional qualities), are associated with job seekers confidence throughout the job search and potentially related to the chance of receiving job offers, which aligns with interview IM research (Barrick et al., 2009;Bourdage et al., 2018). ...
Many organizations rely on social media like Facebook as a screening or selection tool, however, research still largely lags behind practice. For instance, little is known about how individuals are strategically utilizing their Facebook profile while applying for jobs. This research examines job seekers’ impression management (IM) tactics on Facebook, personality traits associated with IM use, and associations between IM and job-search outcomes. Results from two complementary studies demonstrate that job seekers engage in three main Facebook IM tactics: defensive, assertive deceptive, and assertive honest IM. Job seekers lower in honesty-humility use more Facebook IM tactics, whereas those higher in extraversion use more honest IM and those higher on conscientiousness use less deceptive IM. Honest IM tactics used on Facebook are positively related to job-search outcomes. This paper therefore extends previous IM research by empirically examining IM use on Facebook, along with its antecedents and outcomes.
Full text: https://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/pad/vol7/iss1/10/
... Several researchers recognize the potential of online social networking and its relation to impression formation (Tong et al., 2008;Zhao et al., 2008). IM theory provides a framework to assess online impressions created by job seekers through the information they display (Barrick et al., 2009;Harrison and Budworth, 2015). Therefore, social media users ensure that their profile is catchy, aiming to influence how others perceive them (Rosenberg and Egbert, 2011). ...
... For individuals, making the right association with successful others and disassociating from unsuccessful others is a significant element in succeeding at work and enhancing prestige (Andrews and Kacmar, 2001). Further, the literature shows that individuals who create an impression need to maintain this impression even at later stages to manage and strengthen the image in the minds of others (Higgins et al., 2003;Barrick et al., 2009). First, associating with a third party is theoretically proven to create a cognitive balance in the mind of the others (Kacmar et al., 2011). ...
Despite the popularity of the term impression management (IM) in the literature, there is no consensus as how different types of IM (direct vs. indirect) and modes of interaction (face-to-face vs. online) promote career-related outcomes. While most empirical studies focus on direct IM, individuals engage in both types of IM and interaction modes, particularly indirect IM in the online context. Indeed, recent developments suggest that online interactions now prevail over face-to-face interactions, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Accordingly, this study presents the first systematic literature review that differentiates between types of IM (direct vs. indirect) and modes of interaction (face-to-face vs. online) in a career development perspective. The review shows that direct IM is more widely studied in the face-to-face than online interaction mode, while indirect IM is neglected in both interaction modes. This study thus provides evidence of the need to investigate and differentiate between the different types of IM and interaction modes for career-related outcomes, highlighting some research gaps and directions for future inquiry.
... than are verbal behaviors (r c = .34; Barrick et al., 2009). But strong nonverbal communication skills are not merely useful for creating a favorable impression during evaluations; they are fundamental to performance across a wide variety of roles and industries-that is, they represent valid criteria for decisions such as selection and promotion, rather than error. ...
It turns out that being good‐looking really does pay off: decades of research have shown that attractive individuals are more likely to get ahead in their careers. Although prior research has suggested that bias on the part of evaluators is the source of attractive individuals’ favorable career outcomes, there is also evidence that these individuals may be socialized to behave and perceive themselves differently from others in ways that contribute to their success. Building on socialization research and studies on nonverbal power cues, we examined nonverbal communication in individuals with varying degrees of physical attractiveness. In two experimental studies with data from 300 video interview pitches, we found that attractive individuals had a greater sense of power than their less attractive counterparts and thus exhibited a more effective nonverbal presence, which led to higher managerial ratings of their hirability. However, we also identified a potential means for leveling this gap. Adopting a powerful posture was found to be especially beneficial for individuals rated low in attractiveness, enabling them to achieve the same level of effective nonverbal presence as their highly attractive counterparts naturally displayed. Our research sheds new light on the source of attractive individuals’ success and suggests a possible remedy for individuals who lack an appearance advantage.
... (Potenzielle) Mitarbeiter haben üblicherweise die Tendenz, Impression Management zu zeigen (Barrick et al. 2009), indem sie versuchen, ein bestimmtes Bild über sich zu vermitteln und dieses aufrecht zu erhalten (z. B. Bozeman und Kacmar 1997, S. 9). ...
Personalmanagement bezieht sich auf verschiedene Akteure (potenzielle, aktuelle und ehemalige Mitarbeitende mit und ohne Führungsverantwortung). Kommunikation spielt in deren Interaktion und in verschiedenen Funktionen des Personalmanagements eine wichtige Rolle. Die Personalforschung trägt dem Rechnung, indem verschiedene Aspekte der Kommunikation im Personalmanagement empirisch erforscht werden. Vor diesem Hintergrund besteht das Ziel des Beitrags darin, einen Überblick über empirische Erkenntnisse zur Mitarbeiterkommunikation innerhalb ausgewählter Funktionen des Personalmanagements zu geben.
... 2.1 | Self-promotion through the lens of social influence theory Social influence theory posits that individuals strive to influence others in a manner that maximizes influencers' desired outcomes (Ferris et al., 2002). From this theoretical perspective, self-promotion is regarded as an attempt to gain personal benefits by affecting how one is seen by relevant targets of influence (e.g., supervisors) (Barrick et al., 2009;Ferris et al., 2017); and indeed, experimental studies have demonstrated that manipulating low versus high levels of selfpromotion usage affects others' views and behaviors (e.g., Bolino et al., 2014;Wayne & Ferris, 1990). Yet, in line with social influence theory, various scholars have theoretically argued that self-promotion in the workplace can be a tricky business (Bolino et al., 2016;Jones & Pittman, 1982). ...
Self-promotion has largely been researched from an individual perspective. It is thus unclear if this behavior is functional or dysfunctional within a broader social context. The present study offers a contribution in this regard by examining self-promotion within work groups. In particular, we hypothesized that work group self-promotion climate – referring to the shared perception of the occurrence of self-promotion in the work group – moderates the relationships between individuals’ supervisor-focused self-promotion and supervisor ratings of both job performance and promotability. More precisely, we expected these relationships to be positive only when self-promotion climate is low. With respect to the entire work group, we further hypothesized that self-promotion climate negatively relates to supervisor-rated work group performance via impaired work group cohesion. We tested these propositions with data from 195 work groups. Multivariate path analysis provided support for our hypothesized model. Taken together, our findings illustrate the important role of self-promotion as a climate construct. In particular, self-promotion climate helps us better understand the role of self-promotion for individuals and work groups.
... From this literature, a clear picture emerges-increasing structure in interviews (e.g., through standardization in the questions asked and/or the scoring protocols used to evaluate interviewees' answers) increases the validity and reliability of interviews (Barrick et al., 2009;Campion et al., 1997;Chapman & Zweig, 2005;Conway et al., 1995;Cortina et al., 2000;Huffcutt & Arthur, 1994;Macan, 2009;Melchers et al., 2011;Schmidt & Hunter, 1998). Structured interviews also increase fairness because unstructured interviews may increase the likelihood of sociocognitive biases that negatively affect certain groups (Buckley et al., 2007;Roth et al., 2002). ...
As many schools and departments are considering the removal of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) from their graduate-school admission processes to enhance equity and diversity in higher education, controversies arise. From a psychometric perspective, we see a critical need for clarifying the meanings of measurement “bias” and “fairness” to create common ground for constructive discussions within the field of psychology, higher education, and beyond. We critically evaluate six major sources of information that are widely used to help inform graduate-school admissions decisions: grade point average, personal statements, resumes/curriculum vitae, letters of recommendation, interviews, and GRE. We review empirical research evidence available to date on the validity, bias, and fairness issues associated with each of these admission measures and identify potential issues that have been overlooked in the literature. We conclude by suggesting several directions for practical steps to improve the current admissions decisions and highlighting areas in which future research would be beneficial.
... IM tactics are frequently utilized in the workplace to achieve greater career success, as well as to influence other employees (Judge & Bretz, 1994). For instance, some IM tactics are positively related to performance ratings (Barrick et al., 2009;Higgins et al., 2003), which can be helpful in getting promoted to more powerful positions within an organization. In essence, one key component to understanding Personalized and Socialized nPower is to investigate the types of influence behaviors that these individuals employ. ...
... This seems to indicate that raters may have used relatively simple heuristics based on relevant qualifications for their recommendations, which is in line with prior empirical evidence (e.g., Cole et al., 2007) and helps explaining the lack of support for more subtle effects of selfpresentation. By contrast, job offer ratings were primarily based on performance in interviews, which contain much more social and emotional cues that pave the way for the influence of applicants' self-presentation (Barrick et al, 2009). With regard to informed motivation, support for our prediction was restricted to the indicator tapping how far participants approached perceived ideals. ...
Behaviour in selection situations as an adaptation to external expectations: Testing a theory of self-presentation Self-presentation in a selection setting has largely been viewed as deviant and detrimental for validity, often simplified by the label "faking behaviour". Yet, applicants may also express meaningful skills and motivation when presenting themselves. In this paper, we present an empirical test of Marcus' (2009) theory of self-presentation, which takes this position. By simulating a complete selection process, from choosing a position to final decision making about job offers, we test several key assumptions the model made. If motivation was operationalized as willingness to deviate from true self-image, findings provide partial support for proposed antecedents of initial motivation, for motivational changes during the selection process, for the hypothesis that greater discrepancy between true self-image and perceived expectations lower the motivation to self-present, and for expected effects of analytical self-presentation skills. Hardly any support was found for propositions if motivation was operationalized as willingness to adapt to perceived employer's ideals, and for proposed antecedents of analytical skills.
Link to published version: https://doi.org/10.1080/1359432X.2021.1981866
... Previous studies on the topic of impression management dealt with performing correlative analyses in various communication situations, examining the degree of the relationship between self-presentation tactics and interviewer's ratings (e.g., Barrick et al., 2009). In these studies, interpersonal conversations were conducted freely, and the nonverbal signals of participants' behavior (such as voice, posture, and eye contact) were coded by the researchers after the conversations and the correlation between these nonverbal signals and the person's social impressions was analyzed. ...
People often try to improve their social impressions by performing “good” postures, particularly when others are evaluating them. We aimed to investigate whether such postural management to modulate social impressions are indeed effective, and in the case that they are effective, which impressions are modulated and how quickly these impressions are formed. In total, 207 participants in two different experiments (72 participants in Experiment 1; 135 in Experiment 2) reported their impressions from photographs where other people performed “good” or “bad” postures in three viewing angles (back, front, and side). Participants were presented with a total of 96 pictures without time limitation in Experiment 1; then, for Experiment 2, they were presented with the same pictures, but with time limitations (100, 500, or 1000 ms). In both experiments, participants were asked to report their impressions for each photograph related to the person’s attractiveness, trustworthiness, or dominance. Results showed that the people with “good” postures were generally rated as more attractive and trustworthy. More importantly, it was found that impressions formed after a 100 ms exposure had high correlations with impressions formed in the absence of time constraints, suggesting that the sight of a managed posture for 100 ms is sufficient for people to form social impressions. The findings suggest that people quickly make attractiveness and trustworthiness impressions based on managed postures.
... Ayrıca kendini sevdirme taktiğinin performans değerlemesi bakımından olumlu bir etkisi bulunduğunu gösteren çalışmalar da bulunmaktadır (Ferris & Judge & Rowland & Fitzgibbons, 1994). İzlenim yönetimi taktiklerinden bir diğeri olan niteliklerini tanıtma yönteminin işe alım konusunda pozitif yönde etkili (Barrick & Shaffer & DeGrassi, 2009), fakat kariyer başarısı konusunda olumsuz yönde etkili olduğu (Judge & Bretz, 1994) gösterilmiştir. Ek olarak, niteliklerini tanıtma taktiğinin performans değerlemeleri açısından olumsuz olduğunu gösteren çalışmalar bulunmaktadır (Higgins & Judge & Ferris 2003). ...
... Accordingly, individuals seek to manage shared meaning and perceptions to gain and maintain privileged positions within organizations (Ferris, King, Judge, & Kacmar, 1991). Thus, the political influence theoretical perspective proposes that power and influence are the key drivers underlying management decision-making and worker responses, which shares theoretical overlap with selfpresentation theory (e.g., Barrick, Shaffer, & DeGrassi, 2009). ...
The authentic leadership paradigm has been widely advocated as an effective leadership approach for organizations interested in promoting positive and ethical leader – member relations. Despite accumulating evidence concerning the positive follower effects of authentic leadership, research examining potential boundary conditions remains limited. The political influence theoretical perspective promises to shed new light on the effects of authentic leadership by proposing that authentic leadership may be less effective in political contexts, bounding its positive operation on followers. Specifically, we anticipate that organizational politics will erode the motivational power of authentic leaders on followers, reducing their ability to engender positive performance contributions in followers. We also predict that organizational politics will weaken the positive relationship between authentic leadership and job satisfaction by reducing the ability of employees to realize their goals at work. To explore these theoretical assertions, we incorporated a two-study functional replication (n1=265; n2= 175) to ascertain how authentic leadership and organizational politics impact follower job satisfaction, organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), and task performance. We find that organizational politics consistently weaken the positive effects of authentic leadership on follower OCB across two studies. Furthermore, in Study 2, our findings suggest that organizational politics attenuate the positive impact of authentic leadership on follower job satisfaction and task performance. We discuss theoretical and practical implications.
... People often experience a threat to their competence, when someone tells them that they performed poorly on a task (Whelpley and McDaniel, 2016), when they receive low scores from other people (Curran, 2018), or when they feel they are losing face (Bourgoin and Harvey, 2018). In work settings, individuals are concerned how people around them evaluate their competence more than any other attribute (Barrick et al., 2009;Bourdage et al., 2018) because competence perception is a crucial predictor of career progress, hiring decisions and resource allocations (Cuddy et al., 2008). More specifically, in the context of the leader-follower relationship, the leader's competence is the symbol of power and dominance at the workplace (Chen et al., 2014). ...
Purpose
Although voice endorsement is essential for individuals, teams and organizational performance, leaders who consider followers' voice to be threatening are reluctant to implement followers' ideas. The authors, taking note of this phenomenon, investigate why leaders who feel a threat from followers' voice exhibit voice rejection at the workplace and when this detrimental tendency can be diminished. Thus, based on the self-defense tendency as per self-affirmation theory, the authors argue that those leaders who experience threat triggered by followers' voice, justify voice rejection through the self-defense tactics: message derogation and source derogation. In addition, the authors also propose that a leader's positive (negative) affect experienced before voice exposure may decrease (increase) self-defense and voice rejection.
Design/methodology/approach
To test the authors’ moderated mediation model, they conducted two independent vignette studies ( N = 269; N = 208). The purpose of the first vignette study was to test the simple mediation (i.e. the direct and indirect effects), whereas the second study aimed to test the moderated mediation model.
Findings
In Study 1, the authors found that the leader's perceived threat to competence provoked by followers' voice was positively related to voice rejection, and the relationship was partially mediated by message derogation and source derogation. In line with this, in Study 2, the authors tested the moderated mediation model and replicated the findings of Study 1. They found that the effects of leader's perceived threat to competence on voice rejection through self-defense tactics are weaker (stronger) at the high (low) values of a leader's positive affect. In contrast, the effects of a leader's perceived threat to competence on voice rejection through self-defense tactics are stronger (weaker) at the high (low) values of a leader's negative affect.
Originality/value
This study suggests that leaders who experience a threat to competence instigated by employee voice are more likely to think that ideas proposed by employees are non-constructive and employees who suggest those ideas are not credible, and these appraisals have a direct influence on voice rejection. However, if leaders are in a good mood vs. bad mood, they will be less likely to think negatively about employees and their ideas even when they experience psychological threats. The findings highlight several avenues for future researchers to extend the literature on employee voice management and leadership coaching by providing theoretical and managerial implications.
... In the context of the interview, interviewees and interviewers have different, often conflicting, goals. Generally, the interviewee wants to obtain the job whereas the interviewer wants to obtain information that will help them select the best candidate for the job (Barrick et al., 2009). Typically, the interviewee is highly dependent on the interviewer because the interviewer is responsible for making the hiring decision. ...
Across three studies, we explored the construct of self-verification behavior in the employment interview, defined as: “sharing of unembellished self-related information that is in line with self-views.” Using content analysis, Study 1 explored whether job applicants (N = 252) described self-verification behavior when they were asked which strategy they used to distinguish themselves from other applicants. Self-verification behavior was frequently mentioned in conjunction with other self-presentation tactics, such as honest impression management. In Studies 2 and 3, we surveyed job applicants (N = 92 and N = 311) immediately following an interview. We found a positive relationship between self-verification behavior and honest impression management and honesty-humility, but a near-zero relationship with interview performance. Using confirmatory factor analysis, we found that although correlated, self-verification behavior is conceptually different from honest impression management. We suggest that measuring self-verification behavior in interviews allows researchers to capture a broader range of potential interview strategies.
Practitioner points
• In employment interviews, the interviewee is dependent on the interviewer and must find ways to signal their suitability for the job.
• The challenging interview situation can lead to the use of self-presentation tactics.
• Interview researchers have begun to investigate a self-presentation tactic called self-verification behavior, which is the sharing of unembellished self-related information that is in line with one's self-views.
• We investigate whether interviewees intentionally use self-verification behavior in their job interviews.
• We also explore how self-verification behavior differs from other interview strategies and personality traits.
• Many interviewees purposefully use self-verification behavior as a way to distinguish themselves from other job applicants.
• Use of self-verification behavior was not related to interview performance, but was related to lower self-reported interview anxiety.
• Self-verification behavior is distinct from honest impression management and honesty-humility, although is positively related to both.
... With respect to thoughts, theories of interview anxiety and general theories of anxiety Eysenck et al., 2007) indicate that anxiety directs attention away from the task at hand such that individuals may have difficulty performing well. With respect to behaviors, applicants with high interview anxiety are less likely to engage in impression management (Budnick et al., 2019) and more likely to engage in deleterious nonverbal behaviors, such as averted eye contact and shaky speech (DeGroot & Gooty, 2009;Feiler & Powell, 2016), which in turn affect applicant performance in the interview (Barrick et al., 2009). ...
Employers have increasingly turned to virtual interviews to facilitate online, socially distanced selection processes in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, there is little understanding about the experience of job candidates in these virtual interview contexts. We draw from Event System Theory (Morgeson et al., 2015) to advance and test a conceptual model that focuses on a high-stress, high-stakes setting and integrates literatures on workplace stress with literatures on applicant reactions. We predict that when applicants ruminate about COVID-19 during an interview and have higher levels of COVID-19 exhaustion, they will have higher levels of anxiety during virtual interviews, which in turn relates to reduced interview performance, lower perceptions of fairness, and reduced intentions to recommend the organization. Further, we predict that three factors capturing COVID-19 as an enduring and impactful event (COVID-19 duration, COVID-19 cases, COVID-19 deaths) will be positively related to COVID-19 exhaustion. We tested our propositions with 8,343 job applicants across 373 companies and 93 countries/regions. Consistent with predictions, we found a positive relationship between COVID-19 rumination and interview anxiety, and this relationship was stronger for applicants who experienced higher (vs. lower) levels of COVID-19 exhaustion. In turn, interview anxiety was negatively related to interview performance, fairness perceptions, and recommendation intentions. Moreover, using a relevant subset of the data (n = 6,136), we found that COVID-19 duration and deaths were positively related to COVID-19 exhaustion. This research offers several insights for understanding the virtual interview experience embedded in the pandemic and advances the literature on applicant reactions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
... Interview is an effective way to evaluate students' ability [12] , face validity and opportunity to perform are the most important bases for considering personnel techniques favorably [13] . Previous studies have shown that examination scores are closely related to candidates' own performance and the examiner heterogeneity [14][15][16] . This heterogeneity is an objective phenomenon. ...
The selection of MPACC (Master of Professional Accountant) is a key step in the training of senior accounting personnel. This paper examines the relationship between examiner heterogeneity and MPACC second test scores. We try to clarify the reason for the unfair phenomenon because of the heterogeneity of examiners in MPACC second test results and seek ways to solve this problem. The study found that the MPACC second test results are unfair. This unfairness is caused by the heterogeneity of the examiner. However, standardized algorithms balance the differences in MPACC examiner heterogeneity. The regression model was constructed by using the MPACC second test scores before and after standardization, which verified the existence of examiner heterogeneity and the effect of the standardized algorithm on the examiner heterogeneity. This article is based on the differences of MPACC second test scores due to examiner’s heterogeneity. We propose the application of standardized algorithm, which will play an important role in improving the quality of MPACC enrollment and promoting the training of senior accounting personnel.
... Ingratiation involves trying to be accepted, often through compliments and flattery. Ingratiation is commonly used when interviewing for desirable jobs (Stevens & Kristof, 1995), and can enhance performance in less structured interviews (Barrick et al., 2009). In contrast, self-promotion involves focusing on enhancing the impression that one has high competency and desirable skills (Jones, 1990). ...
Job applicants and employees will often engage in impression management tactics to enhance or positively influence perceptions their abilities or workplace contributions. However, the primary emphasis of impression management research has been on tactics such as ingratiation and self-promotion. Less research has focused on managing communal impressions or looking more cooperative than one actually is. Among three popularly studied traits associated with non-communal orientations (i.e., the Dark Triad; Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and narcissism), Machiavellianism is the most theoretically aligned trait to engage in impression management. In Study 1, participants were asked to fill out a Dark Triad assessment as they would for an ideal job, non-ideal job, or honestly. In Study 2, participants filled out similar assessments as they would for an ideal cooperative or an ideal competitive job. Across both studies, Machiavellianism was the only trait to show sensitivity to context and report increased communal values when a job was perceived as valuable or cooperative. Implications of this research support the occupational screening of Dark Triad traits in the workforce and which type of individual would be most likely to manage impressions on such screenings.
... This seems to indicate that raters may have used relatively simple heuristics based on relevant qualifications for their recommendations, which is in line with prior empirical evidence (e.g., Cole et al., 2007) and helps explain the lack of support for more subtle effects of self-presentation. By contrast, job offer ratings were primarily based on performance in interviews, which contain much more social and emotional cues that pave the way for the influence of applicants' selfpresentation (Barrick et al., 2009). With regard to informed motivation, support for our prediction was restricted to the indicator tapping how far participants approached perceived ideals. ...
Self-presentation in a selection setting has largely been viewed as deviant and detrimental for validity, often simplified by the label “faking behaviour”. Yet, applicants may also express meaningful skills and motivation when presenting themselves. In this paper, we present an empirical test of a theory of self-presentation, which takes this position. By simulating a complete selection process, from choosing a position to final decision-making about job offers, we test several key assumptions the model made. If motivation was operationalized as willingness to deviate from true self-image, findings provide partial support for proposed antecedents of initial motivation, for motivational changes during the selection process, for the hypothesis that greater discrepancy between true self-image and perceived expectations lower the motivation to self-present and for expected effects of analytical self-presentation skills. Hardly any support was found for propositions if motivation was operationalized as willingness to adapt to perceived employer’s ideals and for proposed antecedents of analytical skills.
... As the results in the studies presented here show, the test still yields practically useful correlates in domains characterized by normal or high interpersonal functioning, such as membership and leadership in student groups (Study 5) and personality judgment accuracy (Study 6). As such, the WIPS may be useful to improve recruitment or screening practices to help HR managers quantify so-called soft skills in a more objective way than by using self-report measures or by relying on recruiter intuition, which is susceptible to impression management tactics (Barrick et al., 2009) and bias such as perceived similarity (e.g., Graves & Powell, 1995). ...
Accurately reading others’ emotions, personality, intentions etc. (interpersonal accuracy, IPA) is crucial to successful interpersonal interactions. However, most existing tests to measure IPA focus on people’s ability to recognize emotions and do not specifically target the workplace. The newly developed WIPS (Workplace Interpersonal Perception Skill) test assesses multiple aspects of interpersonal accuracy using brief video segments for which test-takers are asked to assess personality, intentions, future social behavior, thoughts, situational affect and social attributes of the targets in the video. Different criteria such as actual behavior shown were used to establish the correct answers in multiple-choice questions. Seven studies that subsequently tested the psychometric properties of a large item pool in English, French, and German are presented. The WIPS is unidimensional, shows acceptable internal consistency, and correlates in expected ways with emotion recognition, personality judgment accuracy, and a variety of other measures. Higher WIPS scores also predicted membership as well as leadership in student groups (e.g., in volunteer and music-oriented groups). These results contribute to the integration of various research strands under the broader IPA construct. The WIPS also complements existing, more specific tests and represents a useful tool for research and practice in the organizational field and beyond.
... Previous studies find that attractive candidates are more often and sooner contacted for job interviews and are more likely to gain employment and receive higher ratings (Barrick, Shaffer, & DeGrassi, 2009;Eagly, Ashmore, Makhijani, & Longo, 1991), especially if they are male (L opez B oo, Rossi, & Urzua, 2013;Ruffle & Shtudiner, 2015). ...
We apply insights from research insocial psychology and labor economics to the domain ofentrepreneurial finance and investigate how founder chiefexecutive officers' (founder CEOs') facial attractivenessinfluences firm valuation. Leveraging the novel context ofinitial coin offerings (ICOs), we document a pronouncedfounder CEO beauty premium, with a positive relationshipbetween founder CEO attractiveness and firm valuation.We find only very limited evidence of stereotype-basedevaluations, through the association of founder CEO attrac-tiveness with latent traits such as competence, intelligence,likeability, or trustworthiness. Rather, attractiveness seemsto bear economic value per se, especially in a context inwhich investors base their decisions on a limited informa-tion set. Indeed, attractiveness has a sustainable effect onpost-ICO performance.
... Previous studies find that attractive candidates are more often and sooner contacted for job interviews and are more likely to gain employment and receive higher ratings (Barrick, Shaffer, & DeGrassi, 2009;Eagly, Ashmore, Makhijani, & Longo, 1991), especially if they are male (L opez B oo, Rossi, & Urzua, 2013;Ruffle & Shtudiner, 2015). ...
Research summary
We apply insights from research in social psychology and labor economics to the domain of entrepreneurial finance and investigate how founder chief executive officers’ (founder CEOs’) facial attractiveness influences firm valuation. Leveraging the novel context of initial coin offerings (ICOs), we document a pronounced founder CEO beauty premium, with a positive relationship between founder CEO attractiveness and firm valuation. We find only very limited evidence of stereotype-based evaluations, through the association of founder CEO attractiveness with latent traits such as competence, intelligence, likeability, or trustworthiness. Rather, attractiveness seems to bear economic value per se, especially in a context in which investors base their decisions on a limited information set. Indeed, attractiveness has a sustainable effect on post-ICO performance.
Managerial summary
ICOs allow ventures to collect funding from investors using blockchain technology. We leverage this novel funding context, in which information on the ventures and their future prospects is scarce, to empirically investigate whether the founder CEOs’ physical attractiveness is associated with increased funding (i.e. amount raised) and post-funding performance (i.e. buy-and-hold returns). We find that ventures with more attractive founder CEOs outperform ventures with less attractive CEOs in both dimensions. For ICO investors, this suggests that ICOs of firms with more attractive founder CEOs are more appealing investment targets. Our findings are also interesting for startups seeking external finance in uncertain contexts, such as ICOs. If startups can appoint attractive leaders, they may have better access to growth capital.
... Further, the role of impression management in potentially affecting selection ratings should also be practically considered here. Meta-analytic evidence shows that although structured interview practices (e.g., having a standard set of questions consistently asked to all applicant) can weaken the positive correlation between impression management and hiring evaluations, a small to moderate relationship remains (Barrick, 2009;Levashina et al., 2014). Giving job candidates the opportunity to share their resilience narratives may give rise to greater self-promotion tactics (Huffcutt, 2011). ...
Resilience narratives (stories of encountering and overcoming adversity) are often solicited in pre-interview (e.g., application) and interview selection contexts. In this work, we examine the effectiveness of resilience narratives in pre-interview and interview selection contexts where applicants share personal narratives about themselves. Drawing on Attribution Theory (Heider, 1958; Kelley, 1967) we make hypotheses about how perceived resiliency is shaped by resilience narratives and how this perception influences the hiring recommendations and emotional reactions of organizational decision-makers. Specifically, we examine the effects of two key elements of resilience narratives (locus of adversity and locus of support) on attribution processes and decision-making. To test the hypothesized model, we conducted a set of in-depth interviews and three experiments. Preliminary interview data demonstrated that hiring personnel consciously seek to assess perceived resiliency and resilience narrative loci in selection. In Study 1 we tested proposed effects with 178 working adults in a university application pre-interview context, Study 2 included a parallel experiment in an organizational interview context with 194 participants who had hiring experience, and Study 3 involved quantitative experimental assessments of job interviewees conducted with 124 working adults with hiring experience. Across two selection contexts (pre-interview applications, interviews) and three samples, results revealed that: (a) resilience narrative loci affect perceived trait resiliency attributions formed about applicants, and (b) perceived resiliency directly relates to emotional reactions and hiring recommendations, incrementally beyond competence perceptions. We detail theoretical and practical implications for the extension of Attribution Theory by integrating resilience narratives, perceived resiliency, and selection processes.
Research on impression management within organizations is extensive and provides valuable insights regarding both impression management motivation and the ways in which impression management is enacted. However, inconsistent findings in the literature limit our ability to confidently glean clear research and practice conclusions. Further, current impression management perspectives are primarily based on face-to-face communication, but technology and world events have changed how we interact within organizations. Our integrative literature review examines the impression management literature, and integrates research from related literatures (organizational citizenship behavior, faking behavior, and computer-human interaction), to identify how context influences impression motivation and construction. Based on this review, we propose that impression motivation is shaped, in part, by the situation's evaluative potential (e.g., public behavior, high stakes), and the nature of the workplace interaction (e.g., anonymity, permanence, verifiability, and synchronicity) moderates the impression motivation-impression construction relationship. We then use the contextual framework to provide a better understanding of past research, stimulate new research, and provide practical recommendations for HR professionals.
This chapter addresses how candidates with dark personalities manage to excel during selection interviews and current best practices in selection processes that may reduce the risk of hiring candidates with dark personalities. Theory: In this section of the chapter, I present Impression Management (IM) tactics used by individuals with dark personalities to enter organizations. I also explain how organizations increase their chances of hiring candidates with dark personalities by only using unstructured interviews. Practice: In this section of the chapter, I offer a step-by-step guide to best hiring practices that include: Job posting, Job analysis, Competency framework, Creating valid interview questions, Conducting an effective interview, Psychometric testing, Reference check, Scoring candidates, and Decision-making. This chapter's practice section also includes an exercise on creating a selection process for different types of positions and a case study.
The current research examines how and why self‐concept clarity (i.e., having self‐aspects that are integrated into a well‐defined whole) shapes consumers’ appearance management behaviors. Five (including four pre‐registered) studies and one supplemental study provide correlational and causal evidence for the link between low self‐concept clarity and appearance management (e.g., choice of appearance‐enhancing products, interest in cosmetic procedures and beauty filters). Further, we demonstrate that public self‐consciousness mediates this effect (Studies 3‐4). We also find convergent process‐by‐moderation evidence that low self‐concept clarity increases appearance management only when the appearance management behavior is perceived to be socially acceptable (Study 5). In addition, we rule out global and appearance self‐esteem, private self‐consciousness, self‐improvement, and mood management as potential mechanisms. This research extends the literature on self‐concept, impression management, and appearance management and yields implications for beauty marketing, health communication, and consumer well‐being.
We add richness and depth to investor decision-making research by exploring the influence of entrepreneurs' use of ingratiation rhetoric in their investor pitch presentations on investor funding decisions. Drawing on ingratiation theory, we model the effects of flattery, self-deprecation, opinion conformity, and self-promotion as distinct forms of ingratiation rhetoric. We do so independently and in tandem, conceptualizing the confluence of ingratiation forms as driving an overall aggregate effect on the amount of funding allocated by investors. We then theorize that entrepreneur charisma and entrepreneur performance are moderators of the aggregate effect. We test our model in the angel investment context with data from 789 entrepreneur pitch presentations to 27 investors on the Shark Tank television program from 2009 through 2020. We find that on their own, the different forms of ingratiation rhetoric have mixed effects, with flattery and self-deprecation negatively impacting investor funding amount and opinion conformity and self-promotion positively relating to funding amount. When used together, we find an overall negative effect, and this effect is positively moderated by entrepreneur charisma and entrepreneur performance. These findings shed new light on ingratiation rhetoric as a powerful force in entrepreneurs' efforts to secure funding.
Background: Videoconferencing platforms are being used for the purposes of interviewing in academic medicine because of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. We present considerations applicable to interviewers and interviewees in the virtual space, with a focus on medical school and residency applicants. Methods: We reviewed the literature regarding the virtual interview process for medical school and residency by searching PubMed using the following keywords and terms: "interview," "academic medicine," "medical school application," "residency application," "virtual interviews," and "videoconferencing." Our search identified 701 results, from which we selected 36 articles for review. Results: The garnered information focuses on strategies for optimizing the virtual interview process from the standpoint of both the interviewer and the interviewee. We discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the virtual interview process and present recommendations. Conclusion: While the future of the interview process for medical school and residency is uncertain, virtual interviewing is a common and growing practice that will continue to be at least part of the medical interview process for years to come. Interviewers and interviewees should prepare to adapt to the evolving changes in the process.
Social perceivers seek to understand the opportunities and threats others potentially afford—for example, whether a teammate will behave tenaciously or a romantic partner, faithfully. We typically detect affordances and draw trait inferences by observing behaviors that reveal or predict others’ likely intentions and characteristics. However, detection and inference from simple observation are often difficult (e.g., even dishonest people are frequently honest, people often mask unpopular beliefs). In such cases, we propose that people test, actively manipulating others’ circumstances to reveal hard-to-observe affordances and characteristics. The Observation-Testing Model is a framework predicting circumstances under which testing is more likely to happen, which affordances and characteristics are more likely to be tested for, and which people are more likely to test and be tested. We identify preliminary support for the model from a range of literatures (e.g., employment assessment, coming-of-age rituals, dating processes) and identify areas needing further research.
Purpose: The impact of image is widely investigated in various research fields. However, its effect in online health communities is rarely studied. In this research, we develop a theoretical model to assess the impact of physicians’ image on patients’ choices in online health communities.
Design/methodology/approach: We developed a web crawler based on R language program to collect more than 40,000 physicians’ images and other related information from their homepages in Haodf.com-a leading online health community in China. The features of physicians’ images are computed by Face++ API through the following variables: beauty, smile, and skin status.
Findings: The empirical results derive the following findings: (1) Physician’s beauty or physical attractiveness has no significant effect on patients choice; (2) Smile has a positive effect on patients choices; (3) Physician’s skin status also positively affects patients’ choices; (4) Physician’s professional capital strengthens the effect of beauty, smile and skin status on patients’ choices; (5) Beauty and skin status are the substitutes for each other with smile and skin status are the substitutes for each other too.
Originality: This study provides new evidence in understanding the impact of physician’s online image and contributes to the literature on signaling theory, impression management theory, and patients' choices.
Research limitations/Implications: Also, this study provides implications for both physicians and online health community platform managers.
An appraisal tendency approach was adopted to explore the influence of emotional certainty on stereotyping and judgment in a workplace context. Across two studies, participants completed an emotional memory task designed to induce emotions representing two different levels of emotional certainty (certain versus uncertain). They then reviewed interview footage, a résumé, and qualifying criteria before rating a hypothetical job candidate’s personality and employability. Study 1 revealed that emotions high in certainty (compared to uncertainty) led to more favorable personality and employability ratings for attractive compared to unattractive candidates. Study 2 produced the same pattern of results for younger (compared to older) candidates. We conclude that certainty appraisals associated with temporary, incidental emotions are a useful predictor of the likelihood that stereotypes will be applied during decision making.
In this chapter, we report on an experimental study which examined how different impression management (IM) tactics used by applicants in job interviews influence interviewer evaluations of the two universal dimensions of social judgment (likeability, competence) and how these fundamental personal evaluations in turn affect perceived hireability. Experimental scenarios presented 3 fictitious male applicants who used modesty, ingratiation, or self-promotion in a job interview. In addition, the amount of background information about the applicants and raters’ accountability for their potential hiring decisions were experimentally manipulated. A total of 82 experienced job interviewers rated how likeable and competent each applicant appeared to them, and how likely they would be to offer him a job. As expected, modesty induced the most favorable interviewer evaluations: The applicant using modesty was perceived as more likeable than the applicants using ingratiation or self-promotion and, as a consequence, as more hireable. Applicants’ perceived competence proved to be of secondary importance. The benefits of modesty increased further when positive background information about applicants was available and when raters’ accountability was low. The results shed light on both the crucial role of interviewers’ interpersonal affect and the considerable potential of the tactic of modesty for job applicants.
In the previous chapter we explored the attributes one can assess when selecting teacher candidates. In this chapter, we consider how these attributes can be measured. Choosing selection tools to be included in a selection program can be a complex task that requires consideration of a wide range of factors. Central to this decision-making is examining the tool’s criterion-related validity; that is, how much a score on that test is associated with a criterion (Lievens et al., 2021). Additionally, other factors must be considered, including the potential adverse impact of their use, applicants’ perceptions of the selection program, and how faking and coaching might influence applicants’ performance. Ignoring these issues can lead to a relatively homogenous pool of selected applicants, applicants with negative perceptions of the selection procedure, and suboptimal selection decisions based on scores that may not be ‘true’ reflections of the applicants. In this chapter, we will examine some issues and challenges that should be considered when choosing and implementing a selection program. We will also suggest some ways of addressing key challenges in teacher selection.
Dieses Kapitel informiert über die konzeptuellen, theoretischen und methodischen Grundlagen verschiedener diagnostischer Verfahrensgruppen, stellt ausgewählte Exemplare vor und verweist auf Alternativen. Die Leistungstests dienen der Messung von Aufmerksamkeit, Konzentration, Intelligenz und speziellen Fähigkeiten. Sie werden ergänzt um Entwicklungs- und Schultests. Bei den Persönlichkeitsfragebögen handelt es sich um Inventare, die die Persönlichkeit in ihrer ganzen Breite erfassen, oder um Fragebögen, die auf einzelne Persönlichkeitsmerkmale abzielen. Auch Verfahren zur Messung von Interessen, Motiven und aktuellen Zuständen werden behandelt. Als alternative Methoden, die ohne eine Befragung auskommen, werden projektive und objektive Persönlichkeitstests sowie der Einsatz von künstlicher Intelligenz vorgestellt. Das Spektrum diagnostischer Verfahren wird um Verhaltensbeobachtung und -beurteilung sowie um diagnostische Interviews erweitert – mit Empfehlungen zu deren Konstruktion und Durchführung.
One important element for forming and cultivating a high performing team in any sport is player selection. For most professional sports, this is an intense period whereby coaching, performance, and administrative staff must work together and use collective wisdom to identify players who have the best probability of consistent high performance. The stakes of a draft are high: the wrong choice can be incredibly costly and impact a team's performance and culture for many years. This article identifies and details common features of the drafting procedure, followed by a discussion of best practices for structuring and executing a draft protocol.
Black people engage in a variety of behaviors to avoid stereotyping and promote a professional image in the workplace. Racial codeswitching is one impression management strategy where Black people adjust their self-presentation to receive desirable outcomes (e.g., perceived professionalism) through mirroring the norms, behaviors, and attributes of the dominant group (i.e., White people) in specific contexts. In this study, we examine whether racial codeswitching enhances perceived professionalism for Black employees. We investigate Black and White participants' perceptions of racial codeswitching and subsequent evaluations of professionalism through manipulating three behaviors (e.g., adjusting style of speech, name selection, hairstyle) of a fictitious Black coworker in two, between-subjects experimental studies using audio and written stimuli. Results indicate that employees who engage in racial codeswitching are consistently perceived as more professional by both Black and White participants compared to employees who do not codeswitch (Studies 1 & 2). We also found that Black participants perceive the non-codeswitching employee as more professional than White participants (Studies 2a & 2b). Black and White participants' evaluation of specific codeswitching behaviors varied with both groups supporting adjustment of speech, opposing adjusting one's name, and diverging on wearing natural hairstyles (Studies 1 & 2). Although racial codeswitching is presented as an impression management strategy, it may reinforce White professional standards and generate social and psychological costs for Black employees. Implications of our work for impression management and impression formation are further discussed.
Purpose
This article outlines the development of the Refugee Job Search Process Framework (RJSPF), which was created to help identify barriers that refugees face when trying to find employment. The framework incorporates an interdisciplinary, multi-level approach to the job search, delving into research from migration studies and Industrial/Organizational psychology to outline factors that exist on both the side of the refugee applicant and the organization at each stage of the RJSPF. The authors also tested the RJSPF with Syrian refugees and service providers in Canada to examine the validity of each component of the model.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors used a semi-structured format to interview refugees and service providers on their experiences in either trying to find employment or helping their refugee clients with the job search process. After transcribing the interviews, the data were independently coded, quantified, and analysed using Nvivo software to validate the RJSPF.
Findings
The majority of the RJSPF either had high or moderate support from the interviews. The authors also identified 6 broader themes using thematic analysis, which include language fluency, credential recognition, Canadian experience “catch 22”, cultural incongruencies, employer exploitation, and mental health for successful employment.
Originality/value
The RJSPF is a new integration of disparate theories of job search experiences in a literature that lacks an organizing framework and perspective on the unique challenges refugees face in this area compared to other newcomers. In doing so, the authors use an interdisciplinary, multi-level approach that extends the nomological network of barriers facing refugees, therefore informing future research and practice.
Women leaders who fail to manage the double bind by displaying both warmth and competence can face backlash, creating pressure for women to invest thought, time, and effort into their self-presentation. Research to date lacks theoretical insights around how women in the highest levels of leadership manage the double bind in natural settings. Our inductive study of interviews with 43 women directors on U.S. publicly traded company boards offers an insider’s perspective of participation tactics that women use to manage the double bind in male-dominated contexts. We found two features unique to advisory roles—a requirement that advisors possess a large breadth of knowledge and a time constraint whereby advisors meet less frequently with their peers—that suggest women directors adapt and learn how to participate on gendered boards. We uncovered six gendered participation tactics that mitigate stereotypical concerns for women to appear warm and/or competent on boards. We further reveal how women directors selectively use specific gendered participation tactics over others to effectively achieve their participation aims, which, in turn, helps them avoid backlash for mismanaging the double bind. Finally, we find that this matching process is constrained by the amount and scope of use related to the unique features of the advisory role. The emergence and trade-offs between the use of these novel gendered participation tactics deepen our theoretical understanding of women’s participation in advisory roles.
This article reports a study that involved simulated job interviews with 27 high-proficiency English-as-an-additional-language (EAL) candidates and nine professional interviewers and that evaluated three conditions: a control group and two experimental groups (one receiving only personalized, training-focused feedback on interview skills immediately after the first interview, the other receiving both the same personalized feedback and a pragmatics-focused training session, also immediately after the first interview). As derived from the 2,106 scores generated, the quantitative results showed that both experimental groups significantly outperformed the control group. The qualitative results from content analysis of the interviewers’ 341 comments captured in video-stimulated recalls showed that various themes related to language ability featured most prominently in interviewer evaluations; the themes also differentiated above-average and below-average-rated candidates. The study underscores the extent to which communicative performance swayed interviewers’ judgements above other variables; these judgements in turn may prove a disadvantage for EAL candidates in their job interviews and thus merit the critical awareness and reflection of EAL candidates, interviewers, and trainers alike.
To promote upward mobility for the working-class, much effort has focused on making higher education more widely accessible. However, upward mobility is also powerfully determined by processes that occur after college, when individuals launch their work careers. In the current study, college students who were about to enter the labor market completed mock job interviews while being videotaped. Supporting cultural mismatch theory (Stephens, Townsend, et al., 2012), participants from working-class backgrounds displayed less disjoint agentic behavior during their interviews (e.g., less assertive behavior). This led observers to evaluate them as less intelligent and socio-emotionally skilled, and led professional hiring managers to view them as less worthy of hire – even though working-class individuals were as intelligent and more socio-emotionally skilled than their upper-class counterparts (Study 1). However, when hiring managers were told to place more value on cooperation and teamwork rather than competition and individualism, individuals who displayed low disjoint agency did not face the same bias (Study 2). This suggests that the bias against individuals from working-class backgrounds observed in Study 1 can be mitigated.
Advances in employment assessment technology have increasingly enabled employers to recruit from around the world by allowing interviewees to respond to live or pre-recorded video or text prompts live or via asynchronous video recordings. Despite their greater scheduling convenience, asynchronous virtual interviews decrease applicants’ ability to engage in impression management and relationship building and therefore may negatively impact applicant reactions compared to their synchronous counterparts. Further, national culture has the potential to influence reactions to virtual interview synchronicity. Previous research has yielded mixed results, with some studies suggesting that culture can moderate how applicants react to selection tests and some finding little or no effect. Drawing from applicant reactions and media richness theories, we integrate Hofstede’s cultural dimensions to investigate the role of national culture in applicant reactions to virtual interview synchronicity in a sample of 644,905 virtual interviewees from 46 countries. Overall, our findings demonstrate that, though they rated both highly, interviewees around the world were generally more satisfied with synchronous virtual interviews and found them to be more effective than asynchronous virtual interviews. Three dimensions of national culture—uncertainty avoidance, long-term orientation, and indulgence—had small to medium moderating effects on these relationships.
This study uses meta-analysis of an extensive predictive validity database to explore the boundary conditions for the validity of the structured interview as presented by McDaniel, Whetzel, Schmidt, and Maurer (1994). The interview examined here differs from traditional structured interviews in being empirically constructed, administered by telephone, and scored later based on a taped transcript. Despite these and other differences, this nontraditional employment interview was found to have essentially the same level of criterion-related validity for supervisory ratings of job performance reported by McDaniel for other structured employment interviews. These findings suggest that a variety of different approaches to the construction, administration, and scoring of structured employment interviews may lead to comparable levels of validity. We hypothesize that this result obtains because different types of structured interviews all measure to varying degrees constructs with known generalizable validity (e.g., conscientiousness and general mental ability). The interview examined here was also found to be a valid predictor of production records, sales volume, absenteeism, and job tenure.
Data analysis methods in psychology still emphasize statistical significance testing, despite numerous articles demonstrating its severe deficiencies. It is now possible to use meta-analysis to show that reliance on significance testing retards the development of cumulative knowledge. But reform of teaching and practice will also require that researchers learn that the benefits that they believe flow from use of significance testing are illusory. Teachers must revamp their courses to bring students to understand that (a) reliance on significance testing retards the growth of cumulative research knowledge; (b) benefits widely believed to flow from significance testing do not in fact exist; and (c) significance testing methods must be replaced with point estimates and confidence intervals in individual studies and with meta-analyses in the integration of multiple studies. This reform is essential to the future progress of cumulative knowledge in psychological research.
Using videotaped interviews with 60 managers in utility companies, the authors found that a composite of vocal interview cues (pitch, pitch variability, speech rate, pauses, and amplitude variability) correlated with supervisory ratings of job performance (r = .18, p < .05). Using videotaped interviews with 110 managers in a news-publishing company, the authors found that the same composite of vocal cues correlated with performance ratings (r = .20, p < .05) and with interviewers’ judgments (r = .20, p < .05) and that a composite of visual cues (physical attractiveness, smiling, gaze, hand movement, and body orientation) correlated with performance ratings (r = .14, p < .07) and with interviewers’ judgments (r = .21, p < .05). Results of tests of mediation effects indicate that personal reactions such as liking, trust, and attributed credibility toward interviewees explain relationships (a) between job performance and vocal cues and (b) between interviewers’ judgments and both visual and vocal cues.
The first aim of this study was to investigate the unique contributions (beyond objective qualifications) of verbal and nonverbal interviewing skills to recruiters’ assessments of applicants. The second aim was to examine whether applicant gender moderates these relationships. Using a sample of 311 recruiter-applicant dyads, we found that interviewing skills explained assessments beyond objective qualifications. Further, nonverbal skills were more strongly related to interview assessments than were verbal skills. Finally, we predicted that rational verbal skills would be more important for females than for males and that nonverbal skills would have a greater impact for males than for females. The former proposition was not supported; the latter was marginally supported.
Employees often seek to create favorable impressions with their managers. An empirical study of the antecedents, process, and consequences of influence strategies in upward impression management found that subordinates have both multiple goals and strategies. Subordinates' strategies varied with their goals in impression management. They also reported using a wider range of strategies than usually attributed to impression management. Managerial ap- praisals were based on their impressions of their subordinates, and perceptions of their influence style. While subordinates may believe that ingratiation will help them get better appraisals, using coalitions appears to lead to favorable impressions and appraisals. Subordinate assertiveness may lead to unfavorable impressions and performance appraisals.
The authors examine personality variables and interview format as potential antecedents of impression management (IM) behaviors in simulated selection interviews. The means by which these variables affect ratings of interview performance is also investigated. The altruism facet of agreeableness predicted defensive IM behaviors, the vulnerability facet of emotional stability predicted self- and other-focused behaviors, and interview format (behavior description vs. situational questions) predicted self-focused and defensive behaviors. Consistent with theory and research on situational strength, antecedent—IM relations were consistently weaker in a strong situation in which interviewees had an incentive to manage their impressions. There was also evidence that IM partially mediated the effects of personality and interview format on interview performance in the weak situation.
Applicant impression management tactics have been shown to positively influence interviewer evaluations. This study extends previous research by examining the moderating roles of interview structure, customer-contact requirement, and interview length in real employment interviews for actual job openings. Results from 151 applicants of 25 firms showed that the more structured the interview, the weaker the relationship between applicant nonverbal tactics and interviewer evaluation. In addition, when the extent of customer contact required for a job was relatively low, the influence of applicant self-focused tactics on interviewer evaluation was minimized. Furthermore, when the interview was of longer duration, the effects of applicant self-focused tactics became insignificant.
We tested a model proposing that subordinates' impression management behavior influences performance ratings through supervisors' liking of and perceived similarity to subordinates. We measured impression management behavior, liking, and similarity six weeks after the establishment of supervisor-subordinate dyads and measured performance ratings after six months. Results indicated support for the overall model and several specified relationships. Additionally, impression management behavior had a significant, indirect impact on performance ratings. Implications of the results for research on impression management and performance appraisal are discussed.
This article presents a critical review and commentary on eight decades of research into the employment interview. Two alternative theoretical perspectives are identified from the body of empirical studies into the interview: the objectivist-psychometric perspective and the subjectivist-social perception perspective. Criticisms of both are presented, and calls are made for additional research into impression management behaviour, dysfunctions in interviewer decision-making, and situational power effects at interview. The article concludes with a cautiously optimistic evaluation of the interview research paradigm but emphasizes the requirement for future research efforts to be concentrated upon integrative theory-building in conjunction with ongoing empirical studies.
This article presents a series of meta-analyses carried out, exploring the construct validity of personnel selection interviews. Accordingly, the interviews were divided into two different groups: conventional interviews and behavior interviews. Conventional interviews are typically composed of questions directed at checking credentials, description of experience, and self-evaluative information. Behavior interviews mainly include questions concerning job knowledge, job experience, and behavior descriptions. The results showed that conventional interviews assessed general mental ability, job experience, the Big Five personality dimensions, and social skills, whereas behavior interviews mainly assessed job knowledge, job experience, situational judgment, and social skills. According to these findings, conventional and behavior interviews seem to be different interviews.
Four studies examined the role of partner perspective taking in shaping reactions to accommodative dilemmas-situations in which a close partner enacts a potentially destructive behavior. Participants included marital partners (Study 1) and dating partners (Studies 2, 3, and 4). Studies 1, 3, and 4 examined preexisting tendencies toward partner perspective taking, and Studies 2, 3, and 4 included experimental manipulations of perspective. In all four studies, adopting the partner's perspective (rather than one's own) during an accommodative dilemma resulted in (a) more positive emotional reactions, more relationship-enhancing attributions, and enhanced inclinations toward constructive responding and (b) less negative emotional reactions, less partner-blaming attributions, and reduced inclinations toward destructive responding. In Studies 2, 3, and 4, analyses examining the simultaneous effects of partner perspective taking, commitment level, and general perspective taking revealed that adopting the partner's perspective exerts unique, independent effects on accommodation-relevant emotions, attributions, and behavioral preferences.
Purpose – For service organisations the interaction between front-line personnel and the customer is crucial as they aim to create high quality service encounters. Much research has focused on attempts by organisations to inculcate the “right” kind of attitude in their front-line employees. This paper seeks to extend this analysis by pointing to the increasing importance not just of having employees with the “right” attitudes, but also possessing aesthetic skills. The emergence of aesthetic skills reflects the growing importance of aesthetic labour in interactive services. That is, employers' increasingly desire that employees should have the “right” appearance in that they “look good” and “sound right” in the service encounter in retail and hospitality. Design/methodology/approach – The paper mainly utilises responses to a structured questionnaire from employers in the retail and hospitality industries in Glasgow, although reference is also made to a similar employees' questionnaire. Findings – The evidence from the questionnaires suggests that employers in the retail and hospitality industries are not generally looking for “hard” technical skills in their front-line personnel, but rather “soft” skills. Such “soft” skills encompass attitude and, importantly, appearance – what we term “aesthetic skills” – and the latter is often underappreciated in academic and policy-making debates. Research limitations/implications – The findings of the survey suggest that academics and policy-makers need to expand the way they think about “soft” skills. Specifically, they need to be aware of the extent of employers’ needs for both social and aesthetic skills. Originality/value – The findings of the survey have implications from a policy perspective and policy-makers may need to think about if and how these needs can be incorporated into education and training provision.
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.
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)
The relative effects of varied interviewee cues on line managers' hiring decisions were examined, as was the relative predictability of various criteria by line managers' interview impressions. Aggregate and individual regression analyses revealed that 3 nursing directors' impressions of 186 nursing applicants shaped their hiring recommendations more than did the applicants' resume credentials. Moreover, managers' interview impressions significantly predicted employees' job attitudes, though predictions of attitudes did not exceed predictions of performance. Finally, individual managers based hiring decisions on different interview impressions, and these impressions forecast employees' job attitudes with differential validity. Implications for future interviewing research are discussed.
This study investigated impression management tactic use during structured interviews containing both experience-based and situational questions. Specifically, the authors examined whether applicants' use of impression management tactics depended on question type. Results from 119 structured interviews indicated that almost all of the applicants used some form of impression management. Significantly more assertive than defensive impression management tactics were used, and among assertive tactics, applicants tended to use self-promotion rather than ingratiation. However, different question types prompted the use of different impression management tactics. Ingratiation tactics were used significantly more when applicants answered situational questions, whereas self-promotion tactics were used significantly more when applicants answered experience-based questions. Furthermore, the use of self-promotion and ingratiation tactics was positively related to interviewer evaluations.
The authors tested the effects of holding raters accountable for their performance ratings on the accuracy and the favorability of those ratings. Undergraduate research participants (N = 247) completed an inbasket exercise and observed a videotaped simulation during 2 sessions over a 2-week period. The simulation presented performance information on 4 simulated subordinates portrayed through videotaped vignettes. True performance scores were manipulated by varying the proportion of positive and negative performance vignettes presented for each subordinate. Participants who were made to feel accountable by having to justify their ratings to the experimenter in writing rated their simulated subordinates more accurately. In another experimental condition, accountable raters who were told their subordinates' previous performance ratings were too low rated their subordinates more favorably than did raters in the same experimental condition who were not accountable.
The purpose of this study was to identify the reasons why some organizations do not employ certain HRM practices that could increase levels of employee performance and organizational profitability. The focus was on the staffing area (recruitment and selection) of HRM.1 Specifically, this study looked at five staffing practices that the academic research literature has found can significantly increase employee performance levels. Descriptions of these practices, and references supporting their impact on employee performance, are provided in Exhibit 1.
Investigated the perception of counselor attractiveness and persuasiveness through the expression of nonverbal behavior. Ss were 20 male and 20 female psychology undergraduates. 2 male and female counselors were trained to portray "affiliative" manner and "unaffiliative" manner. In a repeated measures design, Ss saw 4 different counselors and then rated them on scales measuring perceived attractiveness and persuasiveness. Results indicate that counselors in the affiliative manner condition were perceived as significantly more attractive and persuasive than counselors in the unaffiliative condition. Ss attributed greater attractiveness and persuasiveness to the same nonverbal cues encoded into the roles. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved).
Because of special characteristics of nonverbal behaviors (e.g., they can be difficult to suppress, they are more accessible to the people who observe them than to the people who produce them), the intention to produce a particular nonverbal expression for self-presentational purposes cannot always be successfully translated into the actual production of that expression. The literatures on people's skills at using their nonverbal behaviors to feign internal states and to deceive are reviewed as they pertain to the question of whether people can overcome the many constraints on the translation of their intentions into expressions. The issue of whether people's deliberate attempts to regulate their nonverbal behaviors can be detected by others is also considered.
This study examined the intervening role that a perceptual variable, supervisor's perceptions of trust in a subordinate, plays in mediating the direct relationship between influence tactics and performance ratings. Employing a sample of 105 supervisors, the data showed that the effect of the cognitive marking from the subordinate's use of influence tactics is direct and significant on performance ratings for two influence tactics, assertiveness and higher authority. For 3 influence tactics, ingratiation, reasoning, and exchange, perceptions of trust mediated that relationship. Also, the direct effect of perceptions of trust on performance ratings was significant regardless of the influence tactic employed by the subordinate.
The present study examined the impact of employees' use of influence tactics on their evaluations of the fairness of the performance evaluation process, Results indicated that the use of supervisor-focused influence tactics was associated with positive procedural justice evaluations, but the use of job-focused influence tactics was associated with negative evaluations. Also, employees' perceptions of decision control and opportunity for formal voice were found to moderate the relationship between influence tactics and procedural justice.
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.
The rapid growth of research on organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs) has resulted in some conceptual confusion about the nature of the construct, and made it difficult for all but the most avid readers to keep up with developments in this domain. This paper critically examines the literature on organizational citizenship behavior and other, related constructs. More specifically, it: (a) explores the conceptual similarities and differences between the various forms of “citizenship” behavior constructs identified in the literature; (b) summarizes the empirical findings of both the antecedents and consequences of OCBs; and (c) identifies several interesting directions for future research.
Three experiments studied the influence on hiring decisions of the nonverbal communication of female job applicants. The first experiment found ratings of the applicants' subtle cues to be significant predictors of the hiring decisions made by college-student judges. Professional employment interviewers served as judges in the second study to cross-validate the first experiment. The third study measured the relative contributions of work histories and nonverbal behavior to hiring decisions. Regardless of the work history preceding the applicant, nonverbal style had a statistically significant effect on hiring decisions.
This study investigates how applicant characteristics influence the use of impression management (IM) tactics in interviews, and how these behaviors affect interviewer perceptions of person–job fit (P–J fit) and applicant–interviewer similarity. Results from 72 applicants demonstrated that extraverted applicants made greater use of self-promotion during their interviews, while agreeableness was associated with non-verbal cues. Self-promotion was the IM tactic most strongly related to interviewers’ perceptions of P–J fit, whereas non-verbal IM influenced perceived similarity. The practical implications of these findings for applicant preparation are discussed, as well as concerns regarding the long-term effects of IM use on selection decision making.
In an earlier experiment, college recruiters evaluated a video tape of an interviewee who was either male or female and who displayed either a moderately aggressive or passive self-presentation. In the present paper, two studies are presented which replicated and extended the findings of the original experiment (R. Dipboye and J. Wiley, Journal of Vocational Behavior, 1977, 10, 1–12.). As in the original study, moderately aggressive candidates were evaluated more favorably than passive candidates for a supervisory position and no differences were found in the ratings of male and female candidates. In addition, a short job description was found to result in less favorable ratings than a long job description and passive candidates tended to be rated more favorably than a moderately aggressive candidate for an editorial assistant position.
This article examines the truism that studies from psychological laboratories are low in external validity. Past rational and empirical explorations of this truism found little support for it. A broader empirical approach was taken for the study reported here; correspondence between lab and field was compared across a broad range of domains, including aggression, helping, leadership style, social loafing, self-efficacy, depression, and memory, among others. Correspondence between lab- and field-based effect sizes of conceptually similar independent and dependent variables was considerable. In brief, the psychological laboratory has generally produced psychological truths, rather than trivialities. These same data suggest that a companion truism about field studies in psychology—that they are generally low on internal validity—is also false.
Applicants in employment interviews use a variety of impression management techniques such as emphasizing positive traits, conforming to the opinions of the interviewer, and claiming responsibility for positive events. A field experiment was conducted on 62 employment interviewers who viewed videotaped interview segments in which either high or low levels of impression management techniques were depicted. Applicant credentials were also manipulated. Results indicated that interviewers were influenced by impression management techniques regardless of applicant credentials. The implications of these results are discussed with respect to theory, research and practice of the employment interview.
A review of the research literature on college recruitment shows the impact of a candidate's interviewing skill on hiring decisions is equivocal. Whereas some investiga tions suggest an interviewee's verbal and nonverbal communication behavior plays the most important role, other research indicates it is the written information which in fluences selection decisions most. This investigation tested a contingency explanation for these discordant results, that is, the influence of an applicant's interviewing skills on recruiters' recommendations depends upon the relevancy of effective oral com munication to the position in question. Two hundred and forty recruiters were placed into one of 12 experimental groups in which the significance of effective oral com munication skills to the position, candidate verbal and nonverbal communication skills, and application qualifications were varied. Results from a 3 x 2 x 2 analysis of variance were mixed. Although effective oral communicators were more likely to be recommended for further consideration, the relative importance of oral communication and written credentials was dependent on the extent to which each was critical to the positions in question.
This review critically examines the literature from 1985 to 1999 on applicant perceptions of selection procedures. We organize our review around several key questions: What perceptions have been studied? What are determinants of perceptions? What are the consequences or outcomes associated with perceptions applicants hold? What theoretical frameworks are most useful in examining these perceptions? For each of these questions, we provide suggestions for key research directions. We conclude with a discussion of the practical implications of this line of research for those who design and administer selection processes.
The purpose of this experimental study (N = 265) was to determine how screener self-monitoring (SM) would affect the relationships of applicant positive self-presentation (PSP) and objective credentials (OCs) with ratings of employability. Results indicated that screener SM moderated two relationships quite differently: The relationship between employability and self-presentation was more positive as screener SM “increased,”whereas the relationship between employability and credentials was more positive as screener SM “decreased.” If organizations are not attentive when hiring or assessing personnel within other human resource functions, evaluator SM may act as an undetected bug in scoring procedures and change the subsequent decisions made.
We investigated the effects of employment equity and situational interview procedures on student participants' perceptions of fairness regarding an organization's selection processes and perceived qualifications of an aboriginal job applicant. Students enrolled at a Canadian university participated in the research. Written scenarios that contained employment equity and interview structure manipulations were used to test the hypotheses. Multivariate analysis indicated that employment equity procedures had a negative effect on perceptions of fairness. However, the use of a situational interview in the hiring process resulted in higher perceptions of fairness than the use of an unstructured, face-to-face interview. No effects of employment equity procedures and interview structure on perceived qualifications of the aboriginal job applicant were found. Racial prejudice was negatively correlated with perceptions of fairness and perceived qualifications of the aboriginal job applicant.
Investigated effects of degree of interview structure, presence or absence of interviewee biographical information, and interviewee order on interviewer validity. 54 undergraduates in personnel management and 36 social-worker supervisors serving as judges rated 6 currently employed social workers assuming the role of job applicants in videotaped interviews. Low validities, calculated using interview ratings and performance-measure criterion scores based on a job analysis of the social-worker position, were obtained in all treatment conditions. Analysis of variance revealed that only interviewee order had an appreciable effect on interviewer validity. Analysis of the interview ratings revealed the presence of halo error and low interrater reliability. Possible design limitations and future research suggestions are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Considerable research has focused on candidate impression management (IM) use in unstructured interviews. However, little research has explored candidate IM use in other, frequently used assessment methods. This study examines the extent to which candidates, under consideration for a promotion, use verbal IM tactics in two types of structured individual assessment methods: a situational interview and a role-play. Based on a cybernetic model of IM, we predicted that IM use and effectiveness would vary across the two methods. Thus, this study examines the consistency of IM use across assessment methods; an issue that has not previously been explored. As expected, the situational interview resulted in greater use of candidate IM tactics. Additionally, other-focused tactics were used significantly more frequently than self-focused tactics in both assessment methods. IM use in the situational interview predicted assessor ratings and final promotion scores, while IM use in the role-play did not. Overall, these results provide indirect support for the cybernetic model of IM.
The effect of frequency of ingratiation on the performance assessment of 108 bank subordinates by their supervisors was assessed using the recently developed Measure of Ingratiatory Behaviors in Organizational Settings (MIBOS; Kumar & Beyerlein, 1991). The results revealed that workers who engaged in greater self-ingratiation were judged more favorably by their supervisors. Specifically, they were viewed as being more competent and motivated and as possessing greater leadership ability and promotion potential. A significant and positive relationship (r = .34) was also found between ingratiation and the fear of negative evaluation.
This study examined the contribution of subordinate performance and ingratiation to the quality of leader-member exchanges. It was predicted that subordinate performance would be positively associated with higher quality exchanges. It was also hypothesized that subordinate-ingratiating activity, including opinion conformity, other enhancement, and self-presentation, would augment performance in the prediction of higher quality exchanges. From the perspective of both subordinates and their immediate supervisors (152 dyads), a heterogeneous sample provided ingratiation and quality of leader-member exchange survey data. Supervisors also submitted subordinate performance ratings. Hierarchical regression analysis supported the two hypotheses. Furthermore, other enhancement and opinion conformity were positively linked with higher quality exchanges. The findings sustain and advance previous research examining subordinate performance, ingratiation, and higher quality exchanges. The limitations and implications of the results are addressed.
Social influence processes in organizations involve the demonstration of particular behavioral tactics and strategies by individuals to influence behavioral outcomes controlled by others in ways that maximize influencer positive outcomes and minimize negative outcomes. Such processes necessarily draw from research in topic areas labeled impression management, self-presentation, interpersonal influence, and organizational politics. However, few efforts have been made to integrate this work for purposes of assessing our current knowledge base, and identifying gaps and thus areas in need of further investigation. The present paper provides a critical analysis and review of theory and research on social influence processes in the workplace, with particular emphasis on human resources systems, organized according to the What, the Where, the Who, and the How of influence. In the process, we identify neglected areas, including theory-building challenges, as well as key issues in need of empirical investigation.
Purpose – Despite the recognition that the subordinate's influence is a particularly noteworthy feature of the social context with considerable potential to affect the performance evaluation process, there are almost no studies that consider this influence in a selling context. Attempting to contribute to address these needs, the model presented here depicts a number of social and situational factors influencing supervisor's rating of salesperson's performance, primarily operating through affective processes. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from 122 salespeople and their immediate managers from 35 firms pertaining to nine different industries. Findings – SEM results indicated that supervisor-focused impression management was positively related to the supervisor's liking of the salesperson. Consistent as well with prior research is the positive influence of supervisor's affect towards salesperson on the supervisor's ratings of sales performance, both directly and indirectly, through the effect on salesperson's perceived interpersonal skills. Finally, a salesperson's physical attractiveness demonstrated significant positive effects on performance ratings, through the influence on supervisor's liking and salesperson's interpersonal skills. Practical implications – These results have important managerial implications: sales managers should be aware that salespeople might be using impression management tactics and that the use of these behaviours might influence the way that they evaluate their employee's performance. Managers should also remain vigilant to the potential bias based on physical appearance in hiring and supervising salespeople. Originality/value – This study contributes to the knowledge of the social and affective variables that influence the sales performance appraisal process, an area of research that is almost unexplored.
