Individual differences in selection decisions

Abstract

The cognitive variable "category width" was examined for its applicability to the problem of individual differences in selection decisions. Accept or reject decisions for 100 "applicant" descriptions were made by 146 Ss. Analysis of the decisions showed striking between-individual differences and within-individual consistencies in the number of applicants accepted. Differences in the width of the category "acceptable applicants" were found to be related to past learning and present motivational state. Evidence that category width is a general trait was also found. It was concluded that much decision variance can be accounted for in terms of the category width of the interviewer. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)