Discrimination Against Facially Stigmatized Applicants in Interviews: An Eye-Tracking and Face-to-Face Investigation

• Published in: Journal of applied psychology Vol. 97; no. 2; pp. 317 - 330
• Main Authors: Madera, Juan M., Hebl, Michelle R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Psychological Association 01-03-2012
• Subjects: Adult; Applicants; Attention; Attention - physiology; Biological and medical sciences; Cognitive Processes; Computer Uses in Education; Depletion; Discrimination; Employment discrimination; Employment Interviews; Equal Opportunities (Jobs); Experiments; Eye Movement Measurements - instrumentation; Eye Movement Measurements - psychology; Eye Movements; Face - pathology; Facial Features; Feedback (Response); Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Human; Human Body; Human resources; Humans; Interviews; Interviews as Topic; Job Applicant Interviews; Job Applicants; Job Application; Male; Managers; Measures (Individuals); Memory; Mental Recall - physiology; Nonverbal Communication; Occupational psychology; Organizational behavior; Orientation. Selection. Evaluation; Personal appearance; Personnel Selection; Prejudice; Psychological Tests; Psychology; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Recruitment; Self Management; Self-Regulation; Selfregulation; Short Term Memory; Social Discrimination; Social Perception; Stigma; Stigmatization; Stroop Test; Studies; Undergraduate Students; Visual Perception - physiology; Visual Stimuli; Visual Tracking; Young Adult; self-regulation; stigma; discrimination; eye tracking; interviews; Human; Job applicant; Discrimination; Social interaction; Stigma; Self regulation; Eye movement; Interview
• ISSN: 0021-9010; 1939-1854
• DOI: 10.1037/a0025799

Drawing from theory and research on perceived stigma (Pryor, Reeder, Yeadon, & Hesson-McInnis, 2004), attentional processes (Rinck & Becker, 2006), working memory (Baddeley & Hitch, 1974), and regulatory resources (Muraven & Baumeister, 2000), the authors examined discrimination against facially stigmatized applicants and the processes involved. In Study 1, 171 participants viewed a computer-mediated interview of an applicant who was facially stigmatized or not and who either did or did not acknowledge the stigma. The authors recorded participants' (a) time spent looking at the stigma (using eye tracker technology), (b) ratings of the applicant, (c) memory recall about the applicant, and (d) self-regulatory depletion. Results revealed that the participants with facially stigmatized applicants attended more to the cheek (i.e., where the stigma was placed), which led participants to recall fewer interview facts, which in turn led to lower applicant ratings. In addition, the participants with the stigmatized (vs. nonstigmatized) applicant depleted more regulatory resources. In Study 2, 38 managers conducted face-to-face interviews with either a facially stigmatized or nonstigmatized applicant, and then rated the applicant. Results revealed that managers who interviewed a facially stigmatized applicant (vs. a nonstigmatized applicant) rated the applicant lower, recalled less information about the interview, and depleted more self-regulatory resources.