Effects of ethnicity, accent, and job status on selection decisions

The present study investigated the effects of ethnicity, accent, and job status in the selection interview. Two hundred and ten student subjects viewed simulated, videotaped selection interviews in which applicant ethnicity, applicant accent, and job status were manipulated in a completely crossed 3 × 2 × 2 factorial design. Two sets of ratings were obtained, selection decision ratings of the job applicant, and subjective importance ratings based on the previous selection decisions. Significant main effects were obtained for ethnicity and job status in selection decision as predicted. Contrary to predictions however, the main effect for accent was not found significant. Further analysis of the importance ratings indicated a significant main effect for accent, but not for ethnicity. These findings indicated that applicant ethnicity and job status were important in selection interview decision and accent was not. Contrary to this however, subjects considered that accent was important in their selection decision ratings, while ethnicity was not.