Shake and Fake: the Role of Interview Anxiety in Deceptive Impression Management

Abstract

We investigated whether anxiety about self-presentation concerns during interviews (i.e., interview anxiety) is associated with applicants' use of deceptive impression management (IM) tactics. We examined the relationship between interview anxiety and deceptive IM, and we examined whether the personality traits of honesty-humility and extraversion would be indirectly related to deceptive IM through interview anxiety. Participants (N = 202) were recruited after an interview for a research assistant position. Interview anxiety scores were positively related to deceptive IM. Furthermore, there was evidence of a negative indirect effect of honesty-humility on deceptive IM, via overall interview anxiety. Also, extraversion was indirectly associated with deceptive IM through interview anxiety. Results suggest that deceptive IM can be used as a protective mechanism to maintain self-esteem or to avoid the loss of rewards. This paper is the first to examine the role of interview anxiety in interview faking.

Examining the situational antecedents of interview faking behavior: A qualitative study

“…Specifically, participants discussed how having a friendly interviewer led to lower anxiety and being less likely to fake as a result. These findings are consistent with recent research, as Powell et al (2021) Goffin, 2004) was positively related to faking in interviews. Thus, interview anxiety could also be incorporated into future theoretical frameworks of interview faking.…”

Self‐verification behavior as an employment interview tactic

“…In the case of the self‐verification behavior, the person has chosen to present themselves to the interviewer as they see themselves, and thus seems to be an interview tactic that may be associated with lower interview anxiety. In contrast, deceptive IM was related to higher anxiety ( r = .22), similar to what was found in Powell et al (2020).…”

“…A second reason that self-verification behavior may be associated with lower anxiety is the finding that anxiety about how to present oneself in an interview, or self-presentation concerns, are related to the use of deceptive IM in an interview (Powell et al, 2020). Powell et al (2020) argued that when job applicants experience self-presentation concerns, and they believe that presenting their true selves in the interview would not be the best strategy, they are more likely to engage in deceptive IM behaviors.…”

“…A second reason that self‐verification behavior may be associated with lower anxiety is the finding that anxiety about how to present oneself in an interview, or self‐presentation concerns, are related to the use of deceptive IM in an interview (Powell et al, 2020). Powell et al (2020) argued that when job applicants experience self‐presentation concerns, and they believe that presenting their true selves in the interview would not be the best strategy, they are more likely to engage in deceptive IM behaviors. In contrast, if a job applicant experiences no sense of discrepancy between their actual image and the image they want to project in an interview, they are also less likely to experience anxiety and may be more likely to engage in self‐verification behavior.…”

Emerging research in industrial–organizational psychology in Canada.

“…Even though this work continues to guide our understanding of personnel selection using more traditional methods, it also represents strong foundations to better understand the experiences of candidates facing various new technology-mediated selection techniques as selection evolves. For instance, the conceptual and empirical work by Deborah Powell, Silvia Bonaccio, Julie McCarthy, and Richard Goffin has significantly increased our understanding of applicant anxiety (e.g., McCarthy & Goffin., 2004;Powell et al, 2018Powell et al, , 2021. Such research will be essential to guide future work in this area, including understanding the anxiety experienced by applicants who encounter various forms of technology-mediated selection.…”