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The Applicant Attribution‐Reaction Theory (AART): An Integrative Theory of Applicant Attributional Processing
Author(s) -
Ployhart Robert E.,
Harold Crystal M.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
international journal of selection and assessment
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.812
H-Index - 61
eISSN - 1468-2389
pISSN - 0965-075X
DOI - 10.1111/j.0965-075x.2004.00266.x
Subject(s) - attribution , psychology , social psychology , perception , explanatory power , cognition , test (biology) , economic justice , process (computing) , attribution bias , information processing theory , social cognition , cognitive psychology , information processing , epistemology , law , paleontology , philosophy , neuroscience , political science , computer science , biology , operating system
This article proposes a new theory called the Applicant Attribution‐Reaction Theory (AART) to better understand attributional processes in the formation of applicant reactions. The theory proposes that applicants' affective, behavioral, and cognitive reactions, such as fairness, test perceptions, test performance, and motivation, are fundamentally driven by an attributional process. A key implication of the theory is that perceptions such as fairness and test attitudes carry little explanatory power; instead they are consequences of attributional processing. We provide a brief review of dominant applicant reactions frameworks, review the social psychological literature on attributions, and present the theory. We then contrast the theory to existing conceptualizations, and finally describe its potential for better understanding several key topics in applicant reactions, including the justice judgment process, test performance, and racial subgroup differences. The theory has the potential to integrate many diverse perspectives on applicant reactions, and provides numerous directions for future research and practice.