Interviews – The Interviewer Bias Effect
The research and professional world relies on interviews as a common method for candidate selection for various positions. The most common form of interviews used is the face-to-face interview. Both one-on-one and group interviews are widely used.
The major drawback with the face-to-face interview is the presence interviewer bias. In the context of research, characteristics of the interviewee may prompt the interviewer to exhibit various cues to the interviewee, resulting in skewed or biased responses. Interviewer effects could also include social desirability on the part of the subject, as they would tailor their responses to be seen in a favorable light if the interviewer expresses a negative reaction. In the case of job interviews, simple acts such as validation of the interviewer or matching a pre-determined stereotype of a job position may result in interviewer bias. Because face-to-face interviews are used in college applications, internships, and job applications, the possibility for interviewer bias runs high in many high-stake settings.
A common manifestation of interviewer bias is the “similar-to-me” effect. This term describes the phenomenon when higher interview ratings are given towards interviewees who possess similar attitudes and demographics as the interviewer (Sears & Rowe, 2003). One explanation for this effect is through sheer similarity. If both the interviewer and interviewee are similar, whether in demographics or even education level, they will develop more accurate perceptions of the other’s self-concepts, as the two self-concepts will be similar (Sears & Rowe, 2003). A more accurate perception and validation to the interviewer’s self-concept by the interviewee would lead to higher interview ratings and scores.
Interviewer bias also seems to occur at higher rates in less-structured interviews, most likely due to more disclosure of personal information. More information means more opportunity to either rate the interviewee as more or less favorable than they would have in a strictly structured interview (Sears & Rowe, 2003).
References:
Sears, G. J., & Rowe, P. M. (2003). A personality-based similar-to-me effect in the employment interview: Conscientiousness, affect-versus competence-mediated interpretations, and the role of job relevance. Canadian Journal Of Behavioural Science/Revue Canadienne Des Sciences Du Comportement, 35(1), 13-24. doi:10.1037/h0087182
Posted on December 8, 2011, in Info and tagged extracredit, Interviews, StudentAuthor. Bookmark the permalink. 1 Comment.
Field Research in Organizational Psychology 
Good job –