The Impact of Applicant Disability on Personnel Managers' Evaluative Judgments

Abstract

This study was the investigation of the effects of five factors related to hiring handicapped individuals. The five factors were psychological disability, physical disability, no disability, and a good or poor work record. The purpose of the study was to determine whether a relationship existed between perceived employment decisions and (a) applicant disability; (b) applicant work record; and (c) personnel managers' demographic characteristics. The population from which the sample was drawn consisted of personnel managers in personnel associations and educational administrators in the piedmont and eastern sections of North Carolina in June and July of 1983. The sample for the study consisted of 133 persons, stratified by size of company or institution. The personnel managers were randomly assigned to one of six experimental conditions in a 2 x 3 (levels of disability x levels of work record) factorial design. Each subject reviewed staged information on the job applicant prior to listening to a taped job interview of the applicant. After hearing the interview, managers rated the quality of the interview, using the Job Interview Rating Scale and stated the probability that they would hire the applicant on the Probability Of Hire Score. Factors affecting personnel managers' decisions to hire the handicapped were identified through a personnel managers' questionnaire. Higher ratings of the job interview and higher probability of hiring occurred when a positive work record was present. Applicants were less likely to be hired if they had a psychological disability. Ratings of job interviews were not affected by disability levels. There were no interactions between work records and disability status. "Ability to perform job" and "productivity" were ranked by the managers as the most influential among the 26 factors considered by personnel managers when making decisions to hire the handicapped. None of the demographic variables of personnel managers of age, sex, education and experience were significant in their relationship to hiring. Sex of the interviewer appeared to be the best predictor of interview rating.