A personality-based similar-to-me effect in the employment interview: Conscientousness, affect-versus competence-mediated interpretations, and the role of job relevance

Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, Jan 2003 by Greg J Sears, Patricia M Rowe

PERSONALITY ASSESSMENT IN THE EMPLOYMENT INTERVIEW

Perhaps the most concerted effort and seminal advancements generated in the study of personality assessment in the job interview can be credited to Jackson and colleagues. In their inquiry into implicit personality theory, Jackson, Peacock, and Holden (1982) examined the trait inferential profiles of interviewers in terms of eight personality dimensions and across 15 occupational groupings. They concluded that interviewers' judgments are highly differentiated and reliable. Paunonen and Jackson (1987) studied the degree to which interviewers and students accurately discerned the personality characteristics of incumbent personnel managers and computer programmers. Results indicated that judgments of job candidates in the interview accurately reflect congruence between (a) the applicant's personality and that of the typical job incumbent, and (b) the applicant characteristics and job characteristics. Finally, Paunonen, Jackson, and Oberman (1987) examined the relative contributions of perceived competence (depicted in letters of reference) and personality suitability (portrayed in an interview) as determinants of hiring decisions. They deduced that reference reports can override consideration of personality-job fit when perceived competence is viewed as extremely high or low. Taken as a whole, this line of investigation substantiates the notion that interviewers accurately perceive the actual personality of job candidates, and their conceptions of personality dimensions among job incumbents for various occupations are highly reliable, discriminable, and valid. Moreover, both personality impressions and judgments of perceived competence influence hiring decisions. Although this research provides preliminary support for the psychometric integrity of personality assessment in the interview, the interactive effect of interviewer-applicant personality on the quality of interview judgments is yet to be subjected to empirical scrutiny.

The "Similar-to-Me" Effect

Research on the similar-to-me effect represents one of the few domains in which the joint influence of interviewer-applicant individual differences on interview evaluations has been systematically investigated. On the whole, this research has demonstrated that the better the match between interviewer and applicant with respect to attitudinal (e.g., Baskett, 1973; Griffin & Jackson, 1970; Peters & Terborg, 1975) biographical (e.g., Rand & Wexley, 1975) and racial (e.g., Lin, Dobbins, & Fahr, 1992) characteristics, the more favourable are interview ratings.

Several explanations for the similar-to-me effect have been expounded. Byrne's "theory of interpersonal attraction" (e.g., Frank & Hackman, 1975) posits that similarity increases the likelihood that one will receive consensual validation for one's own views and opinions. This reinforcement, in turn, evokes favourable feelings toward the similar other. Cahn (1976) espouses a comparable line of reasoning in his "self-validation" model. According to this model, an interviewer and job applicant each experience their own conceptions of self, and develop a sense of one another's self-concept. Greater similarity between interviewer and applicant elicits more accurate perceptions of the two parties' self-concepts, thereby cultivating a sense of personal validation. Higher interview ratings stem from amplified interviewer self-validation.