Decision Making in the Graduate Selection Interview: An Experimental Investigation

Critical deficiencies in the coverage of existing selection interview research are noted, and the paucity of studies into interviewer impression formation admonished. Perceptual links between candidate non-verbal behavior (NVB) and interviewer impressions of personality are examined in an experimental study of interviewer impression formation. Subjects (n = 68) reviewed four videotaped vignettes of the opening stages of a graduate recruitment interview where candidate NVB was manipulated using a 2 x 2 factorial design. Contrary to existing social psychological research, results indicate that subject interviewers were able to recognize experimental changes in candidate NVB. Furthermore, multiple regression analyses revealed that subjects' impressions of candidate personality were substantially linearly dependent upon the facial-area NVBs of eye contact and positive facial expressions. Evaluations of eye contact fundamentally determined perceptions of competence and strength of character, while positiveness of facial expressions primarily affected impressions of linking and motivation. Implications for validating interviewer perceptual links, intentional impression management by interviewees, interviewer training, interviewee training, and future research are discussed.