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Underestimating the importance of expressing intrinsic motivation in job interviews

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  • Woolley, Kaitlin
  • Fishbach, Ayelet

Abstract

Across five studies (N = 1428), we documented an important prediction problem in recruitment: Job candidates mispredicted how much recruiters valued expressions of intrinsic motivation (e.g., learning that a candidate desired meaningful work). In contrast, candidates more accurately predicted how much recruiters valued expressions of extrinsic motivation (e.g., learning that a candidate desired opportunities for career advancement). Social distance produced this discrepancy: People failed to realize others cared about intrinsic motivation as much as they did; therefore, they underestimated how much expressing that they valued intrinsic motivation mattered to others. Indeed, recruiters giving recruitment pitches also mispredicted how much admitted candidates valued learning that a company emphasized intrinsic motivation. As a consequence of the misprediction, candidates chose suboptimal pitches that failed to express their intrinsic motivation during job interviews, unless explicitly encouraged to take the recruiters’ perspective.

Suggested Citation

  • Woolley, Kaitlin & Fishbach, Ayelet, 2018. "Underestimating the importance of expressing intrinsic motivation in job interviews," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 1-11.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jobhdp:v:148:y:2018:i:c:p:1-11
    DOI: 10.1016/j.obhdp.2018.06.004
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Highhouse, Scott, 2008. "Stubborn Reliance on Intuition and Subjectivity in Employee Selection," Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Cambridge University Press, vol. 1(3), pages 333-342, September.
    2. Kausel, Edgar E. & Culbertson, Satoris S. & Madrid, Hector P., 2016. "Overconfidence in personnel selection: When and why unstructured interview information can hurt hiring decisions," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 27-44.
    3. Heath, Chip, 1999. "On the Social Psychology of Agency Relationships: Lay Theories of Motivation Overemphasize Extrinsic Incentives," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 78(1), pages 25-62, April.
    4. repec:cup:judgdm:v:8:y:2013:i:5:p:512-520 is not listed on IDEAS
    5. Fishbach, Ayelet & Choi, Jinhee, 2012. "When thinking about goals undermines goal pursuit," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 118(2), pages 99-107.
    6. DeVoe, Sanford E. & Iyengar, Sheena S., 2004. "Managers' theories of subordinates: A cross-cultural examination of manager perceptions of motivation and appraisal of performance," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 93(1), pages 47-61, January.
    7. Kaitlin Woolley & Ayelet Fishbach, 2016. "For the Fun of It: Harnessing Immediate Rewards to Increase Persistence in Long-Term Goals," Journal of Consumer Research, Oxford University Press, vol. 42(6), pages 952-966.
    8. Bohns, Vanessa K. & Newark, Daniel A. & Xu, Amy Z., 2016. "For a dollar, would you…? How (we think) money affects compliance with our requests," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 45-62.
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    Cited by:

    1. Nault, Kelly A. & Sezer, Ovul & Klein, Nadav, 2023. "It’s the journey, not just the destination: Conveying interpersonal warmth in written introductions," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 177(C).
    2. Lopez, Jessica M. & Woolley, Kaitlin & McGill, Ann L., 2021. "A preference for preference: Lack of subjective preference evokes dehumanization," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 52-67.

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