PSYCHOLOGY MASTER'S THESIS ABSTRACT

Whitney E. Smith
Industrial/Organizational
Fall 2007

Interviewee Perceptions of Structured and Unstructured Interview Questions

    The employment interview continues to be the most widely used tool for selection procedures.  Research has shown the importance of utilizing a structured interview format in selecting top applicants, however, we know little of how increasing interview structure impacts applicant perceptions of the interview process itself.  The purpose of the present study was to examine how both structured and unstructured interview questions impact interviewee perceptions of face and predictive validity.
    Results indicated that, contrary to expectations, participants focused more on the content of the interview item than the structure of the interview item.  Interviewees’ who perceived they performed well on the interview items rated the items as having greater validity perceptions for 3 out of the 4 items, which was supportive of expectations.  Interviewees’ level of tolerance for ambiguity was significantly related to face validity perceptions, but not to perceptions of predictive validity, which was partially supportive of expectations.

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