SIMILARITY BIAS AND RATINGS OF APPLICANTS - FACT OR ARTIFACT

The present study investigated the relationship between similarity of self-reported biodata and recruiter ratings of applicant job preparedn ess. Subjects included 108 dyads, each composed of a corporate recruit er and a university student applying for a position posted by the recr uiter's company. Because no effect of similarity bias was found, the r esults challenged the generalizability of previous laboratory study fi ndings. The question of possible experimental design artifacts in prio r field studies was also raised.