RECRUITERS' USE OF GPA IN INITIAL SCREENING DECISIONS: HIGHER GPAs DON'T ALWAYS MAKE THE CUT

The relationship between college grade point average (GPA) and recruiters' initial screening decisions was examined using data from 548 job postings in a college recruitment program. Results indicate that in-major grade point average (GPA) is more strongly associated with screening decisions ( p = 0.18, SD_P = 0.200) than is overall GPA ( p = 0.06, SD_P = 0.187), but the magnitudes of the relationships varied across decision sets including a larger number of negative values than would be expected from sampling error alone. Subsequent examination of the bivariate data identified 6 different plot types suggesting that recruiters use a variety of GPA decision rules to initially screen applicants in college recruiting. The most common data plots found in 42% of the decision sets suggests that recruiters do not use GPA in screening decisions. But a surprising 81 of 548 decision sets indicated recruiters selected against applicants with high GPAs. Evidence that organizations recruiting for the same job produced different plot types suggests that the use of GPA data in initial screening decisions may be idiosyncratic to individual recruiters.     

MEASURING INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN THE NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION OF AFFECT: THE SLIDE-VIEWING PARADIGM1

This paper describes the slide-viewing paradigm for measuring nonverbal sending accuracy—the spontaneous tendency to display communicative nonverbal behavior— and nonverbal receiving ability—the ability to accurately decode such behaviors when they occur in others. Sending accuracy has been measured in adults, preschool children, and brain-damaged patients, and suggestive relationships have emerged between sending accuracy and gender, personality, autonomic responding, and presumed site of brain damage. The pattern of results suggests that sending accuracy may be related to both unlearned, temperamental factors and to gender-related social learning experiences. Receiving ability has been measured in adults and preschool children, and relationships with various measures have been demonstrated.