The Relation Between Deceptive Impression Management and Employment Interview Ratings: A Meta-Analysis

• Published in: Canadian journal of behavioural science 2021-04, Vol.53 (2), p.164-174
• Main Authors: Ho, Jordan L., Powell, Deborah M., Stanley, David J.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Behavior; Deception; Employers; Employment; Employment interviews; Honesty; Human; Impression Management; Job Applicant Interviews; Job performance; Meta-analysis; Personnel Selection; Rating; Ratings & rankings; Researchers; Systematic review
• ISSN: 0008-400X; 1879-2669
• DOI: 10.1037/cbs0000223

Deceptive impression management (IM) describes the intentional distortion of information to employment interview questions. In the present research, we conducted a meta-analysis examining the magnitude of the relation between applicants' use of deceptive IM and interview ratings. This research sought to address the mixed findings in the literature regarding the link between deceptive IM and interview ratings, as well as the limitation of how past meta-analyses were not able to distinguish between deceptive and honest tactics. Our results suggested that on average, deceptive IM was effectively unrelated to interview ratings. Moreover, we examined various moderators of this meta-analytic relation. Results indicated that the meta-analytic relation did not differ substantially based on the type of deceptive IM tactic examined, interview fidelity, student status, or participant gender. However, mean participant age was associated with the magnitude of and variability in study correlations. Lastly, results suggested that there are likely other unexamined moderators that may influence the deceptive IM-interview ratings relation. The present research ultimately contributes to our understanding of how deceptive IM is associated with interview ratings and how this relation may differ based on different research design and sample characteristics. Public Significance Statement Many job applicants intentionally misrepresent themselves-also known as the use of deceptive impression management tactics-with the aim of improving their likelihood of success in employment interviews. We conducted a systematic review of existing studies and found that on average, deceptive impression management was unrelated to interview ratings. However, there are likely some applicants who are skilled at misrepresenting themselves, whereas others are not; employers may still end up hiring applicants who successfully used deception in order to secure a job offer. La conduite stratégique des relations (CSR) à des fins trompeuses décrit la distorsion intentionnelle d'information en réponse à des questions durant une entrevue d'emploi. Dans la présente recherche, nous avons effectué une méta-analyse pour examiner l'ampleur de la relation entre l'usage de la CSR à des fins trompeuses par les postulants et l'évaluation des entrevues. Cette recherche faisait suite aux résultats mitigés dans la littérature au sujet du lien entre la CSR à des fins trompeuses et l'évaluation des entrevues, ainsi qu'au