Department

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Dept. of Psychology

Publisher

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Place of Publication

Chattanooga (Tenn.)

Abstract

The purpose of the proposed study aims to investigate the potential biases that individuals may experience when reentering the workforce after taking time off to raise children. The Ambiguity Aversion Theory (AAT) and the Role Congruity Theory (RCT) are possible theories to suggest reasons why individuals may engage in certain biases when selecting an applicant with or without a gap in the resume. Participants will be asked to either hire or not hire an applicant for a job based on the applicant’s qualifications described in a narrative. Gender of the applicant will vary across conditions. The narrative will include information about the applicant’s education and experience that clearly meets the requirements for the job. If an applicant has a gap in the resume, the narrative will also include either an explanation for the gap (i.e., is a time-out from the workforce to raise children), or there will not be an explanation for the gap. Depending on the pattern of results (i.e., participants’ decision to hire or not hire an applicant based on their qualifications described in the narrative) will provide an indication about which theory (or theories) best explain the results.

Date

October 2017

Subject

Industrial and organizational psychology

Document Type

posters

Language

English

Rights

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/

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Oct 28th, 10:00 AM Oct 28th, 10:55 AM

Individuals reentering the workforce: Biases, stereotypes, and gender roles.

The purpose of the proposed study aims to investigate the potential biases that individuals may experience when reentering the workforce after taking time off to raise children. The Ambiguity Aversion Theory (AAT) and the Role Congruity Theory (RCT) are possible theories to suggest reasons why individuals may engage in certain biases when selecting an applicant with or without a gap in the resume. Participants will be asked to either hire or not hire an applicant for a job based on the applicant’s qualifications described in a narrative. Gender of the applicant will vary across conditions. The narrative will include information about the applicant’s education and experience that clearly meets the requirements for the job. If an applicant has a gap in the resume, the narrative will also include either an explanation for the gap (i.e., is a time-out from the workforce to raise children), or there will not be an explanation for the gap. Depending on the pattern of results (i.e., participants’ decision to hire or not hire an applicant based on their qualifications described in the narrative) will provide an indication about which theory (or theories) best explain the results.