Interview Bias

Any interviewer may bring preconceived ideas or biases into an interview situation: these can have an
unintended impact on the hiring decision. The following list includes some of the types of interview bias
can occur. Once interviews are aware of these, it’s possible to reduce their impact on the selection
process:

Average/Central Tendency – The average bias becomes apparent when the interviewer has difficulty
deciding which candidate is best and rates all about the same.

Contrast – The contrast bias occurs when an interviewer compares candidates to each other or
compares all candidates to a single candidate. For example, if one candidate is particularly weak, others
may appear to be more qualified than they really are.

Cultural Noise – Cultural noise bias occurs when candidates answer questions based on information
they think will get them the job – what they think the interviewer wants to hear. For example, a
candidate who has been an individual contributor may tell an interviewer that they prefer working as a
part of a team if the interviewer stresses teamwork as a key job requirement.

First Impression – This bias can work either for or against a candidate, depending on the interviewer’s
first impression. A candidate who is very nervous and stutters during the first few minutes of the
interview may be viewed as less than qualified even if during the remainder of the interview they’re
posed and well spoken.

Gut Feeling – The gut feeling bias occurs when the interviewer relies on an intuitive feeling that the
candidate is a good (or bad) fit for the position without looking at whether the individual’s qualifications
meet the criteria established by the job specifications and candidate profile.

Halo Effect – The halo effect bias occurs when the interviewer evaluates a candidate positively based on
a single characteristic. For example, a candidate’s self-confident attitude may overshadow a lack of
experience in a particular requirement.

Harshness/Horn Effect – Harshness bias, or the horn effect, occurs when the interviewer evaluates a
candidate negatively based on a single characteristic.

Knowledge-of-Predictor – Knowledge-of-predictor bias occurs when the interviewer is aware that a

candidate scored particularly high (or low) on an assessment test that has been shown to be a valid
predictor of good performance.

Leniency – Leniency bias occurs when an interviewer tends to go easy on a candidate and gives a higher
rating than what is warranted, justifying it with a rationalization.

Negative Emphasis – The negative emphasis bias occurs when the interviewer allows a small amount of
negative information to outweigh positive information.

Nonverbal Bias – Nonverbal bias occurs when an interviewer is influenced by body language. For
example, a candidate who frowns when answering questions could be rated negatively even though the
answers were correct.
Question inconsistency – Question inconsistency bias occurs when an interviewer asks different
questions of each candidate. Although this is acceptable to a certain extent in order to delve more
deeply into each candidate’s qualifications, there is no baseline for comparison if there are no question
that were asked of all candidates.

Recency – The recency bias occurs when the interviewer recalls the most recently interviewed candidate
more clearly than earlier candidates.

Similar-to-Me – The similar-to-me bias occurs when the candidate has interests or other characteristics
that are the same as those of the interviewer and cause the interviewer to overlook negative aspects
about the candidate. For example, an interviewer who played college football may select a candidate
who did so even though the candidate’s qualifications aren’t the best for the position.

Stereotyping – The stereotyping bias occurs when the interviewer assumes a candidate has specific
traits because they are a member of a group. For example, an interviewer may assume that a woman
would not be able to successfully perform in a job that requires frequent lifting of packages weighing 50
pounds.
Source: Reed, S. M., & Bogardus, A. M., (2012). PHR/SPHR: Professional in Human Resources Certification Study Guide. Indianapolis, IN: John
Wiley & Sons Inc.