Rater Attributions of Malfunctions in Videoconference Interviews

Virtual interviews have become ubiquitous, yet research on the psychological effects of their technological characteristics remains sparse. Many practitioners caution that malfunctions that commonly occur during interviews may negatively influence interviewers' perceptions of an applicant. This concern is heightened for some groups of applicants, particularly those of certain age groups. Age stereotypes characterize older adults as technologically inept, and per the similarity effect, the dual ages of an applicant and an interviewer likely influence an interviewer's attributions of a technology malfunction. We explored these propositions by investigating the effects that one such malfunction, an echo, has on raters. This experiment used a 2 (younger applicant vs. older applicant) x 2 (younger rater vs. older rater) x 3 (no echo vs. minor echo vs. severe echo) between-subject design to test hypotheses. Results showed that raters generally made situational attributions of malfunctions. Raters blamed the echo on older applicants slightly more than younger applicants, but attributions did not predict perceptions of interview performance, decisions to hire, or salary recommendations. Malfunctions and age similarity were generally not related to hiring outcomes. These findings advance theories surrounding attributions and age biases while offering no clear evidence that specific age groups are at a disadvantage in virtual interviews.