Incarceration history and ethnic bias in hiring perceptions: An experimental test of intersectional bias & psychological mechanisms

Abstract

This study seeks to better understand mechanisms of bias against formerly incarcerated and ethnically minoritized job applicants as well as the interactive effects of those two identities. In a sample of 358 hiring managers in the United States, the 2 (incarceration history) x 4 (ethnicity) experiment will manipulate incarceration history and ethnicity through job application materials, and measure hireability, and perception of job applicants along dimensions of sociability/warmth, competence, and morality. We will use a moderated mediation model to test hypotheses regarding a main effect of prior incarceration and an interaction effect of incarceration history and ethnicity on judgments of hireability, as well as whether such effects are mediated through perception of job applicants. We expect results to inform both research and practice related to employment practices.