It is a firmly entrenched part of management lore that interviewers make decisions in the selection interview after only a few minutes. A reanalysis of the original research (Springbett, 1954; 1958) and cur-rent research findings suggest the need for a more cautious interpre-tation of the phenomenon of a "snap decision" in the interview.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Arvey, R.D., & Campion, J.E. (1982). The employment interview: A summary and review of re-cent research. Personnel Psychology, 35, 281-322.
2.
Bluedorn, A.C., Keon, T.L., & Carter, N.M. (1985). Management history research: Is anyone out there listening?Proceedings of the Academy of Management, 130-133.
3.
Bureau of National Affairs. (1976). Personnel Policies Forum (Survey No. 114). Washington, DC: Author.
Eder, R.W, & Buckley, M.R. (in press). The employment interview: An interactionist perspective. In G.R. Ferris & K.M. Rowland (Eds.), Research in Personnel and Human Resources Man-agement (Vol. 6). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.
6.
Ilgen, D.R., & Feldman, J.M. (1983). Performance appraisal: A process focus. In L.L. Cummings & B.M. Staw (Eds.), Research in Organizational Behavior (Vol. 5, pp. 141-197). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.
7.
Hakel, M.D. (1982). Employment interview. In Rowland, K.M. & Ferris, G.R. (Eds.) Personnel management: new perspectives (pp. 129-155). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
8.
Hakel, M.D. (1986). Personnel selection and placement. In M.R. Rosenzweig & L.W. Porter (Eds.), Annual Review of Psychology, 37, 357-381.
9.
Huegli, J.M., & Tschrigi, H. (1975). An investigation of the relationship of time to recruitment interview decision making. Proceedings of the Academy of Management, 234-236.
10.
McGregor, D.M. (1967). The professional manager. New York: McGraw-Hill.
11.
Reilly, R.R., & Chao, G.T. (1982). Validity and fairness of some alternative employee selection procedures. Personnel Psychology, 35, 1-62.
12.
Schmitt, N. (1976). Social and situational determinants of interview decisions: Implications for the employment interview. Personnel Psychology, 29, 79-101.
13.
Schneier, C. E., Beatty, R.W, & McEvoy, G.M. (1986). Personnellhuman resource management today. Reading, MA: Addision-Wesley.
14.
Springbett, B.M. (1958). Factors affecting the final decision in the employment interview. Cana-dian Journal of Psychology, 12, 13-22.
15.
Springbett, B.M. (1954). Series effects in the employment interview. Unpublished doctoral disser-tation, McGill University, Montreal.
16.
Tucker, D.H., & Rowe, PM. (1977). Consulting the application form prior to the interview: an es-sential step in the selection process. Journal qf Applied Psychology, 62, 283-287.
17.
Tullar, WL., Mullins, T.W, & Caldwell, S.A. (1979). Effects of interview length and applicant quality on interview decision time. Journal of Applied Psychology, 64, 669-674.
18.
Ulrich, L.D. & Trumbo, D. (1965). The selection interview since 1949. Psychological Bulletin, 63, 100-116.
19.
Wagner, R. E (1949). The employment interview: A critical summary. Personnel Psychology, 2, 17-46.
20.
Webster, E.C. (1959). Decision making in the employment interview. Personnel Administration, 22, 15-22.
21.
Webster, E.C. (1964). Decision making in the employment interview. Montreal: McGill University, Industrial Relations Center.
22.
Webster, E.C. (1982). The employment interview: A social judgment process. Schomberg, On-tario, Canada: S.I.P Publications.
23.
Wren, D. (1987). The evolution of management thought. New York: Wiley.
24.
Wright, O.R., Jr. (1969). Summary of research on the selection interview since 1964. Personnel Psychology, 22, 391-413.