Social judgment toward job applicants with disabilities: Perception of personal qualities and competences.

Objective: Building on D. Stone and A. Colella's (1996) model, this article examines how job applicants with or without a physical disability are evaluated in relation to the nature of the job. Design: Data from 284 management undergraduates were collected through 2 experimental studies based on the same paradigm: Participants had to evaluate individuals with or without a disability applying for jobs that did or did not involve a great deal of interpersonal contact (Study 1) and for jobs typically reserved for men or for women (Study 2). Results: Job applicants with disability were rated more negatively than applicants without disability in poor-fit conditions (job involving a great deal of interpersonal contact, or male job). This devaluation was particularly marked in issues reflecting competence. By way of contrast, individuals with disabilities received higher ratings on personal qualities. Conclusions: To promote the employment of persons with disabilities, it is important not only to improve the level of qualification of people with disabilities but also to attempt to change the nature of perception of these individuals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Making those who cannot see look best: Effects of visual resume formatting on ratings of job applicants with blindness.

Objective: Although general attitudes toward individuals with disabilities are often positive, these perceptions do not always lead to equal footing in the hiring process. This study examined stereotypes of job applicants perceived to be blind and the role of applicant blindness in hireability ratings made by human resource managers. Specifically, we highlighted a unique challenge for individuals who cannot see: the visual formatting of resumes. Design: Human resource managers (N = 249) evaluated the visually formatted or unformatted resumes of hypothetical job applicants who were portrayed as blind or sighted and rated applicant hireability and personality characteristics. Results: Although applicants perceived to be blind were perceived as more conscientious and agreeable by human resource managers, these positive evaluations did not translate into favorable hireability evaluations. Conclusion: Because human resource managers severely penalize applicants who do not attend to visual, nonfunctional resume presentation, applicants who cannot see are apt to find themselves disadvantaged in the hiring process. The implications of these findings for organizations, job seekers, and rehabilitation professionals are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Patterns of discrimination in hiring job applicants with disabilities: The role of disability type, job complexity, and public contact.

Objective: To evaluate the effects of disability type, job complexity, and public contact on hiring decisions. Design and Participants: An Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA; 1990) fact sheet and matched resumes with vocational and medical histories including chronic mental illness, developmental disability, closed head injury, and back injury were provided to 295 undergraduate business-related majors, who rated the applicants' suitability for 2 job positions and work shifts. Results: Findings indicated disparities in ratings of employability as a function of disability type. Paired comparisons yielded complementary findings, with effects of disability type and Disability Type × Job Complexity, but no effects of public contact. Conclusions: Stereotyping and discrimination in employment decisions apparently persist, more than 10 years after the ADA. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The job demands-resources model of burnout.

The job demands-resources (JD-R) model proposes that working conditions can be categorized into 2 broad categories, job demands and job resources, that are differentially related to specific outcomes. A series of LISREL analyses using self-reports as well as observer ratings of the working conditions provided strong evidence for the JD-R model: Job demands are primarily related to the exhaustion component of burnout, whereas (lack of) job resources are primarily related to disengagement. Highly similar patterns were observed in each of 3 occupational groups: human services, industry, and transport (total N?=?374). In addition, results confirmed the 2-factor structure (exhaustion and disengagement) of a new burnout instrument—the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory—and suggested that this structure is essentially invariant across occupational groups. (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)     

Indices of employer prejudice toward disabled applicants.

A scale to measure prejudice toward disabled applicants for employment, based upon the multifactor stimuli method of Triandis, was developed. The scale was used with 2 samples, a group of 18 personnel directors and a group of 87 school administrators, who rated applicants for the position of accountant and 3rd grade school teacher. 6 types of disability, as well as absence of disability were included in the scale. All disabled groups were subject to expressed prejudice. The disabilities could be ranked in terms of the amount of prejudice expressed toward them. Competence and sociability were also influential in ratings, the former being more significant and complementary with disability. The method can be used to measure prejudice of various groups toward disabilities in various settings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of applicant's sex and difficulty of job on evaluations of candidates for managerial positions.

To investigate the influence of sex-role stereotypes on evaluations of candidates for managerial positions, 235 male undergraduate business students evaluated job applicant forms which differed only in the male or female name given to the applicant. Findings confirm that sex-role stereotypes influence evaluations of applicants and selection decisions. Male applicants were accepted more frequently than equally qualified females, and were evaluated more favorably on general suitability, potential for long service, and potential for fitting in well in the organization. Also supported was the hypothesis that job demands have differential effects on evaluations of male and female applicants. Females were given lowest acceptance rates and poorest evaluation for "demanding" managerial positions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Making the right impression: A field study of applicant impression management during job interviews.

Two issues were explored: (a) which impression management (IM) tactics applicants use during actual interviews and (b) whether there is a relationship between applicants' IM tactics and their interview outcomes. The study also examined convergence across different methods and raters when measuring IM. Postinterview survey measures were obtained from applicants and interviewers regarding applicant IM behavior during a specific interview; in addition, a subset (n?=?24) of interviews was audiotaped and analyzed for the presence of IM. Analyses revealed low to moderate convergence across methods and raters, suggesting that IM tactics may be multidimensional constructs. Across methods and raters, there was consistent evidence of greater applicant self-promotion than ingratiation. Similarly, IM tactics significantly predicted interviewers' evaluations and whether applicants later obtained site visits. Implications for future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The impact of ratee's disability on performance judgments and choice as partner: The role of disability–job fit stereotypes and interdependence of rewards.

An experiment assessed the impact of disability job fit stereotypes and reward interdependence on personnel judgments about persons with disabilities. Students (N?=?87) evaluated 3 confederates. The experiment varied disability of the target confederate (dyslexia vs. nondisabled ), task, and dependence of rater rewards on partner performance. Two disability-task combinations represented stereotypical poor fit and good fit. Dependent variables were performance evaluations, performance expectations, and ranking of target as a partner. There was negative bias against the confederate with dyslexia in poor-fit conditions. In the interdependent reward condition, there was a negative main effect for disability, regardless of fit. No effects for disability were found on performance ratings or expectations. Results indicate the need to consider disability-job fit stereotypes and consequences to raters when assessing the impact of disability on personnel judgments. (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)     

Looked over or overlooked? Prescreening decisions and postinterview evaluations.

Past research indicates that interviewers' initial impressions of job applicants affect their subsequent evaluations. These findings, however, come either from naturalistic studies that do not control for the applicants' qualifications or from laboratory experiments that cannot assess what occurs in real interviews. The present study examined preinterview impressions and postinterview evaluations in the context of prescreening decisions. Job applicants who were prescreened into interviews were judged more favorably by recruiters than applicants who were not prescreened. Because many applicants were prescreened by some organizations and not by others, the authors were able to control for applicant qualifications and show that the same individuals were rated more favorably when prescreened than when not prescreened. Finally, the results ruled out the possibility that findings simply reflect accurate preinterview assessments of applicant-job "fit." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The use of impression management tactics in structured interviews: A function of question type?

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. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Feedback for the Test Weary.

Comments on an article by L. Cronbach (see record 2005-11080-002) which noted that repetitive, lengthy, and exhausting psychological testing with no feedback produces discouragement and hostility in a job applicant. As one step toward dealing with this problem, many consulting firms regularly include a provision for "feedback" to the applicant being assessed. The goal is to make the assessment experience valuable to the applicant as well as to the employer. The atmosphere is changed from one of testing on a pass-fail basis to one of exploring the possible matches of man and position in terms of the needs of both. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Designing a safer workplace: Importance of job autonomy, communication quality, and supportive supervisors.

The direct and indirect effects of work characteristics on self-reported safe working were investigated in a longitudinal study of frontline manufacturing employees (N?=?161). The work characteristics included job autonomy, role overload, role conflict, supportive supervision, training adequacy, job security, and communication quality. Job autonomy and communication quality were positively associated with safe working after prior levels of these variables were controlled for, and supportive supervision had a lagged positive effect on safe working 18 months later. Additional analyses showed that organizational commitment fully mediated the effect of job autonomy on safe working and partially mediated the effect of communication quality on safe working. The study suggests that work characteristics are important antecedents of safe working. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Sweet smell of success"? The impact of pleasant artificial scents on evaluations of job applicants.

19 male and 26 female undergraduates interviewed male or female applicants for an entry-level management position. Applicants were actually confederates of the researcher who wore or did not wear a measured amount of a popular perfume or cologne. Following the interview, Ss rated each applicant on a number of job-related dimensions and personal characteristics. Results indicate that both sex of S and the presence or absence of scent affected the ratings of the applicants. Males assigned lower ratings to these persons when they wore perfume or cologne than when they did not; females showed the opposite pattern. Moreover, this was true both for job-related and personal characteristics. Results may reflect greater difficulty on the part of males than females in ignoring extraneous aspects of job applicants' appearance or grooming. (10 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Removing halo from job evaluation factor structure.

Intercorrelations of job-evaluation ratings were factor analyzed under 2 conditions: (a) the original matrix, produced directly from raters' initial evaluations, and (b) a "reduced" matrix resulting from partialling out job level from all original intercorrelations in the hope of removing a general "halo" factor characteristically emerging from job-rating studies. Comparisons of factors from each matrix showed a definite reduction of halo in the "reduced" matrix, as well as more meaningful factor structures for most factors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Both sides of the employment interview interaction: Perceptions of interviewers and applicants with disabilities.

Examined perceptions of the interview process in a correlational field study of 70 applicants (APs) with disabilities and 36 interviewers (IRs) without disabilities. IRs provided ratings of APs. 56 APs responded to questions about the IR and the interview. Results support hypotheses contending that the interview is a mutual influence process. IRs' preinterview impressions were positively correlated with their postinterview evaluations. However, time spent actively recruiting the AP was negatively correlated with the APs' ratings of IRs. AP disclosure of some types of disability-related information was positively related with IRs' ratings of APs' interview performances. Findings suggest that APs may want to discuss job-related aspects of their disability in the interview. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Job satisfaction, job performance, and situational characteristics.

How are job satisfaction and performance related to the variables of the situation? S were approximately 2500 workers in 72 warehouses of 1 company. Job satisfaction was measured by questionnaire items. Factor analysis was used to relate the variables of quantity, quality, profitability, turnover, size of workforce, city size, wage rate and unionization and percentage of males. Job satisfaction was highest with the greatest productivity and profit. Small town culture had the most satisfaction and performance. From Psyc Abstracts 36:01:3LH65K. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)