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The Importance of Job Outcomes and Perceptions of Bias in Selection Interviews Bernard L. DUGONI The primary focus of research on selection for many years has been on issues related to testing. The debate on discrimination is testing continues, and studies on test development and validation techniques abound. Selection guidelines, too, have centered on testing as the major area of concern in selection bias, and the records of litigation involving charges of discrimination through testing fill volumes. This is not at all surprising, because test batteries are being used for personnel selection in more and more situations today. However, another tool in the selection process, the job interview, has now received nearly as much attention despite the fact that it continues to be used at least as widely as testing (Dunnette and Borman, 1977). Existing literature indicates that discrimination continues to be a factor in interview situations (Cohen and Bunker, 1975; Schmitt, 1976) but, while the existence of bias in interviews is well documented, the perceptions of that bias in selection interactions and the effect of the resulting discrimination on the job applicant’s behavior has only recently begun to be assessed. Recent research on reactions to interview bias points to a pattern of attitudes and behavior of applicants quite different from that expected by many interviewers. Research has shown that interviewers do form “traditional” sex-role stereotypes , i.e., women are seen as less acceptable for traditionally male dominated job roles (Broverman, Vogel, Broverman, Clarkson and Rosen-krantz, 1972; Cohen and Bunker, 1975; Schmitt, 1976; Seigfried and Pohlman, 1981). However, these stereotypes can differ considerably by individual and by situation (Hakel, Hollman and Dunnette, 1970). Also, interviewers ratings vary according to “context factors” such as non-verbal cues and the relative performance of previous applicants (Bradburn and Sudman, 1979; Von Bayer, Sherk and Zanna, 1981). Thus, the interview is subject to bias, even in ways that do not influence selection tests, and often may not provide an accurate assessment of the job applicant. Given the widespread use of the interview, a greater number of complaints from job applicants and workers groups might well be expected. Why is this not the case? Some have suggested that the effects of these biases often are more indirect and that sex discrimination is not always a matter of actively discouraging female applicants; rather, it is frequently the result of subtle strategies which tend to help males (Rosen and Jerdee, 1974; Dipboye, Arvey and Terpstra, 1977; Haefner, 1977; Heneman, 1977; Seigfried and Pohlman, 1981). For example, Seigfried and Pohlman (1981) found that, when less qualified male applicants were interviewed after female applicants, the interviewers were more lenient with the less qualified males than they Recrutement et sélection des ressources humaines 501 were with less qualified females who were interviewed following male applicants. In this case, the discrimination through differential treatment relative to another applicant is a process which would not have been apparent during the interview since the female applicant would have no way of knowing how the male applicant had been treated. However, although it seems that these subtle processes do exist, others have shown that more direct discrimination on the basis of sex exists as well (Cash, Gillen and Burns, 1977; Deaux and Enswiller, 1974; Zanna and Pack, 1975). However, even in the case of direct bias, the reaction of the applicants is not as expected. The various attempts to explain the responses of applicants in interviews seems to center on four areas: perceptions of the interviewer, the relative importance of job factors, attributions, and selfesteem. PERCEPTIONS OF THE INTERVIEWER One reason that female applicant responses to interview situations vary may be related to the way they perceive male interviewers, especially in terms of the interviewers attitudes toward women in the particular type of job and the demands made on the applicant to respond appropriately. The interview is primarily an information gathering process in which the organization seeks to determine which applicant best fits a particular job opening. However, this information search is not one-sided. The interview is an interactive process in which the behavior of the interviewer can influence the behavior of the applicant and vice-versa (Von Bayer et al., 1981). Thus, applicants gather information about the organization and the job and make general assumptions about the job requirements. But, they also adjust this image as the interview proceeds and, assuming they are attracted to the job, they may adjust their responses to emphasize characteristics for which they...

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