Self-presentation in personnel selection from the perspective of applicants and organizations
Final Report Abstract
Scholars of personnel selection hitherto looked at self-presentation behavior of applicants primarily as a problem, as expressed in negatively value laden labels (e.g., “faking”, “response distortion”). By contrast, the present research project was set up to test Marcus’ (2009) Self-Presentation Theory (SPT), which attempted to provide a more balanced view of these behaviors by defining elements of self-presentation skills and motivation that are held to partially reflect job-relevant applicant attributes. A series of laboratory and field studies was conducted to assess these elements of self-presentation and their respective antecedents and consequences. An elaborate applicant training was set up in order to simulate the entire application process in a high-fidelity laboratory setting, from choosing prospective employers, to compiling application materials, to taking psychometric tests and interviews, to deciding about a job offer. Propositions of the SPT were specifically tested based on responses to two personality tests (one broad inventory, and one integrity test) each administered with three different instructions (honest, maximally socially desirable, as if applying for the specific job offer simulated) in a within-person design. In an online follow-up study, consequences of interviewer behavior on test taker responses were experimentally tested. Evidence found on antecedents of elements of self-presentation proposed in SPT was equivocal. However, SPT’s propositions on setting effects of applicant motivation and on outcomes contradicting the traditional view of self-presentation as “faking” were partially confirmed, as well as the distinction of constructs derived from SPT from the related construct of Ability to Identify Criteria (ATIC). In line with SPT, furthermore evidence for positive incremental criterion validity of self-presentation beyond the traditional scoring of personality tests was observed in two field studies conducted in simulated and actual application settings. In sum, results of the present project demonstrate the potential benefits of viewing applicant self-presentation not just as a problem but also as a previously neglected resource for personnel selection, yet findings also highlight difficulties with operationalizing elements of SPT in a way that would allow for straightforward tests of many particular propositions derived from this theory.
Publications
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Selbstdarstellung in Auswahlsituationen als Folge von Stellenattraktivität und individuellen Fertigkeiten. Forschungsreferat, gehalten auf dem 50. Kongress der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Psychologie (DGPs), Leipzig.
Hummert, H., Marcus, B. & Traum, A.
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Selbstdarstellung in Auswahlsituationen in Abhängigkeit von im Prozess erhaltenen Informationen. Forschungsreferat, gehalten auf der 10. Tagung der Fachgruppe Arbeits-, Organisations- und Wirtschaftspsychologie der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Psychologie (DGPs), Dresden.
Hummert, H., Marcus, B. & Traum, A.
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The Ideal Employee Coefficient: Can self-presentation predict performance beyond traits? Paper presented at the 32nd Annual Conference of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Orlando, FL.
Marcus, B., Hummert, H., Goldenberg, J., Fine, S., Traum, A. & Deller, J.
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Affekt und Handlungsorientierung im Bewerbungsprozess. Dissertation, Universität Rostock.
Traum, A.
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Self-Presentation in Selection Settings: the Case of Personality Tests. Journal of Business and Psychology, 35(5), 557-571.
Marcus, Bernd; Goldenberg, Judy; Fine, Saul; Hummert, Henning & Traum, Anne
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Behaviour in selection situations as an adaptation to external expectations: testing a theory of self-presentation. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 31(3), 453-469.
Hummert, Henning; Traum, Anne & Marcus, Bernd
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Dynamisches Selbstdarstellungsverhalten in Abhängigkeit von im Bewerbungsprozess erhaltenen Informationen. Forschungsreferat, gehalten auf dem 52. Kongress der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Psychologie (DGPs), Hildesheim, Deutschland
Hummert, H., Marcus, B. & Traum, A.
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Behaviour in selection situations as adaption to external expectations: Investigations into propositions and measurement problems of a theory of selfpresentation. Doctoral dissertation, University of Rostock.
Hummert H.
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Methodological issues related to the theory of self-presentation. Oral presentation at the 21st Biannual Congress of the European Association for Work & Organizational Psychology, Katowice, Polen.
Hummert, H.
