Applicant reactions to the employment interview. A look at demographic similarity and social identity theory

Abstract

Based on social identity theory (SIT), this study tested the hypothesis that applicants who are demographically similar to recruiters would have more favorable evaluations of the recruiters, jobs, and organizations than would applicants who were dissimilar. SIT further suggested that applicants who were in demographic minorities relative to the rest of the applicant pool would dissociate from the pool, by showing preference for the recruiters, jobs, and organizations. Some significant effects were observed for racial similarity, but not for age or sex similarity, suggesting that race is a more salient category than are age or sex. © 2003 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.