Company norms affect which traits are preferred in job candidates and may cause employment discrimination
Author
Summary, in English
This study investigated a possible mechanism behind employment discrimination. Participants completed a recruitment task where emphasis on cohesion (employees should “fit in”) vs. fairness (everybody should be treated equally) was manipulated by describing the norms of a fictitious company differently. There was a comparatively stronger preference in the cohesion condition for traits and interview questions related to social competence (e.g. friendliness, gregariousness, empathy). Furthermore, participants in the cohesion condition primarily pictured socially competent employees, whereas those in the fairness condition primarily pictured employees possessing productivity-related characteristics (e.g. education, experience and talent). The norm effect was moderated by participants’ awareness of the applicants’ ethnicity. When expecting applicants with foreign backgrounds, participants in the cohesion condition showed increased preference for selection methods related to social competence. Implications for recruitment practices are discussed.
Department/s
Publishing year
2012
Language
English
Pages
579-594
Publication/Series
The Journal of Psychology: Interdisciplinary and applied
Volume
146
Issue
6
Links
Document type
Journal article
Publisher
Taylor & Francis
Topic
- Psychology
Keywords
- recruitment
- norms
- person-organizational fit
- bias
- discrimination
Status
Published
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISSN: 1940-1019