Effect of disability, gender, and job level on ratings of job applicants.

Objective: To examine the effects of applicant disability, gender, and job level on ratings of job applicants. Design and Participants: Full-time workers (n?=?88) and undergraduates (n?=?98) provided ratings of hypothetical job applicants who differed on the 3 factors of interest. Measures: Job applicants were evaluated on the basis of competence, overall recommendation, potency, activity, and starting salary. Results: Applicants with disabilities were generally rated significantly higher in activity and potency than the applicant without a disability. Additional analyses revealed a significant Gender X Job Level interaction for applicants with a disability. Conclusions: Consistent with D. T. Wegener and R. E. Petty's (1997) flexible correction model, the results of this study suggest that evaluations of job applicants with disabilities may depend on the amount of cognitive resources raters have available at the time the evaluations are made. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The hunt: Job hunting for the PhD psychologist.

Considers that paradoxically, one of the most trying but also exhilarating experiences in a PhD psychologist's life comes when he or she searches for and obtains a first job. The process of job hunting is discussed, and such facets as the history of job hunting, the "word" (who needs psychologists), the "fit," letters of recommendation, copies of one's work, conventions, timing, the visit and interview, the wait, and questions that the applicant may be asked and may want to ask are described. Personal experiences of being in the "hunt" for 2 consecutive years are presented, and information and several maxims felt to be invaluable to the new job applicant are supplied. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sexual discrimination in the use of letters of recommendation: A case of reverse discrimination.

Possible sexual discrimination was examined in the use of letters of recommendation. Eight different letters of recommendation (male or female writer, male or female applicant, favorable or unfavorable letter) were written for applicants applying for a management (trainee) position. A mailed questionnaire along with 1 version of the letter was sent to 128 personnel managers. An ANOVA was computed on the 75 usable responses to the questionnaire. Female applicants were preferred over male applicants in terms of proceeding with an interview, thus demonstrating a case of reverse discrimination. In addition, managers judged female applicants to have more initiative and responsibility and greater ability to learn quickly than male applicants. The sex of the writer had no significant main effect on the dependent variables, but entered into several interesting interactions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Is There Rest for the Test Weary?

This commentary raises questions and concerns about psychological employment tests. The author recounts her husband's exhausting experience as an applicant to numerous companies and agencies that required psychological tests. To be faced with testing day after day can create a very negative attitude on the part of the applicant, especially when the only evaluation he receives is either a positive or negative reply concerning the job. Also, one cannot help but meet a certain type of test over and over. If there are a great many test-wise people on the market, how does this affect industrial testing? The author suggests some standardization of industrial testing--a central clearinghouse for test scores, references, and general information where an industrial applicant could present his resume, professional qualifications, and references, and take a good battery of tests. The anonymous letter is followed by brief comments by Lee J. Cronbach. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of applicant sample on ratings of valid information in an employment setting.

Studied the effect of the previous job applicant upon ratings of test results for the following applicant. 2 informational aspects of the previous job applicant were varied: overall level of information favorability, and order of information within the previous job applicant. Interviewers were life insurance agency managers who through classroom instruction had been trained in the interpretation of test results. Results indicate that 55% of the criterion variance was accounted for by the test results while the favorability of the previous job applicant accounted for 4%. Thus, although the quality of the previous job applicant had a statistically significant effect on the evaluation of valid test results, its effect on the employment decision was negligible. By implication, the results also points to the necessity of building models on additional criteria than statistical significance. (25 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The process of cognitive tuning in communication.

To test the effect of mental set on thinking and communication, Ss were asked to describe an individual from a "letter" written to a potential employer by a "job applicant." Impressions of the personality of the "letter writer" were elicited under several conditions: (a) S was asked to communicate his findings to another (but unknown) group; (b) S was the recipient of such information; and (c) S was asked to communicate findings to, on the one hand, or be the recipient of findings from, on the other, a "group" with attitudes known to be contrary to those expressed by S. Being a "transmitter" or "receiver," as well as incongruence of "other group" attitudes, affected the impression formed and communcated. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex and worker acceptance of a former mental patient.

Continues a series of studies measuring the acceptance accorded to former mental patients. The procedure was to send a confederate in the guise of a job applicant to be evaluated by a worker already on the job. The 12 male workers were told either that the female applicant was an ex-mental patient or that she was an ordinary applicant, and for each condition the confederate was calm for half of the Ss and nervous for the rest. The studies show that women are more accepting of former patients than men and that men are more accepting of female than male ex-patients. Nervous applicants were rejected by workers of both sexes. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An examination of inclusion and exclusion criteria in the predoctoral internship selection process.

A number of studies have examined factors that influence an individual being accepted into a predoctoral internship position such as practicum experience, the interview, the type of doctoral program attended, and letters of recommendation. Rodolfa et al. (1999), for example, detailed 36 inclusion and exclusion criteria used in the internship selection process. The current study revisits this research in order to identify changes in these criteria from the time of the original study. While a number of traditional factors remained influential to the selection process, such as the fit between applicant goals and site opportunities and supervised clinical experience, a greater emphasis on personality characteristics of the applicant was found in the current study. The top three inclusion criteria found in the present study were fit between applicant goals and site opportunities, the interview, and professional demeanor of applicant. Interview, fit, and letters of recommendation were the top exclusion criteria. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Applicant Attraction to Organizations and Job Choice: A Meta-Analytic Review of the Correlates of Recruiting Outcomes.

Attracting high-performing applicants is a critical component of personnel selection and overall organizational success. In this study, the authors meta-analyzed 667 coefficients from 71 studies examining relationships between various predictors with job-organization attraction, job pursuit intentions, acceptance intentions, and job choice. The moderating effects of applicant gender, race, and applicant versus nonapplicant status were also examined. Results showed that applicant attraction outcomes were predicted by job-organization characteristics, recruiter behaviors, perceptions of the recruiting process, perceived fit, and hiring expectancies, but not recruiter demographics or perceived alternatives. Path analyses showed that applicant attitudes and intentions mediated the predictor-job choice relationships. The authors discuss the implications of these findings for recruiting theory, research, and practice. (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)     

Impact of test information and applicant sex on applicant evaluations in a selection simulation.

Examined the effects of applicant sex, test validity, and test score level on the evaluations of an applicant for the job of life insurance agent. 144 college students evaluated a hypothetical job applicant on 4 dimensions. ANOVA results indicate significant test score effects and significant Test Score?×?Test Validity and Test Score?×?Applicant Sex interaction effects. Analysis of the variability in the evaluations suggested that individual differences in the use of sex role stereotypes increased as the test score increased. The underevaluation of the high-scoring female was opposite to the results of previous studies. To explain this discrepancy, it is suggested that the direction of sex effects may depend on whether the applicant's qualifications represent inferable or observable indicators of job behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Disability disclosure effects on employment interview ratings of applicants with nonvisible disabilities.

Objective: To investigate the effects of timing of verbal disclosure of a disability on employment interview ratings of applicants with nonvisible disabilities. Study Design: Participants (56 college students) viewed 2 videotaped employment interviews: 1 involving an applicant who disclosed a nonvisible disability (transverse myelitis), either early or late in the interview, and 1 with an applicant who did not disclose a disability. Outcome Measures: Qualifications/hiring, liking, and comfort with disability disclosure scales. Results: Applicants with nonvisible disabilities who chose to disclosure their disability were rated as more qualified and likeable when disclosing early in an interview. Conclusion: Individuals who wish to disclose an externally caused nonvisible disability (similar to transverse myelitis) should consider doing so early in an interview rather than at the end. (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)     

Form of reference: Sex differences in letters of recommendation.

Studied the use of reference systems in letters of recommendation to determine if status and solidarity norms reflect gender inequality in academia. Patterning of form of reference (i.e., recommender's use of first name, full name, last name, or formal title when referring to the candidate) was examined in 1,049 letters for 284 psychology and sociology candidates for academic positions. Sex of recommender, academic area, and quality of doctoral institution were used as controls. Results show more frequent references by title to females and by first name to males. A 2nd study of 102 academicians' perceptions of the meaning implied by different forms of reference provided the basis for interpreting the findings. As letter readers, Ss interpreted title to mean status and first name to indicate solidarity. Sex differences emerged when Ss were treated as letter writers: Men focused on the solidarity dimension, with first name clearly indicating liking, whereas women emphasized the status norm, using first name primarily to imply low status. Findings suggest that an interpretation of the application of solidarity and/or status norms with form of reference must consider both sex of recommender and sex of applicant. (29 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)     

A patient by any other name . . . : Clinician group difference in labeling bias.

Assessed the effect of labels on clinicians' judgments in a 2 * 2 design. Clinicians (N = 40) representing behavioral and analytic schools of thought viewed a single videotaped interview between a man who had recently applied for a new job and one of the authors. One-half of each group was told that the interviewee was a "job applicant," while the remaining 1/2 was told that he was a "patient." At the end of the videotape, all clinicians were asked to complete a questionnaire evaluating the interviewee. The interviewee was described as fairly well adjusted by the behavioral therapists regardless of the label supplied. This was not the case, however, for the more traditional therapists. When the interviewee was labeled "patient," he was described as significantly more disturbed than he was when he was labeled "job applicant." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Racial bias in the use of work samples for personnel selection.

Examined the role of evaluation specificity and task relevance in explaining racial bias in the use of work samples. 56 White maintenance mechanics evaluated a videotaped performance of a Black job applicant and a White job applicant performing a relevant task (laying out, drilling, and tapping) and an irrelevant task (indexing drill bits). The applicants were evaluated by using a highly specific behavioral recording form, a global rating scale, or both. Race-linked bias was found only when Ss were asked to make global evaluations after observing an applicant's performance on a task representing irrelevant job behavior. Race-linked bias was not found when Ss used the behavioral recording form or in global evaluations made following the behavioral recordings. Race-linked bias was not evident when evaluations were based on observations of relevant job behavior. It is concluded that by using careful work sample development procedures and by assisting Ss in focusing on and recording relevant behavior, the potential for bias in the use of work samples appears small. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)