Think Fast: The Role of Thin Slices of Behavior in Employee Selection Decisions

Abstract

This study integrates past research addressing decision‐making, employee selection, and influence processes in an attempt to provide both a theoretical and empirical foundation for future research addressing initial impressions throughout the interview process. Using data from a simulated hiring situation comprised of 28 recruiters and 229 applicants, the results suggest that initial impressions formed at the beginning of the interview make a substantive impact on final impressions. However, impressions formed at the career fair do not appear to impact final impressions without considering the interactive effects of decision confidence. Hypotheses proposing that decision confidence would moderate linkages between initial impressions formed at the beginning of the interview and both interview scores and final impressions were not supported. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these findings for selection.