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

Correlations between perceived similarity and affect (Candidate 1: r =. 41, p

DISCUSSION

The present study sought to explore different origins and interpretations of the similar-to-me effect in a structured employment interview. The centrepiece and impetus of the study is the investigation of raterapplicant similarity with respect to personality composition (conscientiousness) and whether this form of similarity moderates interview ratings. Furthermore, in order to facilitate interpretation of a potential similar-to-me trend, affect and perceived competence were tested as mediators.

Analyses pertaining to rater-applicant similarity in conscientiousness uncovered a significant similar-tome effect in competence ratings and judgments of overall job suitability. Of particular note is that the projected similar-to-me effect only emerged for raters high in conscientiousness. The conventional similarto-me effect presupposes that raters high in conscientiousness administer higher ratings to candidates high in conscientiousness, while raters low in conscientiousness accord higher ratings to candidates low in conscientiousness. In the present study, however, raters low in conscientiousness appraised candidates low in conscientiousness comparably to candidates high in conscientiousness. The results observed add another dimension to the typical similar-to-me response pattern and stand to reason insofar as conscientiousness is a job-relevant construct, thereby deflating the impact of rater-applicant similarity when both parties exhibit lower levels of conscientiousness. Low conscientiousness raters may be more interpersonally attracted to similar and like-minded others (i.e., candidates low in conscientiousness) - as suggested by affect-based theories, but they may not recommend them for a job requiring conscientious behaviour - as suggested by competence-based theories. Thus, the conventional similar-to-me paradigm may only apply when the primary source of raterapplicant similarity is a non-job-relevant construct (i.e., a source of rater bias). In view of these findings, a modified schematic of the similar-to-me effect for job-relevant constructs is proposed. "Conventional" and modified paradigms are exemplified in Figure 4 - the latter paradigm modeled on data (aggregated competence and job suitability ratings) from the present study.

To decompose the similar-to-me effect observed for conscientiousness into its basic theoretical components, ratings of affect and competence were compared. As alluded to above, a substantive similar-tome effect emerged with respect to ratings of competence (and overall job suitability), but not affect. This furnished preliminary evidence discounting the role of the "self-validation model" and the "theory of interpersonal attraction" in driving the similar-to-me effect; conversely, the case for a competence-based interpretation, such as the "ideal-employee" hypothesis (Dalessio & Imada, 1984), was fortified.

To further test this inference and ascertain whether a competence-based explanation of the similar-to-me effect generalized to a more generic variant of raterapplicant similarity, affect- and competence-mediated tracings of job suitability ratings were estimated adopting a more expansive operationalization of similarity (as per Howard & Ferris, 1996). Again, perceived competence figured more prominently in bridging similarity and job suitability judgments than rater affect. The competence-mediated conceptualization accounted for 55.2% of the variance in the similar-to-me effect while the affect-mediated tracing explained a demonstrably lower 13.6% of the variance. Results do not negate the influence of affect in some interview contexts (e.g., unstructured interviews where similarity is rooted in attitudinal or demographic variables), but, collectively, they buttress interpretation of the similar-to-me effect from a competence-mediated optic, particularly in cases where a job-relevant construct is the linchpin of similarity.