Abstract

HORCAJO, Javier; BRINOL, Pablo  and  BECERRA, Alberto. EFFECTS OF STEREOTYPES ACTIVATION ON THE JOB CANDIDATES ASSESSMENT IN AN EXPERIMENTAL CONTEXT OF PERSONNEL SELECTION. rev.latinoam.psicol. [online]. 2009, vol.41, n.2, pp.349-359. ISSN 0120-0534.

Most people want to be (and be seem) rational and objective when making decisions, particularly in professional domains. However, a large number of irrelevant factors can bias judgments and behaviors. The present research reveals that attitudes toward potential job candidates can be influenced by stereotype activation in an experimental context. Specifically, participants were asked to complete words related to the stereotype of businessman or to the stereotype of skinhead prior to receiving ambiguous information about a fictitious job candidate. As predicted, attitudes and perceptions toward the candidate were more favorable in the former than in the later priming condition. Possible underlying psychological mechanisms and strategies for bias reduction are discussed.

Keywords : personnel selection; stereotypes; attitudes; perceptions.

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