Which type of bias occurs when a respondent wish to create a favorable impression or save face in the presence of an interviewer ?)?

Interviewing
Types of Interviewing Bias and How To Minimize Them

By Indeed Editorial Team

Updated August 15, 2022 | Published May 17, 2021

Updated August 15, 2022

Published May 17, 2021

The Indeed Editorial Team comprises a diverse and talented team of writers, researchers and subject matter experts equipped with Indeed's data and insights to deliver useful tips to help guide your career journey.

Interviewing new hires for an organization can sometimes be a complex process. Leaders who interview potential new team members are usually responsible for balancing many factors at the same time. One important factor of interviewing to consider is the possible presence of interview bias, and how to avoid it.

In this article, we explain interviewing bias, share some common types of interviewing bias and discuss how to avoid it, to help you find and hire the best candidates for your organization.

What is interviewing bias?

Interviewing bias refers to the preconceived ideas about a candidate in the context of a job interview. Sometimes, interview bias can cause factors other than a candidate's qualifications to affect the outcome of their interview. An interviewer's perception of these candidates might be conscious, meaning they are aware of their thought process, or unconscious, meaning they are not aware of them. Being mindful of potential interview bias can help interviewers make sound hiring decisions.

Related: 13 Tips for Interviewing Candidates

Types of interviewing bias

Here are some common types of interviewing bias to remember when you conduct your interviews:

Central tendency bias

When evaluating several individuals using a consistent rating system, many individuals will rate most of them in the middle of that scale. This inclination to perceive most individuals as average is known as the central tendency bias.

Contrast effect bias

The contrast effect bias occurs when an interviewer compares a candidate to the individual who interviewed before them. If a strong candidate interviews after a person who is less qualified, for example, it might magnify the interviewer's perception of the strong candidate's abilities.

Cultural noise bias

Interviewers' and candidates' perceptions of attitudes and ideas that are considered socially acceptable may impact their communication in an interview. This often occurs when a candidate provides answers they believe are most generally appropriate in place of their own true opinions.

First impression bias

Interviewers may use their first perception of a candidate to shape their impression of that individual. First impression bias occurs when a candidate's behaviors and presentation in the first few moments of an interview impact the remainder of their interview or even affect the hiring decision.

Generalization bias

When an interviewer meets with an individual once during an interview, they may extend the candidate's interview behaviors to their general personality and outlook. This is known as generalization bias.

Variable questioning bias

Interviewers might change their questions from one interview to the next based on conscious or unconscious perceptions of each candidate. Asking different questions of different candidates may reflect or lead to bias.

Negative emphasis bias

Negative information often leaves a stronger impression than positive information. When a negative detail about a candidate informs the rest of an interview and impacts the hiring process, it may be an example of negative emphasis bias.

Nonverbal bias

Interviewers and candidates commonly communicate using nonverbal cues such as posture and gestures as well as verbal dialogue. When an interviewer prioritizes nonverbal communication to a degree that overlooks a candidate's skills and qualifications, it is known as nonverbal bias.

Recency bias

It is often easier to remember details from and evaluate interactions that occurred more recently than others. When more recent interviewees are perceived more positively than earlier ones, it is called recency bias.

Related: FAQ: Is It Better To Interview for a Job First or Last?

Similarity bias

Interviewers and candidates may discuss hobbies they share or display similar traits in an interview. Hiring decisions based on these similarities rather than a candidate's qualifications may be the result of similarity bias.

Stereotyping bias

A stereotype is a judgment of an individual based on perceived or imagined group characteristics rather than individual qualities. Stereotyping bias in interviewing occurs when an interviewer's perception of a candidate is based on stereotypes.

How to avoid interviewing bias

If you want to avoid interviewing bias when hiring for roles in your organization, here are some steps that can help:

1. Consider your hiring goals

Being mindful of interviewing biases is an important part of avoiding them in your hiring processes. It can help to consider your own hiring goals and specifically identify equitable hiring and interviewing practices you'd like to maintain before entering the interview setting.

2. Recruit broadly

When you know your own goals and objectives in interviewing, you can use an array of strategies to begin meeting them. Recruiting from a variety of locations and backgrounds, for example, can help diversify your candidate pool and avoid interviewing biases.

3. Use multiple interviewers

Next, set up conversations using multiple interviewers with specified questions. This can help alleviate the effects of any one individual's biases in interviewing.

4. Anonymize when possible

If at all possible, keep parts of the interview process anonymous. If your candidates must complete a test, for example, keep the names and profiles of individuals separate from their test results as long as you are able.

5. Develop structured, open-ended questions

Standardize your questions and questioning processes wherever possible. You might do this by providing every interviewer with an interview guide and a set of questions to use in their discussions. Try providing training for interviewers on avoiding bias, as well.

Related: Structured Interviews: What are They and Structured Interview Questions

6. Minimize unrelated discussion

In the interview setting, try to keep your conversations primarily relevant to the position they are applying for and their qualifications for the job. This can help support equitable hiring by minimizing the effect of personal similarities between the interviewer and the candidate.

7. Leverage a rubric

As you interview candidates, use a rubric to assess their skills and abilities as well as other factors you've established as necessary in your hiring process. Develop the rubric with attention to the necessary qualifications for the role being hired and provide every interviewer with the same criteria to use.

Related: Interview Rubrics: Definition, Templates and Examples

8. Take careful notes

Take notes as you interview each candidate, paying attention to their qualifications and abilities. Doing so while the interview is in session can help minimize the effects of bias that might occur if you write information down after the dialogue has concluded.

Which type of bias occurs when a respondent wish to create a favorable impression or save face in the presence of an interviewer?

4. Social Desirability Bias – respondent wishes to create a favorable impression or save face in the presence of an interviewer.

What are the 4 types of bias?

Let's have a look..

Selection Bias. Selection Bias occurs in research when one uses a sample that does not represent the wider population. ... .

Loss Aversion. Loss Aversion is a common human trait - it means that people hate losing more than they like winning. ... .

Framing Bias. ... .

Anchoring Bias..

Which type of bias occurs when a respondent wishes?

Social response bias is also known as social desirability bias. A Social Response bias can occur when the respondents wish to conform to what is socially acceptable answers.

What type of bias is interviewer bias?

What types of interviewer bias are there? There are numerous types of interviewer bias including stereotyping, first impression, halo and horn effect, affinity bias, central tendency, contrast effect, non-verbal bias, and cultural noise.