The Employment Interview as a Sociometric Selection Technique
Keywords:
SociometricAbstract
Much of the research conducted on the employment interview suggests that it is time-consuming, expensive, and only modestly predictive of job performance. In spite of this, however, it remains one of the most widely used selection techniques. In this article, we argue that the employment interview continues to be used because it serves organizational functions other than the prediction of job performance. From this perspective, we review studies that suggest that the.interview is used by organizations as a form of sociometric selection. We then describe how sociometric selection is functional to organizations, and we review studies that illustrate the positive effects organizations experience when using standard sociometric techniques. We suggest that many of these same benefits are realized when organizations use the employment interview as a method of sociometric selection. We also identify the potential disadvantages of sociometric selection and present suggestions for future research.
References
Alderfer, C. A. (1977). Group and intergroup relations. In J. R. Hackman & J. L. Suttle (Eds.) Improving life at work (pp. 227-296). Santa Monica, CA: Goodyear.
Amalfitano, J. C., & Kalt, N. C. (1977). Effects of eye contact on the evaluation of job applicants. Journal of Employment Counseling, 14, 4648.
Anastasi, A. (1988). Psychological testing (6th ed.). New York: Macmillan.
Arvey, R. D., & Campion, J. (1982). The employment interview: A summary and review of recent research. Personnel Psychology, 35, 281-322.
Avolio, B. J., & Barrett, G. V. (1987). Effects of age stereotyping in a simulated interview. Psychology and Aging, 2, 56 3 .
Binning, J., & Barrett, G. V. (1989). Validity of personnel decisions: A conceptual analysis of the inferential and evidential bases. Journal of Applied Psychology, 74, 478 494.
Binning, J., Goldstein, M., Garcia, M., & Scattaragia, J. (1988). Effects of pre-interview impressions on questioning strategies in same- and opposite-sex employment interviews. Journal of Applied Psychology, 73, 30-37.
Borman, W., & Motowidlo, S. (1993). Expanding the criterion domain to include elements of contextual performance. In N. Schmitt & W. Borman (Eds.), Personnel selection in organizations (pp. 71-98). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Bureau of National Affairs. (1988). Recruiting and selection procedures (Personnel Policies Forum Survey No. 146). Washington, DC: Author.
Campion, M., Pursell, E., & Brown, B. (1988). Structured interviewing: Raising the psychometric properties of the employment interview. Personnel Psychology, 41, 25 4 2 .
Chesler, D. J., Van Steenburg, N. J., & Brueckel, J. E. (1953). Effect on morale of infantry team replacement and individual replacement systems. J. L. Moreno (Ed.), Sociometry and the science of man (pp. 331-341). New York: Beacon House
Colarelli, S. M. (1992). The context of hiring practices. Unpublished manuscript.
Colarelli, S. M., & Boos, A. L. (1992). Sociometric and ability based assignment to work groups: Some implications for personnel selection. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 13, 187--196.
Dreher, G. F., & Maurer, S. D. (1989). Assessing the employment interview: Deficiencies associated with the existing domain of validity coefficients. In R. Eder and G. Ferris (Eds.), The employment interview: Theory, research and practice (pp. 113-126). Beverly Hills: Sage.
Edinger, J. A., & Patterson, M. L. (1983). Nonverbal involvement and social control. Psychological Bulletin, 93, 30-56.
Fombrun, C. J., Tichy, N. M., & Devanna, M.A. (1984). Strategic human resource management. New York: John Wiley.
Friedman, T., & Williams, E. (I 982). Current use of tests for employment. In A. K. Wigdor and W.R. Garner (Eds.), Ability testing: Uses, consequences and controversies (pp. 99-169). Washington, D. C.: National Academy Press.
Gifford, R., Ng, F. C., & Wilkinson, M. (1985). Nonverbal cues in the employment interview: Links between applicant qualities and interviewer judgments. Journal of Applied Psychology, 70, 729-736.
Graves, L., & Karren, R. (1992). Interviewer decision processes and effectiveness: An experimental policy-capturing investigation. Personnel Psychology, 45, 313-340.
Graves, L., & Powell, G. (1988). An investigation of sex discrimination in recruiters' evaluations of actual applicants. Journal of Applied Psychology, 73, 20-29.
Griffitt. W, & Jackson, T. (1970). Influence of information about ability and nonability on personnel selection decisions. Psychology Representative, 27, 959-962.
Guion, R. M. (1976). Recruiting, selection, and job placement. In M. D. Dunnette (Ed.), Handbook of industrial-organizational psychology (pp. 777-828). Chicago: Rand McNally.
Harris, M. (1989). Reconsidering the employment interview: A review of recent literature and suggestions for future research. Personnel Psychology, 42, 691- 726.
Hunter, J., & Hunter, R. (1984). The validity and utility of alternative predictors of job performance. Psychological Bulletin, 96, 72-98.
Jackson, D., Peacock, A., & Smith, J. (1980). Impressions of personality in the employment interview. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 39, 294-307.
Janis, I. L. (1972). Victims of groupthink. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Janz, T., Hellervick, L., & Gilmore, D. (1986). Behavior description interviewing. Boston: Allyn Bacon.
Keenan, A., & Wedderburn, A. A. (I 980). Putting the boot on the other foot: Candidates' description of interviewers. Journal of Occupational Psychology, 53, 81-96.
Kinicki, A., Lockwood, C., Hom, P., & Griffeth, R. (1990). Interviewer predictions of applicant qualifications and interviewer validity: Aggregate and individual analyses. Journal of Applied Psychology, 75, 477--486.
Latham, G., Saari, L., Pursell, E., & Campion, M. (1980). The situational interview. Journal of Applied Psychology, 65, 422--427.
McDonald, T., & Hakel, M. D. (1985). Effects of applicant race, sex, suitability, and answers on interviewer's questioning strategy and ratings. Personnel Psychology, 38, 321-334.
Mendelson, P. (1989). The sociometric vision. Journal of Group Psychotherapy, Psychodrama, and Sociometry, 42, 138-147.
Moreo, J. L. (1956). Sociometry and the science of man. New York: Beacon.
Olian, J. D., & Rynes, S. L. (1984). Organizational staffing: Integrating practice with strategy. Industrial Relations, 23, 170-183.
Orphen, C. (1984). Attitude similarity, attraction, and decision-making in the employment interview. Journal of Psychology, 117, 111-120.
Paunonen, S., Jackson, D., & Oberman, S. (1987). Personnel selection decisions: Effects of applicant personality and the letter of reference. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 40, 96-114.
Raza, S., & Carpenter, B. (1987). A model of hiring decisions in real employment interviews. Journal of Applied Psychology, 72, 596 0 3 .
Ree, M. J., & Earles, J. S. (1992). Intelligence is the best predictor of job performance. Current Directions in Psychological Science, I, 86-88.
Reilly, R., & Chao, G. (1982). Validity and fairness of some alternative selection procedures. Personnel Psychology 35, 1-62.
Rynes, S., & Gerhart, B. (1990). Interviewer assessments of applicant "fit": An exploratory investigation. Personnel Psychology 43, 13-35.
Sampson, E. E. (1963). Status congruence and cognitive consistency. Sociometry, 26, 146-162.
Sawyer, J. (1966). Measurement and prediction, clinical and statistical.Psychological Bulletin, 66, 178-200.
Schlenker, B. R. (1980). Impression management: The self concept, social identity and interpersonal relations. Monterey, CA: Brooks/Cole.
Secord, P. F., & Backman, C. W. (1964). Social psychology. New York: McGraw-Hill Book.
Speroff, B. J. (1956). The use of sociometric data in industrial counseling. In J. L. Moreno (Ed.), Sociometry and the science of man (pp. 292-296). New York: Beacon House.
Taylor, M., & Sniezek, J. (1984). The college recruitment interview: Topical content and applicant reactions. Journal of Occupational Psycholog 57, 157-168.
Trice, H. M., & Beyer, J. M. (1993). The cultures of work organizations. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Ulrich, L., & Trumbo, D. (1965). The selection interview since 1949. Psychological Bulletin, 63, 100-116.
Van Zelst, R.H. (1951). Job satisfaction and the interpersonally desirable worker. Personnel Psychology, 4, 405-412.
Van Zelst, R. H. (1952). Validation of a sociometric regrouping procedure. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 47, 299--301.
Weick, K. E. ( I 979). The social psychology of organizing. New York: Random House.
York, K. M., & Cranny, C. J. (1989). Job hunting and applicant recruiting: Expectations in the interview process and suggestions for improvement. The Industrial I Organizational Psychologist, 26 (3), 19-23.
Zeleny, L. D. (1960). Selection of compatible flying partners. In J. L. Moreno (Ed.), The Sociometry Reader (pp. 534-547). New York: Beacon House.
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Journal of Psychodrama, Sociometry, and Group Psychotherapy
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.