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Self‐presentation style in job interviews: the role of personality and culture
Author(s) -
Paulhus Delroy L.,
Westlake Bryce G.,
Calvez Stryker S.,
Harms P. D.
Publication year - 2013
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/jasp.12157
Subject(s) - psychology , narcissism , social psychology , praise , personality , presentation (obstetrics) , style (visual arts) , context (archaeology) , accountability , ethnic group , sociology , medicine , history , archaeology , radiology , paleontology , biology , political science , anthropology , law
Chronic self‐promoter s may thrive in job interviews where such behavior is encouraged. In Study 1, 72 participants were videotaped as they simulated the job applicant role. Accountability was manipulated by the expectation of expert versus nonexpert interviewers. As accountability increased, self‐promotion tended to decrease among non‐narcissists but increase among narcissists. Ingratiation showed no interaction or main effects. In Study 2, 222 raters evaluated applicant videos varying in narcissism (high vs. low) and ethnicity ( E uropean heritage vs. E ast A sian heritage). Chronic self‐promoters (i.e., E uropean‐heritage narcissists) were given the most positive evaluations. Detailed behavior analyses indicated that the narcissism advantage was derived primarily from frequent self‐praise and the E uropean‐heritage advantage from use of active ingratiation tactics. In sum, self‐presentation styles that pay off in the ( W estern) interview context are highly selective.