Do candidate reactions relate to job performance or affect criterion-related validity? A multistudy investigation of relations among reactions, selection test scores, and job performance.

Considerable evidence suggests that how candidates react to selection procedures can affect their test performance and their attitudes toward the hiring organization (e.g., recommending the firm to others). However, very few studies of candidate reactions have examined one of the outcomes organizations care most about: job performance. We attempt to address this gap by developing and testing a conceptual framework that delineates whether and how candidate reactions might influence job performance. We accomplish this objective using data from 4 studies (total N = 6,480), 6 selection procedures (personality tests, job knowledge tests, cognitive ability tests, work samples, situational judgment tests, and a selection inventory), 5 key candidate reactions (anxiety, motivation, belief in tests, self-efficacy, and procedural justice), 2 contexts (industry and education), 3 continents (North America, South America, and Europe), 2 study designs (predictive and concurrent), and 4 occupational areas (medical, sales, customer service, and technological). Consistent with previous research, candidate reactions were related to test scores, and test scores were related to job performance. Further, there was some evidence that reactions affected performance indirectly through their influence on test scores. Finally, in no cases did candidate reactions affect the prediction of job performance by increasing or decreasing the criterion-related validity of test scores. Implications of these findings and avenues for future research are discussed.

Black applicants' reactions to affirmative action plans: effects of plan content and previous experience with discrimination.

This study examined the effects of plan content and previous experience with discrimination on Black respondents' reactions to affirmative action plans. Black engineering students (N = 1,173) were randomly assigned to 1 of 6 plans implemented by a hypothetical organization and were asked to provide ratings of perceived fairness and intention to pursue a position at the organization. There were significant effects of plan content on perceived faimess and job pursuit intentions. Perceived fairness mediated the effect of content on intentions. Furthermore, previous experience with discrimination interacted with content to affect intentions. Individuals who had experienced relatively more discrimination in the workplace reported stronger intentions to pursue a position at an organization whose plan specified special training opportunities for minorities.