Tell Me Sweet Little Lies: How Does Faking in Interviews Affect Interview Scores and Interview Validity?

Autor(en)
Anne-Kathrin Buehl, Klaus G. Melchers, Therese Macan, Jana Kühnel
Abstrakt

Interviews are a prevalent technique for selection and admission purposes. However, interviews are also viewed as potentially fakeable, raising the question of whether interviewees’ faking behavior impairs the quality of selection decisions. To address these concerns, our study examined whether interviewees can actually improve their interview score by faking and the role that interviewee ability factors play in interview faking. We also explored the effect of faking on criterion-related validity with regard to successfully predicting interviewees’ task and contextual performance. We conducted simulated interviews in an honest and an applicant instruction condition using a within-subjects design. In line with our hypotheses, interviewees were able to improve their interview scores when asked to respond as an applicant. The size of the improvement of these interview scores correlated with interviewees’ cognitive ability and their ability to identify the targeted interview dimensions. Concerning the effects of faking on criterion-related validity, we found that academic performance was better predicted in the applicant instruction condition whereas contextual performance was better predicted in the honest condition. Thus, it appears that claims that “faking impairs criterion-related validity” are too simplified and that we have to consider the kind of criterion predicted.

Organisation(en)
Externe Organisation(en)
Universität Ulm, University of Missouri-St. Louis
Journal
Journal of Business and Psychology
Band
34
Seiten
107–124
Anzahl der Seiten
18
ISSN
0889-3268
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-018-9531-3
Publikationsdatum
02-2019
Peer-reviewed
Ja
ÖFOS 2012
501002 Angewandte Psychologie
Schlagwörter
ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete
Psychology(all), Business, Management and Accounting(all), Business and International Management, Applied Psychology
Link zum Portal
https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/de/publications/tell-me-sweet-little-lies-how-does-faking-in-interviews-affect-interview-scores-and-interview-validity(48dfe248-57db-4630-83bc-3a2bd4ad2f5a).html