Technology in the Employment Interview: A Meta-Analysis and Future Research Agenda

The use of technology such as telephone and video has become common when conducting employment interviews. However, little is known about how technology affects applicant reactions and interviewer ratings. We conducted meta-analyses of twelve studies that resulted in K=13 unique samples and N=1,557. Mean effect sizes for interview medium on ratings (d=-.41) and reactions (d=-.36) were moderate and negative, suggesting that interviewer ratings and applicant reactions are lower in technology-mediated interviews. Generalizing research findings from face-to-face interviews to technology-mediated interviews is inappropriate. Organizations should be especially wary of varying interview mode across applicants, as inconsistency in administration could lead to fairness issues. At the same time, given the limited research that exists, we call for renewed attention and further studies on potential moderators of this effect

A Unifying Framework to Study Workplace Decision-Making Aptitude and Performance

Employers are facing a skills shortage in the labor market: there are not enough workers who can perform the complex decision-making tasks that characterize 21st-century work. This manuscript aims to stimulate research investigating the relationship among individual differences, decision-making aptitude, and decision performance. We offer guidelines for future research by laying out a framework to unify disparate streams of research from organizational science, and judgment and decision-making research. We advocate for the use of pattern-oriented analytical approaches to capture the complexities of the predictor and criterion space

Avoidant authority: The effect of organizational power on decision-making in high-uncertainty situations

Individuals in positions of power are often required to make high-stakes decisions. The approach-inhibition theory of social power holds that elevated power activates approach-related tendencies, leading to decisiveness and action orientation. However, naturalistic decision-making research has often reported that increased power often has the opposite effect and causes more avoidant decision-making. To investigate the potential activation of avoidance-related tendencies in response to elevated power, this study employed an immersive scenario-based battery of least-worst decisions (the Least-Worst Uncertain Choice Inventory for Emergency Responses; LUCIFER) with members of the United States Armed Forces. In line with previous naturalistic decision-making research on the effect of power, this research found that in conditions of higher power, individuals found decisions more difficult and were more likely to make an avoidant choice. Furthermore, this effect was more pronounced in domain-specific decisions for which the individual had experience. These findings expand our understanding of when, and in what contexts, power leads to approach vs. avoidant tendencies, as well as demonstrate the benefits of bridging methodological divides that exist between “in the lab” and “in the field” when studying high-uncertainty decision-making

How Product Development Methods Solve I-O Psychology’s Relevance Problem

Fifteen years ago, Ryan and Ford (2010) argued that I-O psychology’s professional identity was facing a tipping point of losing its distinctiveness. I-O psychology has grown, but irrelevance amid growing competition is still a risk. The challenge lies in failing to truly understand the needs of ‘customers.’ To overcome these challenges, we argue that I-O psychologists should view the field as a “product,” a solution set aligned with a deep understanding of customer needs, by adopting product development methods such as continuous discovery. In doing so, I-O psychology can address its existential identity crisis and adoption challenges, ultimately leading to the intended goal of positively impacting the workplace. We give a brief background on product development, introduce three continuous discovery practices, and provide several illustrations of continuous discovery from four I-O personas