Selection of gender‐incongruent applicants: No gender bias with structured interviews

Research suggests that the use of structured interviews can reduce gender bias in hiring. However, studies have been limited to gender‐neutral professions or laboratory simulations. The current study evaluated two components of the structured interview in a field sample of 691 applicants interviewing for a male‐dominated position of public transit operator. Multilevel modeling results show no significant differences in ratings across applicant gender with this highly structured interview. This relation was found in individual interviewer ratings and consensus panel ratings, as well as irrespective of interviewer gender and interviewer participation in comprehensive versus minimal training in structured interviewing. This study provided a conservative test in a male‐dominated profession to further validate the value of the structured interview for promoting equal hiring practices.     

应聘者非言语信息对面试官评分的影响:解释、测量和控制

应聘者非言语信息是影响结构化面试中面试官准确评分的一个重要因素。社会互动理论和拟剧论从面试官角度,社会影响理论和相互依赖理论从应聘者角度分别解释了非言语信息对面试官评分的影响。对非言语信息的测量,除了传统的自陈式问卷,一些新兴的计算机识别技术也被使用。为了消除非言语信息对面试评分准确性的影响,通常会从面试前、面试中和面试后三个阶段对其进行控制。未来可以基于机器学习和大数据分析,探索非言语信息对结构化面试评分的影响,建构新的理论以解释影响过程。     

Testing a modified cognitive interview with category clustering recall in Iran

The cognitive interview (CI) has been an effective method for interviewing eyewitnesses often leading to changes in legislation and practice in many countries. This study was the first to employ the CI in Iran and test whether category clustering recall (CCR) was superior to a free recall when incorporated within an investigative interview. A between‐subjects design assigned 66 participants to one of three interview conditions after they watched a mock robbery. The participants were interviewed 48 hr later using either a structured interview (SI), the CI, or a modified cognitive interview (MCI) that replaced free recall with CCR at the first retrieval attempt. Analysis of variance suggests CCR was more effective than free recall and the CI group recalled more information than the SI group, replicating the CI superiority effect. This has implications for law enforcement in Iran and worldwide by suggesting these techniques can be used to enhance recall.     

Effects of discriminatory interview questions and gender on applicant reactions

Justice and signalling theory were used to explain the effects of discriminatory interview questions on applicant reactions. Participants were randomly assigned to a hypothetical interview condition with four, two or no discriminatory questions. Discriminatory questions had a significant negative effect on participant’s reactions to the interview and interviewer; perceptions of employee treatment; and intentions to pursue employment, accept a job offer, and recommend the organization to others. Participants also responded less favorably to a female interviewer, and female interviewees reported more negative perceptions. In addition, a sequential model was supported in which discriminatory questions had a negative effect on reactions toward the interview and interviewer; reactions were positively related to organizational attractiveness; and organizational attractiveness was positively related to intentions to pursue employment, accept a job offer, and recommend the organization.     

The role of visual imagery in the enhanced cognitive interview: guided questioning techniques and individual differences

The cognitive interview utilises mnemonics and other techniques to facilitate obtaining information from victims and witnesses. Research has indicated superior recall to standard police interviews. However, there has been minimal research regarding the role of individual differences. One area that has generated spirited theoretical debate is imagery ability, as guided imagery questioning is an important part of the enhanced cognitive interview. Imagery is also arguably an integral part of several mnemonics employed in the technique. The present study investigated the role of individual differences in imagery ability, as well as the effect of explicit instructions to image, on recall performance. Participants completed the Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire (VVIQ), witnessed a film of a simulated crime, and were interviewed using the cognitive interview or a structured interview. While recall in the cognitive interview was superior, VVIQ scores had little relationship with recall of information. Further, recall elicited by guided imagery differed only minimally from that obtained using standard questioning in the structured interview. These results suggested that the relaxation and rapport building common to questioning in both interview conditions may evoke spontaneous imagery that is comparable to explicit instructions to image, regardless of individuals' inherent imagery ability. Future directions are discussed, including research focused on individual differences and a practical emphasis on context reinstatement and social facilitative techniques. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

How Effective is the Enhanced Cognitive Interview when Aiding Recall Retrieval of Older Adults including Memory for Conversation?

The percentage of older adults in the general population is growing. As a result, older adults are coming more frequently into contact with the Criminal Justice System as witnesses to and victims of crime. Older adults are also over‐represented in crimes where conversation detail is of particular importance to an investigation (e.g. distraction burglary). The present study therefore examined the efficacy of cognitive interview (CI) compared with structured interview in improving the recall of an event by older witnesses, specifically conversational detail. Young adults (19–54 years old), young‐old adults (60–74 years old), and old‐old adults (75+ years old) were asked to watch a short film of a laptop theft and were then, after a 1.5 hour delay, randomly allocated to one of two interview conditions. It was found that the CI significantly increased recall of all age groups, without increasing the amount of incorrect or confabulated information reported. The individuals in the young adult and the young‐old adult conditions were found to remember significantly more than the individuals from the old‐old adult condition, without decreasing the accuracy of the information. The CI enhanced memory for conversation gist, person and action detail. Results will be discussed in relation to interviewing and investigating practices. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Interviewing children with the cognitive interview: assessing the reliability of statements based on observed and imagined events

This paper investigated whether criteria stemming from the Reality Monitoring (RM) framework could be trusted to assess the reliability of statements obtained by the use of a cognitive interview (CI). Fifty-eight children, aged 10-11, participated. One-third watched a film about a fakir and were then interviewed according to a CI (n= 19). The remaining two-thirds made up a story about a fakir and were then interviewed according to either a CI (n= 21), or a structured interview (SI) (n= 18). The CI statements based on observed events contained more visual, affective, spatial and temporal information compared to CI statements based on imagined events. The CI statements based on imagined events did not differ from the SI statements based on imagined events. Considerable developmental work is recommended to turn the RM technique to a reliable test that could be used by practitioners.     

Interviewing intoxicated witnesses: Memory performance in theory and practice

Memory encoding and recall involving complex, effortful cognitive processes are impaired by alcohol primarily due to impairment of a select few, but crucial, cortical areas. This review shows how alcohol affects some, but not all, aspects of eyewitnesses' oral free recall performance. The principal results, so far, are that: a) free recall reports by intoxicated witnesses (at the investigated BAC‐levels) may contain less, but as accurate, information as reports by sober witnesses; b) immediate reports given by intoxicated witnesses may yield more information compared to reports by sober witnesses given after a one week delay; c) an immediate interview may enhance both intoxicated and sober witnesses' ability to report information in a later interview; and d) reminiscence seems to occur over repeated interviews and the new information seems to be as accurate as the previously reported information. Based on this, recommendations are given for future research to enhance understanding of the multifaceted impact of alcohol on witnesses' oral free recall of violent crimes.     

The Research Status of Clayman and Heritage’s (2002) The News Interview

The databases of three books with almost identical titles are examined in order to throw light on the theory of neutralistic professionalism of news interviewers and on the empirical logic of the most recent of the three: The news interview by Steven Clayman and John Heritage (2002). Instead of a theory of neutralism, a theory of perspectivity that applies to both interviewer and interviewee is presented. The logic of Clayman and Heritage’s arguments is found wanting in a number of respects: (a) their treatment of TV and radio interviews as if they were identical; (b) their treatment of news interviews in the United States and Great Britain as essentially the same in practices and ground rules; (c) their inferences from isolated excerpts to the structure of the news interview itself; (d) their very concept of the news interview as “an interactional encounter between a journalist and one or more newsworthy public figures” (p. 1). Inaccuracies in their database make it unsatisfactory as support for a theory of neutralistic professionalism. Despite these limitations, Clayman and Heritage provide an excellent overview of the recent history of the news interview in the United States and Britain and a wealth of information about the local organization of news interviews.     

A component analysis of job interview training for young adults with autism spectrum disorder

The job interview is a vital component to acquire employment. Individuals with autism spectrum disorder may experience difficulties with job interviews due to notable deficits in social and communication skills. We evaluated the relative impact of several components of a job interview training package on six participants' responses to commonly asked interview questions. We used a multiple baseline design across participants to present the following components: written instructions, rehearsal and video self‐feedback with a commercially available training program, and verbal feedback delivered by the experimenter. Results demonstrated that all participants required an additional behavioral skills training session to meet our mastery criterion. However, once training was complete, all participants showed generalized performance when the interview questions were presented in a varied format and by a novel interviewer outside of the training environment. In addition, their performance was maintained at follow‐up.     

Using baseline to diagnose internal states? Listen closely

Little is known about the mechanisms underlying how interviewers establish and monitor baselines of respondent behaviour. This study addresses this knowledge gap by characterising the practice of establishing baselines and measuring the accuracy of interviewer judgements based on assessments of baseline and departure behaviours. Eighteen professional interviewers viewed two videos of naturalistic interviews, reported the cues they perceived as informative for establishing and assessing a baseline, and diagnosed respondents' internal states. Participants reported multiple cue types as informative, but predominantly relied on non‐verbal cues. Overall, participants were sensitive to 27% of respondents' identified internal states but showed improvement over time. They achieved a hit rate of 20% during early interview stages and a hit rate of 33% during late stages. Although non‐verbal cues dominated reports, attending to verbal cues afforded participants greater efficiency in identifying respondent internal states. Implications and recommendations for practice are discussed.     

研究性访谈及其应用现状和展望

在科学研究中,研究性访谈作为一种定性研究方法得到了广泛的应用,然而这种定性方法在当前的研究领域中并没有受到足够的重视。本文立足于研究性访谈这种重要的研究方法,着重讨论三个问题：一是研究性访谈的概念、分类和程序;二是目前关于研究性访谈的方法论研究;最后对研究性访谈的应用和发展进行了评价和展望。作者认为结构因素可能是影响访谈效度的主要因素;而信度与结构化、标准化、主试培训等因素有关;社会背景和访谈情境的交互作用将成为未来访谈研究的新趋势;研究性访谈在我国的应用存在一定的文化适应问题,并有待加强和科学化。     

The Variability of Criterion‐Related Validity Estimates Among Interviewers and Interview Panels

The authors examined differences in criterion‐related validity estimates among ratings from individual interviewers and interview panels within a structured interview. Senior non‐commissioned officers (NCOs) in the U.S. Army (N=64) conducted panel interviews with 944 junior NCOs during a concurrent validation project. Analysis of the data revealed considerable variation in interviewer validity coefficients in relation to multiple performance criteria. Results also indicated the importance of adopting a multivariate perspective when evaluating interviewer validity differences in that the amount of variation in validity coefficients differed both by interview dimension and criterion. A similar pattern of findings emerged when analyses were performed on ratings averaged within interview panel. Nonetheless, when meta‐analysis was used to estimate the amount of true variance in interviewer‐ and panel‐level validity coefficients, most or all of the variance for some interview‐criterion combinations appeared to be due to statistical artifacts.     

Dynamics of verbal interaction between interviewer and child in interviews with alleged victims of child sexual abuse

A number (n = 27) of investigative interviews with children were analyzed with a view to explore the verbal dynamics between interviewer and child. Different types of interviewer utterances and child responses were defined, and the interrelationships between these were explored. The effectiveness of different interviewer utterances in eliciting information from children as well as the type of utterance the interviewer used to follow up an informative answer by the child were investigated. Option-posing and suggestive utterances made up for more than 50% of interviewer utterances, the proportion of invitations being only 2%. Invitations and directive utterances were associated with an increase in informative responses by the child, the adverse being true for option-posing and suggestive utterances. Interestingly, even after the child had provided an informative answer, interviewers continued to rely on focused and leading interviewing methods--in spite of a slight improvement in interviewing behavior.     

Estimating the reliability of interview data

A model for a score based on an interview is presented which identifies the effect due to the subject, to the manner in which the interviewer tends to conduct his interviews, to the criteria he tends to use in scoring subjects' responses, to the compromises he tends to adopt between the demands of interviewing and those of scoring, and to chance errors. A suggested experimental design calls for each ofK investigators to interview a different sample ofN subjects, but for all investigators to score each subject. The drawing of inferences when interest is only in theK participants in the reliability study is considered, and a numerical example is given.This work was supported in part by grant DE R01 00793 from the National Institute of Dental Research, and in part by grants MH 08534 and MH 09191 from the National Institute of Mental Health, and forms part of the author's Ph.D. dissertation at Columbia University. The guidance provided by Professor T. W. Anderson is gratefully acknowledged.     

结构化面试预测效度的贡献成分分析

以情境面试和行为面试为主要形式的结构化面试,被广泛证明能够预测员工绩效,但其构念效度一直没被清晰地证明.面试的结构性、应聘者印象管理行为、动机、认知能力和人格特征等成分对结构化面试的预测效度都有积极贡献,这种对结构化面试预测效度贡献成分的分析有助于认清结构化面试的构念效度.未来的研究需关注结构化面试构念是否以人际技能为主,以及人际技能、动机、认知能力各自所占比重.     

多面Rasch模型在结构化面试中的应用

使用项目反应理论中的多面Rasch模型,对66名考生在结构化面试中的成绩进行分析,剔除了由于评委等具体测量情境因素引入的误差对原始分数的影响,得到考生的能力估计值以及个体水平的评分者一致性信息。对基于考生能力估计值和考生面试分得到的决策结果进行比较,发现测量误差的确对决策造成影响,对个别考生的影响甚至相当巨大。进一步使用Facets偏差分析以及评委宽严程度的Facets分析追踪误差源。结果表明,将来自不同面试组的被试进行面试原始成绩的直接比较,评委的自身一致性和评委彼此之间在宽严程度上的差异均将导致误差。研究表明,采用Facets的考生能力估计值作为决策的依据将提高选拔的有效性。同时,Facets分析得到的考生个体层次的评分者一致性指标,以及评委与考生的偏差分析等研究结果还可以为面试误差来源的定位提供详细的诊断信息     

SMALL GROUP BEHAVIORAL TRAINING TO IMPROVE THE JOB INTERVIEW SKILLS REPERTOIRE OF MILDLY RETARDED ADOLESCENTS

Four retarded adolescents, enrolled in a short-term residential treatment program, received behavioral job interview skills training. Although potentially employable, each was unable to present himself effectively in standard employment interviews. Treatment consisted of a series of behavioral group sessions using instructions, modeling and rehearsal procedures to increase, in multiple baseline fashion, such skills as the adolescents' ability to disclose positive information about their experience and background, convey interest in the position and direct relevant questions to an interviewer. Effectiveness of treatment for each client was assessed by: (1) Objective ratings of performance during individual, structured role-play job interviews following each treatment group; (2) objective ratings of pre- and posttraining performance during tape recorded in vivo generalization job interviews at a fast-food restaurant; and (3) global evaluations of pre- and posttraining in vivo generalization interviews made by experienced personnel interviewers unfamiliar with the nature of the treatment. The results indicated that potentially employable retarded citizens can be successfully taught appropriate job interview behavior using a small group behavioral procedure. The need for such techniques in community and rehabilitation centers for retarded citizens and other clinical populations is discussed.