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The Influence of Applicant Communication Style and Interviewer Characteristics on Hiring Decisions 1
Author(s) -
Gallois Cynthia,
Callan Victor J.,
PALMER JULIEANNE MCKENZIE
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
journal of applied social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.822
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1559-1816
pISSN - 0021-9029
DOI - 10.1111/j.1559-1816.1992.tb00941.x
Subject(s) - psychology , social psychology , assertiveness , interview , similarity (geometry) , style (visual arts) , perception , job interview , social perception , affect (linguistics) , communication , archaeology , artificial intelligence , political science , computer science , law , image (mathematics) , history , neuroscience
This study examined the influence of the gender and communication style of job applicants, as well as the gender and sex‐role stereotyping of interviewers, on hiring decisions. Fifty‐six personnel officers viewed videotapes of simulated employment interviews, in which male and female candidates used either aggressive, assertive, or nonassertive styles of communication. Personnel officers rated job candidates on likeability, similarity to the officers themselves, and hireability. Interviewers were most likely to employ assertive applicants, and the sex‐role stereotypes of interviewers did not influence their perceptions of these candidates. Sex‐role beliefs, however, did affect evaluations of aggressive and nonassertive job applicants. Interviewers who were low in sex‐role stereotyping were more likely to hire a nonassertive than an aggressive candidate, while interviewers with higher levels of sex‐role stereotyping were more likely to hire aggressive candidates. For assertive candidates, judgments by the interviewers of the perceived similarity of the candidate to themselves and their liking for the applicant both influenced their decision to hire the candidate. For aggressive and nonassertive candidates, however, the interviewers' liking toward the candidate mediated the relationship between perceived similarity and hiring decisions.