Do human resource professionals practice the self-fulfilling prophecy: An examination of the influence of applicant gender and applicant weight in the context of an employment selection decision

Merton (1957) said the following phenomenon exists when "a false definition of the event evokes a new behavior that makes the original false conception come true" (p. 423). The employment interview has been labeled as a self-fulfilling prophecy (Dipboyle, 1982; Snyder, 1984; Dipboye & Macan, 1988). Findings from a variety of research areas suggest that the initial impressions interviewers form in the pre-interview phase can be particularly important in determining events of subsequent phases of the interview and future job performance and success. Support for this contention can be found in the basic social psychological research on self-fulfilling prophecies (Darley & Fazio, 1980). Webster (1982) claims substantial support for the notion that "an employment interview's decision as to an applicant's acceptability can be influenced by the information received in advance of early in an interview" (p. 41).; In a continuation of the research performed by Sype (1993) on potential bias in the employment interview phase of the applicant selection process, based on applicant gender and weight, it was hypothesized that overweight (obese) applicants would be less preferred as coworkers, supervisors, and potential managers; less likely to receive a job offer; more likely to receive a lower salary offer, and less likely to be successful in a Position filled. It was additionally hypothesized these results would be more pronounced for females and especially for obese females.; Subjects were 472 Human Resource professional members of the Society for Human Resource Management Association chapters in Tom and North Carolina. Subjects were shown a "video resume" of one of four candidates; a normal weight, Caucasian male; a normal weight Caucasian female; an "altered" obese, Caucasian male; and an "altered" obese, Caucasian female. Candidate qualifications were held constant across all other conditions. Subjects rated the candidate on measures of coworker, superior, and subordinate desirability; made hiring decisions; made salary recommendations; and rated the likelihood of the candidates' success in his/her job.; Results generally indicated that raters were biased against obese candidates in the employment interview process.