Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 30, 2026

One Dimensional Turing-Like Handshake Test for Motor Intelligence
Published on: December 15, 2010
Exploring the handshake in employment interviews
Greg L Stewart1, Susan L Dustin, Murray R Barrick
1Department of Management and Organizations, Tippie College of Business, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA. greg-stewart@uiowa.edu
Abstract:
The authors examined how an applicant's handshake influences hiring recommendations formed during the employment interview. A sample of 98 undergraduate students provided personality measures and participated in mock interviews during which the students received ratings of employment suitability. Five trained raters independently evaluated the quality of the handshake for each participant. Quality of handshake was related to interviewer hiring recommendations. Path analysis supported the handshake as mediating the effect of applicant extraversion on interviewer hiring recommendations, even after controlling for differences in candidate physical appearance and dress. Although women received lower ratings for the handshake, they did not on average receive lower assessments of employment suitability. Exploratory analysis suggested that the relationship between a firm handshake and interview ratings may be stronger for women than for men.
Related Concept Videos
Confirmation Biases
Persuasion Strategies
Stereotype Threat and Self-fulfilling Prophecies
Techniques of therapeutic communication I: Active Listening, Sharing Observations, Validation, and Using Touch
Therapeutic communication is not the same as social interaction. Social interaction has no goal or purpose and consists of casual information sharing, whereas therapeutic communication has a plan or purpose for the conversation. Therapeutic...
Impression Management Techniques II: Ingratiation
Channels of Non-Verbal Communication

