Inferring incompetence from employment status: An audit-like experiment
Audit studies demonstrate that unemployed people are less likely to receive a callback when they apply for a job than employed candidates, the reason for this is unclear. Across two experiments (N = 461), we examine whether the perceived competence of unemployed candidates accounts for this disparit...
Main Authors: | , , |
---|---|
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2023-01-01
|
Series: | PLoS ONE |
Online Access: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9997970/?tool=EBI |
_version_ | 1811154316804751360 |
---|---|
author | Celestin Okoroji Ilka H. Gleibs Simon Howard |
author_facet | Celestin Okoroji Ilka H. Gleibs Simon Howard |
author_sort | Celestin Okoroji |
collection | DOAJ |
description | Audit studies demonstrate that unemployed people are less likely to receive a callback when they apply for a job than employed candidates, the reason for this is unclear. Across two experiments (N = 461), we examine whether the perceived competence of unemployed candidates accounts for this disparity. In both studies, participants assessed one of two equivalent curriculum vitae’s, differing only on the current employment status. We find that unemployed applicants are less likely to be offered an interview or hired. The relationship between the employment status of the applicant and these employment-related outcomes is mediated by the perceived competence of the applicant. We conducted a mini meta-analysis, finding that the effect size for the difference in employment outcomes was d = .274 and d = .307 respectively, while the estimated indirect effect was -.151[-.241, -.062]. These results offer a mechanism for the differential outcomes of job candidates by employment status. |
first_indexed | 2024-04-10T04:13:42Z |
format | Article |
id | doaj.art-531383075fea4176aa5c96b5da4cd66a |
institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
issn | 1932-6203 |
language | English |
last_indexed | 2024-04-10T04:13:42Z |
publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
record_format | Article |
series | PLoS ONE |
spelling | doaj.art-531383075fea4176aa5c96b5da4cd66a2023-03-12T05:32:22ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032023-01-01183Inferring incompetence from employment status: An audit-like experimentCelestin OkorojiIlka H. GleibsSimon HowardAudit studies demonstrate that unemployed people are less likely to receive a callback when they apply for a job than employed candidates, the reason for this is unclear. Across two experiments (N = 461), we examine whether the perceived competence of unemployed candidates accounts for this disparity. In both studies, participants assessed one of two equivalent curriculum vitae’s, differing only on the current employment status. We find that unemployed applicants are less likely to be offered an interview or hired. The relationship between the employment status of the applicant and these employment-related outcomes is mediated by the perceived competence of the applicant. We conducted a mini meta-analysis, finding that the effect size for the difference in employment outcomes was d = .274 and d = .307 respectively, while the estimated indirect effect was -.151[-.241, -.062]. These results offer a mechanism for the differential outcomes of job candidates by employment status.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9997970/?tool=EBI |
spellingShingle | Celestin Okoroji Ilka H. Gleibs Simon Howard Inferring incompetence from employment status: An audit-like experiment PLoS ONE |
title | Inferring incompetence from employment status: An audit-like experiment |
title_full | Inferring incompetence from employment status: An audit-like experiment |
title_fullStr | Inferring incompetence from employment status: An audit-like experiment |
title_full_unstemmed | Inferring incompetence from employment status: An audit-like experiment |
title_short | Inferring incompetence from employment status: An audit-like experiment |
title_sort | inferring incompetence from employment status an audit like experiment |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9997970/?tool=EBI |
work_keys_str_mv | AT celestinokoroji inferringincompetencefromemploymentstatusanauditlikeexperiment AT ilkahgleibs inferringincompetencefromemploymentstatusanauditlikeexperiment AT simonhoward inferringincompetencefromemploymentstatusanauditlikeexperiment |