Ageism and Experience Bias in Employment Interviews Dustin Grant Williams
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University of North Dakota UND Scholarly Commons Theses and Dissertations Theses, Dissertations, and Senior Projects 8-2014 Ageism and experience bias in employment interviews Dustin Grant Williams Follow this and additional works at: https://commons.und.edu/theses Part of the Counseling Psychology Commons Recommended Citation Williams, Dustin Grant, "Ageism and experience bias in employment interviews" (2014). Theses and Dissertations. 413. https://commons.und.edu/theses/413 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, and Senior Projects at UND Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of UND Scholarly Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. AGEISM AND EXPERIENCE BIAS IN EMPLOYMENT INTERVIEWS by Dustin Grant Williams Bachelor of Arts, University of Missouri-Kansas, 2001 Master of Arts, University of Missouri-Kansas, 2007 A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the University of North Dakota in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Grand Forks, North Dakota August 2014 PERMISSION Title Ageism and Experience Bias in Employment Interviews Department Counseling Psychology Degree Doctor of Philosophy In presenting this dissertation in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a graduate degree from the University of North Dakota, I agree that the library of this University shall make it freely available for inspection. I further agree that permission for extensive copying for scholarly purposes may be granted by the professor who supervised my dissertation work or, in her absence, by the Chairperson of the department or the dean of the School of Graduate Studies. It is understood that any copying or publication or other use of this dissertation or part thereof for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. It is also understood that due recognition shall be given to me and to the University of North Dakota in any scholarly use which may be made of any material in my dissertation. Dustin Grant Williams July 1, 2014 iii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................... vii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................ viii ABSTRACT................................................................................................................... ix CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................... 1 Statement of the Problem ................................................................. 1 Significance of the Study ................................................................. 5 II. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE .......................................................... 7 Definitions and Prevalence of Ageism and Experience Bias .......... 8 Ageism .................................................................................... 8 Prevalence ............................................................................... 12 Work Experience .................................................................... 16 The Modern Expression of Ageism in Employment ....................... 17 Commonly Held Beliefs about Ageism and Employment...... 21 Higher Pay and Promotion ...................................................... 24 Productivity and Training ....................................................... 26 Impact of Age Discrimination ......................................................... 29 The Relationship between Ageism and Experience ........................ 32 Ageism and Employment Hiring Process ........................................ 33 iv The Purpose of this Study ................................................................ 36 Hypotheses ....................................................................................... 36 Hypothesis 1 ........................................................................... 36 Hypothesis 2 ........................................................................... 37 Hypothesis 3 ........................................................................... 37 III. METHODS ............................................................................................... 38 Study 1 (Preliminary Study) ............................................................ 38 Methods ........................................................................................... 39 Participants.............................................................................. 39 Instrument ............................................................................... 39 Procedure ................................................................................ 40 Results .............................................................................................. 40 Discussion ........................................................................................ 42 Study 2 (Pilot Study)............................................................... 43 Methods ........................................................................................... 43 Participants.............................................................................. 43 Measures ................................................................................. 44 Results .............................................................................................. 44 Discussion ........................................................................................ 45 Study 3 (Main Study) Methods .............................................. 45 Procedure ................................................................................ 48 Measures ................................................................................. 49 Analysis of Results .......................................................................... 52 v IV. RESULTS ................................................................................................. 53 Preliminary Findings............................................................... 53 Hypothesis 1 ........................................................................... 55 Hypothesis 2 ........................................................................... 55 Hypothesis 3 ........................................................................... 56 V. DISCUSSION ........................................................................................... 60 Limitations ....................................................................................... 63 Future Consideration........................................................................ 66 Implication for Hiring Personnel ............................................ 66 Implications for Future Research ............................................ 67 Conclusion ....................................................................................... 69 APPENDICES .......................................................................................... 71 REFERENCES ......................................................................................... 87 vi LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Discrimination by Year .................................................................................... 15 2. Similarities of Interview Excerpts ..................................................................... 40 3. Differences in Age of Interviewees ................................................................... 41 4. Belief in Competency of Interviewees .............................................................. 42 5. Hiring Experience and Length of Stay at Present Company in Years............... 46 6. Type of Industry Participants were Employed in .............................................. 47 7. Candidate Characteristics EFA (n = 202) .......................................................... 50 8. Correlation between Modified Fraboni Ageism Scale and Candidate Characteristics (N=201) ..................................................................................... 54 9. Means, Standard Deviations and Differences in Candidate Interview Ratings by Participant Age Category ................................................................ 58 10. Means, Standard Deviations and MANOVA to Compare the Effects of Participant Responses towards a Younger, Less Experienced Interviewee and an Older, More Experienced Interviewee ............................................................... 59 vii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would first and foremost like to thank my advisor, Cindy Juntunen, who without her help, encouragement, cajoling and faith in me I couldn’t even begin to imagine this process coming to fruition. I would also like to thank my dissertation committee: Dr. Perry, Dr. King, Dr. Navarro and Dr. Wang for their support, flexibility and assistance. The University of North Dakota’s Career Services whose help was invaluable. My parents: Donna, Larry and Sally have guided and supported me to this point in my life and continue to remain a source of strength for me. I would also like to thank my children: Savannah and Graham for being who they are, they were and are a constant source of amazement to me. And for Traci, always for Traci who without, none of this would be possible or as important. viii ABSTRACT The present study explored the effects of employment interviewee’s age and work experience