Sex and physical attractiveness of raters and applicants as determinants of resumé evaluations.

110 male and female student "interviewers," classified as either high, moderate, or low on physical attractiveness, evaluated 12 bogus job applicants for whom sex, physical attractiveness, and qualifications had been varied. A 2?×?3?×?2?×?3?×?2 analysis of variance was computed, with the 1st 2 variables (interviewer sex and attractiveness) constituting between-group factors, and the last 3 variables (applicant sex, attractiveness, and qualifications) constituting repeated measures factors. Regardless of interviewer sex and attractiveness, highly qualified applicants were preferred over poorly qualified applicants, male applicants were preferred over female applicants, and attractive candidates were preferred over unattractive candidates. Discrimination in employment decisions was attributed to sex-role and physical attractiveness stereotypes. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

What mediates sex discrimination in hiring decisions?

Bogus resumes were evaluated by 212 business professionals to discover what mediates sex discrimination in hiring decisions. We hypothesized that discrimination against women and men who applied for stereotypically "masculine" and "feminine" jobs, respectively, could be reduced by providing individuating information suggesting that the applicant was an exception to his or her gender stereotype and possessed traits usually associated with the opposite gender. We also hypothesized that individuating information consistent with stereotypes about an applicant's gender would decrease the probability that an applicant would be evaluated favorably for a job usually considered appropriate for the other gender. We found that individuating information eliminated sex-typed personality inferences about male and female applicants and affected applicants' perceived job suitability; however, sex discrimination was not eliminated. We suggest that sex discrimination is mediated by occupation stereotypes that specify both the personality traits and the gender appropriate for each occupation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Orientations toward personnel selection: Differential reliance on appearance and personality.

In two studies we examined the hypothesis that the psychological construct of self-monitoring would identify people who adopt distinctly different strategies in personnel selection. In both experiments, undergraduates examined information about the physical appearance and personalities of two applicants for a specific job and then decided which applicant should receive a job offer. In Study 1, information about the applicants' physical attractiveness and job-appropriate dispositions was varied. In Study 2, job appropriateness of the applicants' physical appearance and of their personalities were both varied. In each study, high self-monitoring individuals placed greater weight on information about physical appearance than did low self-monitoring individuals. By contrast, low self-monitoring individuals put greater weight on information about personal dispositions than did high self-monitoring individuals. We discuss the implications for understanding personnel selection as well as for decision making in interpersonal contexts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Moderating effects of personal and contextual factors in age discrimination.

The researchers explored personal and contextual factors that inhibit or facilitate the use of older worker stereotypes in a selection context. The authors suggest that older worker stereotypes are more likely to be used and influence applicant evaluations when raters are biased against older workers, when raters do not have the cognitive resources to inhibit the use of age-associated stereotypes, or when applicants apply for age-incongruent jobs. The researchers explored the extent to which raters differing in older worker bias make discriminatory decisions about young or old individuals applying for age-typed jobs under conditions of high- and low-cognitive demands. A laboratory study was conducted with 131 undergraduate students who evaluated applicants in a simulated employment context. Results indicated that older worker bias, cognitive busyness, and job age-type interact to affect the extent to which applicant age plays a role in selection decisions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex typing and gender ideology: Two facets of the individual's gender psychology that go together.

Three studies tested the hypothesis that gendered personality dispositions are related to gender attitudes and gender discriminatory behaviors. In Study 1, sex-typed individuals were more likely than androgynous, undifferentiated, and cross-sex-typed individuals to accept gender rules designating culturally appropriate behavior for men and women. In Study 2, sex-typed individuals were particularly likely to pay attention spontaneously to the sex of job applicants and then to devalue the interview performances of women. In Study 3, only sex-typed men tended to endorse sexist language. As expected, sex typing and gender ideology go together. This relation between two facets of the individual's gender psychology indicates that some sex role inventories may tap more than expressivity and instrumentality. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interaction between self-monitoring and manipulated states of self-awareness.

We conducted four experiments to examine the differential responses of high and low self-monitors to variations in public and private self-awareness. The first 2 experiments used an attribution of responsibility paradigm to test the hypothesis that high self-monitors would show greater responsiveness than low self-monitors to manipulations of public self-awareness. This hypothesis was supported. Two additional experiments tested the hypothesis that low self-monitors would be more responsive than high self-monitors to manipulations of private self-awareness. Manipulations of private self-awareness following a Velten (1968) positive-mood induction exercise strengthened the induced mood in low but not in high self-monitors. Thus, when the dependent measure had implications for their public self, high self-monitors were more responsive than low self-monitors to public self-awareness manipulations; low self-monitors, on the other hand, were more responsive than high self-monitors to manipulations of private self-awareness when the dependent measure required subjects to access aspects of their private self. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex typing and androgyny in dyadic interaction: Individual differences in responsiveness to physical attractiveness.

In an expansion of the "behavioral confirmation" paradigm developed by M. Snyder et al (see record 1979-26014-001), 12 sex-typed and 12 androgynous (Bem Sex-Role Inventory) undergraduates of each sex engaged in getting-acquainted telephone conversations with allegedly attractive and unattractive members of their own and the opposite sex. Although females were more socially responsive than males, the sexes neither differed in their responsiveness to physical attractiveness nor in their responsiveness to cross-sex and same-sex interaction. As hypothesized, sex-typed individuals were rated by blind judges as being significantly more responsive toward allegedly attractive than unattractive partners. In contrast, androgynous men did not differentiate on the basis of physical attractiveness, and androgynous women actually led allegedly unattractive targets to be rated as more socially attractive than allegedly attractive targets, thereby disconfirming the physical attractiveness stereotype. Because cultural definitions of physical attractiveness are different for men and women, results are discussed in the context of recent evidence that sex-typed individuals have a particular readiness to encode and organize information in terms of gender. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Managerial selection decision models: Examination of configural cue processing.

Evaluation of applicants for middle- and upper-level managerial positions and recommended starting salaries were examined in a sample of 44 male and 24 female line and staff managers. We postulated hypotheses that (a) managers would use job-relevant and job-irrelevant variables in evaluation of applicants, (b) the managers' selection decision models would involve configural cue processing, (c) managers' demographic characteristics would affect their evaluations of applicants for managerial positions, and (d) applicant sex and race would affect starting salary recommendations, after controlling for human capital variables. Subjects viewed videotaped presentations by 16 applicants and evaluated them for the job for which they were applying. Variables of applicant age, sex, race, experience, education, and level of job for which applying were manipulated. The results supported four of the five hypotheses. Job-irrelevant variables were used heavily in selection decisions, and decision models were complex, with multiple interactions among the decision cues. Subject demographic characteristics were the strongest predictors of starting salary recommendations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Subtle effects of sex role stereotypes on recruiters' hiring decisions.

Asked 150 male job recruiters from 2 university placement officers to evaluate relevant employment materials on 1 hypothetical job applicant (male or female) for either a male-oriented (personnel technician) or female-oriented (editorial assistant) position to make a hiring decision. Results indicate that hiring decisions were not influenced independently by the applicant's sex or position for which he/she was applying, but rather by the interaction of the 2 variables. That is, significantly more females than males were recommended for hiring for the editorial assistant position, while significantly more males were recommended for the personnel technician job. Post-hoc analyses revealed different trait patterns attributed to applicants recommended for hiring based on their sex-job role congruence. Implications for further research relating to personnel-related decisions are discussed. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceptions of promotion fairness and promotion candidates' qualifications.

A sample of 336 undergraduate students (168 women and 168 men) read summaries of fictitious court cases prompted by 1 of 4 possible promotion decisions in 1 of 3 different jobs or occupations. Ss assessed the fairness of the promotion decision and the qualifications of the promoted and nonpromoted employees. Women and men perceived promotion of a member of the opposite sex instead of a member of their own sex as significantly less fair than any of the other 3 possible promotion decisions (opposite sex instead of opposite sex, same sex instead of same sex, or same sex instead of opposite sex). Perceptions of promotion candidates' qualifications, however, were not influenced by sex, job sex type (masculine vs sex neutral), or promotion decision or by any interactions of these variables. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A decision process model for predicting job preferences.

Surveyed the decision processes of a set of job applicants to predict job choice behavior. 28 graduate business students constructed decision models in the form of a discrimination net by weighting the relative importance of a large number of job attributes. The models reflected decisions that were made when determining whether or not a job offer was acceptable. This discrimination net survey classified jobs into either an acceptable category or a rejected category for each applicant. A comparison of discrimination net predictions of acceptable category occupations with real job acceptances revealed 23 correct predictions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Job-specific applicant pools and national norms for personality scales: Implications for range-restriction corrections in validation research.

This article compares variability in national norms to variability in job-specific applicant pools for personality scales. Across 23,231 job applicants for 111 jobs, we found that job-specific applicant pools were slightly less variable than broad normative data (by about 4%) based on a national norm sample of 40,474 job applicants. For some personality variables, the amount of variability reduction correlated with work characteristics as captured by the Data, People and Things scales of the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (US Department of Labor, 1977). Most correlations were small in magnitude. In general, the small reductions in job-specific applicant pool variability provide evidence that researchers' decisions to use manual norm group standard deviations in range restriction corrections has not appreciably inflated the personality-criterion relationships studied. Implications for attraction and gravitation to jobs are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A policy-capturing investigation of the role of expectancies in decisions to pursue job alternatives.

Two methodological approaches, policy capturing and narrative self-reports, were used to examine how individuals combine information about job characteristics and probabilities of receiving job offers (expectancies) in decisions to pursue job vacancies. 10 college students evaluated 24 hypothetical job alternatives at 3 expectancy levels in terms of overall attractiveness and whether they would apply for a job interview. A variety of within-S analyses were used to infer how probabilities of receiving a job offer affect peoples' propensities to apply for jobs. Results indicate that there was wide individual variability in the way expectancies influenced job-search patterns. Low probabilities of receiving job offers acted as much stronger search deterrrants for some Ss than for others. Results are discussed in terms of (a) possible sources of individual differences in expectancy usage, (b) the value of using multiple methodologies to investigate decision processes, and (c) the desirability of broadening the types of questions typically asked about the role of expectancies in job search and choice. (35 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Realistic job previews: A test of the adverse self-selection hypothesis.

The realistic job preview (RJP) literature has focused more on posthire outcomes such as employee retention than on prehire outcomes such as applicant attraction and job choice behavior. This study extends the RJP literature by focusing on 2 important issues related to applicant attraction: (a) the weight applicants place on negative information in relation to other variables such as pay level and promotional opportunity and (b) whether the "best" applicants react differently to negative information than do other applicants (adverse self-selection). Results indicate that applicants place a fairly high negative weight on negative job information, relative to other vacancy characteristics. The results regarding adverse self-selection are less clear but suggest that the highest quality applicants may be less willing to pursue jobs for which negative information has been presented, especially when doing so imposes opportunity costs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Consequences of organizational justice expectations in a selection system.

This study examined several consequences of applicants' expectations of organizational justice at multiple stages in a selection process. The authors assessed the justice expectations of 1,832 job applicants prior to their participation in a testing process and examined how these expectations influenced their pretest attitudes and intentions as well as their perceptions of the testing process. Results revealed that applicants with higher expectations of justice reported higher levels of pretest motivation and more positive job acceptance and recommendation intentions. Justice expectations were also positively related to applicants' perceptions of justice in the testing process. Results provided some evidence that justice expectations have a moderating influence, such that justice perceptions have a greater influence on applicants' affective and cognitive states when expectations of justice are high. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed in the context of research on organizational justice and applicant perceptions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

The impact of response distortion on preemployment personality testing and hiring decisions.

Response distortion (RD), or faking, among job applicants completing personality inventories has been a concern for selection specialists. In a field study using the NEO Personality Inventory, Revised, the authors show that RD is significantly greater among job applicants than among job incumbents, that there are significant individual differences in RD, and that RD among job applicants can have a significant effect on who is hired. These results are discussed in the context of recent studies suggesting that RD has little effect on the predictive validity of personality inventories. The authors conclude that future research, rather than focusing on predictive validity, should focus instead on the effect of RD on construct validity and hiring decisions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex bias in the naming of stimulus persons.

Researchers often use sex-typed names (e.g., John vs Joan) to identify stimulus persons' sex, assuming that such names communicate sex only. In fact, however, such names also create impressions that have little or nothing to do with sex. Study 1 analyzed the age connotations, intellectual-competence connotations, and attractiveness of sex-typed names used in 230 published studies on sexism and fear of success. On each of these variables, the literature was pervasively confounded in a manner favoring male stimulus persons. Study 2 found that the name biases reported in Study 1 were positively correlated with outcome measures in a sample of sexism studies, but only when names were presented with limited other information. Possible causes of the bias are discussed, and recommendations for naming stimulus persons are presented, including a list of male names and female names matched on several key variables. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)