Facial Stigmas in Dyadic Selection Interviews

Abstract

Despite being one of the most common methods for selecting employees, the selection interview is not free from biases because it involves social interactions in which physical characteristics influence the interview—one being physical aberrations. The current study used a two-group experimental design in which participants interviewed a confederate without or with a facial stigma (i.e., a port-wine stain birthmark on the cheek). The results showed that interviewers felt more negative affect and displayed more negative behaviors toward a facially stigmatized applicant than an applicant who was not facially stigmatized. The interviewers’ negative affect and behavior were perceived by the applicant who in turn rated the interviewer as more negative than when the applicant did not have a facial stigma. The results were consistent with affective events theory and stigma theory in that interviewing a facially stigmatized applicant is a negative event for the interviewer that elicits negative affect and behaviors. Thus, the current research suggests that interviewers do feel and display negativity toward a facially stigmatized applicant and that a stigmatized applicant is aware of this negativity.