It Takes More Than a Good Camera: Which Factors Contribute to Differences Between Face-to-Face Interviews and Videoconference Interviews Regarding Performance Ratings and Interviewee Perceptions?

Due to technological progress, videoconference interviews have become more and more common in personnel selection. Nevertheless, even in recent studies, interviewees received lower performance ratings in videoconference interviews than in face-to-face (FTF) interviews and interviewees held more negative perceptions of these interviews. However, the reasons for these differences are unclear. Therefore, we conducted an experiment with 114 participants to compare FTF and videoconference interviews regarding interview performance and fairness perceptions and we investigated the role of social presence, eye contact, and impression management for these differences. As in other studies, ratings of interviewees' performance were lower in the videoconference interview. Differences in perceived social presence, perceived eye contact, and impression management contributed to these effects. Furthermore, live ratings of interviewees' performance were higher than ratings based on recordings. Additionally, videoconference interviews induced more privacy concerns but were perceived as more flexible. Organizations should take the present results into account and should not use both types of interviews in the same selection stage.

An Investigation of Situational and Dispositional Antecedents of Faking Intentions in Selection Interviews.

Applicants use faking in selection interviews to create a favorable impression and to increase their chances for a job offer. Theoretical models assume that such a behavior is influenced by situational and dispositional variables. However, previous research has mainly focused on dispositional variables whereas research about situational variables is sparse. To address this gap, we conducted three studies in which we examined how competition for a job and warning interviewees that information from their answers will be verified can influence faking intentions. Furthermore, we wanted to know whether these situational variables are able to explain additional variance in faking intentions beyond dispositional variables and whether there are interactions between situational and dispositional variables. In Study 1, we only found that high competition led to slightly higher faking intentions than low competition in a student sample. In Study 2, only a warning about the verification of applicants' answers led to slightly lower faking intentions compared to no warning concerning verification in a working sample. Furthermore, faking intentions were lower in Study 2 than in the student sample in Study 1. In Study 3, we found no impact of our situational variables in a combined sample of students and non-students. We only found slightly higher honest impression management intentions in the high competition and the verification warning condition. We also found hardly any support for interaction effects between the situational and dispositional variables. Furthermore, the situational variables did not explain additional variance beyond the dispositional variables in any of the three studies. Possible reasons for the non-significant or small effect sizes for the situational variables can be found in a qualitative analysis of answers to an open-ended question in Study 3. However, we found that Honesty-humility und all facets of the Dark Triad were related to faking intentions. These results indicate that dispositional variables in particular have an impact on faking intentions.

How Different Indicator-Dimension Ratios in Assessment Center Ratings Affect Evidence for Dimension Factors.

Previous research on the construct validity of assessment center (AC) ratings has usually struggled to find support for dimension factors as an underlying source of variance of these ratings. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) remains the most widely used method to specify and validate the internal structure of AC ratings. However, the research support for dimension effects in AC ratings remains mixed. In addition, competing CFA models (e.g., correlated dimensions-correlated exercises models) are often plagued by non-convergence and estimation problems. Recently, it has been proposed that increasing the number of indicators per dimension and exercise combination might help to find support for dimension factors, in addition to exercise factors, in CFAs of AC ratings. Furthermore, it was also suggested that the increased ratio of indicators to dimensions may also solve some of the methodological problems associated with CFA models used to model AC ratings. However, in this research it remained unclear whether the support for dimension factors was solely due to the use of a larger indicator-dimension ratio or due to parceling that combines several behavioral indicators per dimension and exercise combination into more reliable measures of the targeted dimension. These are important empirical questions that have been left unanswered in the literature but can be potentially meaningful in seeking more balanced support for dimension effects in AC research. Using data from N = 213 participants from a 1-day AC, we aimed to investigate the impact of using different indicator-dimension ratios when specifying CFA models of AC ratings. Therefore, we investigated the impact of using different indicator-dimension ratios in the form of item parcels with data from an operational AC. On average, using three parcels eventually led to support for dimension factors in CFAs. However, exercise-based CFA models still performed better than dimension-based models. Thus, the present results point out potential limits concerning the generalizability of recent results that provided support for dimension factors in ACs.

A Comparison of Conventional and Technology-Mediated Selection Interviews With Regard to Interviewees' Performance, Perceptions, Strain, and Anxiety.

Organizations increasingly use technology-mediated interviews. However, only limited research is available concerning the comparability of different interview media and most of the available studies stem from a time when technology-mediated interviews were less common than in the present time. In an experiment using simulated selection interviews, we compared traditional face-to-face (FTF) interviews with telephone and videoconference interviews to determine whether ratings of interviewees' performance, their perceptions of the interview, or their strain and anxiety are affected by the type of interview. Before participating in the actual interview, participants had a more positive view of FTF interviews compared to technology-mediated interviews. However, fairness perceptions did not differ anymore after the interview. Furthermore, there were no differences between the three interview media concerning psychological and physiological indicators of strain or interview anxiety. Nevertheless, ratings of interviewees' performance were lower in the technology-mediated interviews than in FTF interviews. Thus, differences between different interview media can still be found nowadays even though most applicants are much more familiar with technology-mediated communication than in the past. The results show that organizations should take this into account and therefore avoid using different interview media when they interview different applicants for the same job opening.

Interoceptive accuracy is related to long-term stress via self-regulation.

Interoception describes the ability to perceive internal bodily signals. Previous research found a relationship between interoceptive accuracy (IAcc) and cardiovascular outcomes during or after acute stress. So far, the association between IAcc and long-term stress has not been investigated, although this would be important to identify a starting point to prevent long-term stress. To address this idea in the current study, we examined the relationship between IAcc and long-term stress, which was assessed with different questionnaires and biological markers, including cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA). Furthermore, we investigated self-regulation as a mechanism linking IAcc to long-term stress. The sample consisted of 98 participants. To measure IAcc, participants completed the heartbeat perception task. Perceived long-term stress and self-regulation were assessed via an online questionnaire. Moreover, hair samples were taken from 65 participants to determine long-term stress with cortisol and DHEA as well as the ratio of both. Results showed that IAcc was positively related to DHEA and weakly negatively related to the other indicators of long-term stress, except for the nonsignificant relationships to the indicators cortisol and stress experiences due to negative events. Furthermore, these relationships were mediated by participants' enhanced self-regulation. Thus, our results suggest that enhanced self-regulation could be a mechanism explaining why IAcc is associated with long-term stress.

Selling and Smooth-Talking: Effects of Interviewer Impression Management from a Signaling Perspective.

Prior research suggests that interviewers play an important role in representing their organization and in making the interview a pleasant experience for applicants. This study examined whether impression management used by interviewers (organization-enhancement and applicant-enhancement) is perceived by applicants, and how it influences applicants' attitudes, intentions, and emotions. Adopting a signaling perspective, this article argues that applicants' positive attitudes and intentions toward the organization increase if interviewers not only enhance the organization, but if the signals they sent (i.e., organization-enhancement) are actually received by the applicant. Similarly, applicants' positive emotions should increase if interviewers not only enhance the applicant, but if the signals they send (i.e., applicant-enhancement) are actually received by the applicant. A field study that involved video coding interviewers' impression management behavior during 153 selection interviews and pre- and post-interview applicant surveys showed that the signals sent by interviewers during the interview were received by applicants. In addition, applicants rated the organization's prestige and their own positive affect after the interview more positively when they perceived higher levels of organization-enhancement during the interview. Furthermore, applicants reported more positive affect and interview self-efficacy after the interview when they perceived higher levels of interviewer applicant-enhancement. We also found an indirect effect of interviewers' organization-enhancement on organizational prestige through applicants' perceptions of organization-enhancement as well as indirect effects of interviewers' applicant-enhancement on applicants' positive affect and interview self-efficacy through applicants' perceptions of applicant-enhancement. Our findings contribute to an integrated understanding of the effects of interviewer impression management and point out both risks and chances in selling and smooth-talking toward applicants.

Individual Difference Variables and the Occurrence and Effectiveness of Faking Behavior in Interviews.

There is widespread fear that applicants can fake during selection interviews and that this impairs the quality of selection decisions. Several theories assume that faking occurrence is influenced by personality and attitudes, which together influence applicants' motivation to show faking behavior. However, for faking behavior to be effective, interviewees also need certain skills and abilities. To investigate the impact of several relevant individual difference variables on faking behavior and interview success, we conducted two studies. In Study 1, we surveyed 222 individuals to assess different personality variables, attitude toward faking, cognitive ability, self-reported faking behavior, and success in previous interviews, and in Study 2, we assessed cognitive ability, social skills, faking behavior, and interview performance in an interview simulation with 108 participants. Taken together, personality, as well as attitude toward faking, influenced who showed faking behavior in an interview, but there was no evidence for the assumed moderating effect of cognitive ability or social skills on interview success.

Why Do Situational Interviews Predict Performance? Is it Saying How You Would Behave or Knowing How You Should Behave?

PURPOSE: The present study examined two theoretical explanations for why situational interviews predict work-related performance, namely (a) that they are measures of interviewees' behavioral intentions or (b) that they are measures of interviewees' ability to correctly decipher situational demands. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: We tested these explanations with 101 students, who participated in a 2-day selection simulation. FINDINGS: In line with the first explanation, there was considerable similarity between what participants said they would do and their actual behavior in corresponding work-related situations. However, the underlying postulated mechanism was not supported by the data. In line with the second explanation, participants' ability to correctly decipher situational demands was related to performance in both the interview and work-related situations. Furthermore, the relationship between the interview and performance in the work-related situations was partially explained by this ability to decipher situational demands. IMPLICATIONS: Assessing interviewees' ability to identify criteria might be of additional value for making selection decisions, particularly for jobs where it is essential to assess situational demands. ORIGINALITY/VALUE: The present study made an effort to open the 'black box' of situational interview validity by examining two explanations for their validity. The results provided only moderate support for the first explanation. However, the second explanation was fully supported by these results.

How and why do interviewers try to make impressions on applicants? A qualitative study.

To remain viable in today's highly competitive business environments, it is crucial for organizations to attract and retain top candidates. Hence, interviewers have the goal not only of identifying promising applicants but also of representing their organization. Although it has been proposed that interviewers' deliberate signaling behaviors are a key factor for attracting applicants and thus for ensuring organizations' success, no conceptual model about impression management (IM) exists from the viewpoint of the interviewer as separate from the applicant. To develop such a conceptual model on how and why interviewers use IM, our qualitative study elaborates signaling theory in the interview context by identifying the broad range of impressions that interviewers intend to create on applicants, what kinds of signals interviewers deliberately use to create their intended impressions, and what outcomes they pursue. Following a grounded theory approach, multiple raters analyzed in-depth interviews with interviewers and applicants. We also observed actual employment interviews and analyzed memos and image brochures to generate a conceptual model of interviewer IM. Results showed that the spectrum of interviewers' IM intentions goes well beyond what has been proposed in past research. Furthermore, interviewers apply a broad range of IM behaviors, including verbal and nonverbal as well as paraverbal, artifactual, and administrative behaviors. An extensive taxonomy of interviewer IM intentions, behaviors, and intended outcomes is developed, interrelationships between these elements are presented, and avenues for future research are derived.

Trade-offs between assessor team size and assessor expertise in affecting rating accuracy in assessment centers / Trade-offs entre tamaño del equipo evaluador y pericia del evaluador y su efecto sobre la precisión de la valoración en los assessment centers

We investigated the effects of assessor team size on the accuracy of ratings in a presentation exercise as it is commonly used in assessment centers and compared it to the effects of two factors related to assessor expertise (assessor training and assessor background). On the basis of actual ratings from a simulated selection setting (N = 383), we sampled assessor teams of different sizes and with different expertise and determined the accuracy of their ratings in the presentation exercise. Of the three factors, assessor training had the strongest effect on rating accuracy. Furthermore, in most conditions, using larger assessor teams also led to more accurate ratings. In addition, the use of larger assessor teams compensated for having not attended an assessor training only when the assessors had a psychological background. Concerning assessor background, we did not find a significant main effect. Practical implications and directions for future research are discussed(AU)

Investigamos los efectos del tamaño del equipo evaluador sobre la precisión de las valoraciones en un ejercicio de presentación tal como es habitualmente utilizado en los AC y lo comparamos con los efectos de dos factores relacionados con la pericia del evaluador (entrenamiento e historial). Sobre las valoraciones en una situación simulada de selección (N = 383), muestreamos equipos de evaluadores de diferente tamaño y con diferente pericia y determinamos la precisión de sus valoraciones en el ejercicio de presentación. De los tres factores, el entrenamiento de evaluadores tuvo el efecto más fuerte sobre la precisión de la valoración. Además, en la mayoría de las condiciones, usar equipos con mayor número de evaluador también da lugar a valoraciones más precisas. También, el uso de equipos mayores compensó la falta de asistencia de un valorador al entrenamiento cuando los evaluadores tenían formación psicológica. En relación con esto último, no encontramos un efecto principal significativo. Se comentan las implicaciones para la práctica y la investigación futura(AU)

Situation assessment as an ignored factor in the behavioral consistency paradigm underlying the validity of personnel selection procedures.

This study contributes to the literature on why selection procedures that are based on the behavioral consistency logic (e.g., structured interviews and assessment centers) are valid predictors of job performance. We rely on interactionist theories to propose that individual differences in assessing situational demands explain true variance in performance in selection procedures and on the job. Results from 124 individuals in a simulated selection process showed that the assessment of situational demands was related to both selection and job performance. Individual differences in assessing situational demands also contributed to the criterion-related validity of assessment center and structured interview ratings, offering a complementary explanation as to why selection procedures based on the notion of behavioral consistency predict job performance.

Stimulus coding in human associative learning: flexible representations of parts and wholes.

An enduring theme for theories of associative learning is the problem of explaining how configural discriminations--ones in which the significance of combinations of cues is inconsistent with the significance of the individual cues themselves-are learned. One approach has been to assume that configurations are the basic representational form on which associative processes operate, another has tried in contrast to retain elementalism. We review evidence that human learning is representationally flexible in a way that challenges both configural and elemental theories. We describe research showing that task demands, prior experience, instructions, and stimulus properties all influence whether a particular problem is solved configurally or elementally. Lines of possible future theory development are discussed.

The comparator theory fails to account for the selective role of within-compound associations in cue-selection effects.

In a human causal learning experiment, we investigated cue selection effects to test the comparator theory (Denniston, Savastano, & Miller, 2001; Miller & Matzel, 1988). The theory predicts that the occurrence of cue selection is independent of whether the relevant learning trials are presented in a standard forward manner or in a backward manner and that within-compound associations are of equal importance in both cases. We found that the strength of the cue-selection effect was positively correlated with knowledge of within-compound associations in the backward condition but not in the forward condition. Furthermore, cue-selection effects were less pronounced in the former than in the latter condition. These results are at variance with the comparator hypothesis but are in agreement with a modified associative theory and with the suggestion that retrospective revaluation might be due to rehearsal processes.

Extinction of conditioned inhibition through nonreinforced presentation of the inhibitor.

In previous studies that have tried to extinguish conditioned inhibition through nonreinforced presentations of the inhibitor, researchers have repeatedly failed to find evidence for such extinction. The present study revealed that extinction can be achieved through nonreinforcement of the inhibitor, depending on properties of the reinforcer. In a human causal learning experiment, we found complete extinction in a scenario in which the reinforcer could take on negative values. Thereby, this scenario reflected the assumed symmetrical continuum on which associative strength can vary, according to the Rescorla-Wagner theory of associative learning. In contrast to this, the inhibitory cue retained its inhibitory potential in another condition, in which the scenario did not allow negative values of the reinforcer.

The experimental task influences cue competition in human causal learning.

Participants were shown A+ and C- trials followed by AB+ and CD+ trials. These trials were embedded in a causal learning task in which participants had to learn either the relationship between different foods and allergic reactions or the relationship between different stocks and an increase in the stock market index. The authors orthogonally varied the manner in which the different cues were presented to participants during training. Cue competition was related to the causal learning scenario but not to the manner in which the different cues were presented. These results question claims of a human bias toward configural processing that were based on difficulties in finding cue competition in some previous causal learning experiments.

Within-compound associations in retrospective revaluation and in direct learning: a challenge for comparator theory.

In three human causal learning experiments we investigated the role of within-compound associations in learning about absent cues versus learning about present cues. Different theoretical approaches agree that within-compound associations are essential for learning about absent cues-that is, for retrospective revaluation. They differ, however, with regard to the role of within-compound associations for learning about present cues-that is, for direct learning. A memory test was used to assess within-compound associations. Experiment 1 used a blocking/release from overshadowing design, Experiment 2 used a conditioned inhibition design, and Experiment 3 used a higher-order cue selection design. In all experiments, first-order retrospective revaluation was significantly correlated with within-compound associations, but no significant correlations were found for the direct learning conditions. In addition to this, second-order retrospective revaluation in Experiment 3 was positively correlated to joint knowledge of first-order and second-order within-compound associations. Furthermore, cue selection effects were stronger for direct learning conditions than for retrospective learning conditions. These results are at variance with the comparator hypothesis but are in agreement with a modified associative theory and with the suggestion that retrospective revaluation might be due to rehearsal processes.