The moderating effect of interview structure on race-group similarity effects in simulated interview ratings
Year: 2012
Type: dissertation
Abstract: This study investigated race-group similarity effects as a form of interviewer bias in selection interview ratings.Social Identity Theory predicts that interviewers would assign higher ratings to interviewees of the same social group (the so-called in-group) primarily through the mechanism of similarity attraction.Research findings up to now have lent only partial support to this hypothesis.This study argues that interview structure may help to explain inconsistent research findings since structure could inhibit the functioning of the similarity-attraction mechanism.The present research pursued two objectives, namely (1) to determine the degree to which race-group similarity (between interviewer and interviewee) exerts a biasing effect on selection interview dimension ratings, (2) to determine whether same-group bias increases when interview structure is experimentally diminished.This experimental study manipulated the degree of structure in interviews (high-and low-structured conditions) and compared the degree to which race group similarity effects were evident under each condition.Interviews were simulated by showing video-taped interview segments to a sample of participants and asking them to rate interview dimensions on rating scales that had been compiled to reflect the degree of structure in each condition.The data were analysed using Hierarchical Linear Modelling (HLM) and multiple regression analysis to determine whether similarity effects were present in the interview rating data.The results support the hypothesis that racial similarity effects are found under low-structured conditions, as well as the hypothesis that interview structure moderates the influence of similarity effects.However, racial similarity effects were also found with the highly structured condition.Although these effects were smaller than in the low-structured condition, they were statistically significant.Future research should attempt to replicate this study as a field study to test the generalisability of the findings.
Author: Daniel Benjamin Hauptfleisch
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Reduced inequalities
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2121461534