Work

Presents updates on the psychological aspects of work as of May 1, 2000. Incompetence of persons who perceive themselves to be intelligent; Weight discrimination in the workplace; Personality tests for job seekers.

By PT Staff, published on May 01, 2000

COMPETENCEThink You're Smart?

We've all had those annoying co-workers who knew less than anyone yet believed themselves superior to everyone. But their ignorance may not be so blissful in the long run.

When people are lacking in basic cognitive skills, such as logical reasoning and the ability to anticipate other people's reactions, "their incompetence robs them of their ability to recognize it," report David Dunning, Ph.D., and Justin Kruger, Ph.D., professors of psychology at Cornell University, in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. So the more incompetent you are, the more intelligent you believe yourself to be.

But while the self-deceiving may be perfectly happy, such "individuals will miss out on opportunities that could make their lives better," says Dunning. "They will forego the training that they need. They will not seek out second opinions that could correct basic mistakes. Thus, they may not rise in an organization. They may even get fired."

How to avoid being one of the clueless? "People should strive to improve their objective abilities," says Dunning. "They should ask themselves about reasons their decision might be wrong. It prevents them from being overconfident."

In some cases, of course, incompetence doesn't mean the end of your career. As Dunning notes, some companies reward cockiness, whether it's deserved or not.

--Amanda Druckman

DISCRIMINATION

A Weighty Matter

Three job candidates with equal qualifications interview for the same position: an African-American man, an average-size woman and a woman in a size-28 suit. Who gets the job?

"The overweight person is out of the running," says Mark Roehling, Ph.D., assistant professor of management at Western Michigan University's Haworth College of Business. Roehling's research and interviews show that weight discrimination is much more prevalent in the hiring process than bias against race or gender. Prejudice against overweight women is the most severe: One national survey indicates that white women who are just "slightly chunky" earn 6% less than thinner women, while white men who are a little heavy receive a 7% higher salary than slimmer men.

Size is maligned in other ways, too. Some managers become critical of heavy employees after receiving pressure from bosses or customers, says Roehling; others discriminate because of perceived costs, such as higher medical insurance costs. While many bosses are also prejudiced against minorities, overweight people are blamed for their condition. "You can't help if you're born female or African-American," says Roehling. "But there's a belief that overweight people are at fault" for their size. "It seems," he says, "to be the acceptable bias."

--Dana Asher

HIRING

The Profilers

For a now generation of job seekers, a polished resume may nut be enough. They may need a winning personality, literally.

More and more employers these days are asking job candidates to take personality tests as pert of the hiring process; in fact, personality testing is now a $400 million Industry, according to an estimate by the Association of Test Publishers. The reason is simple, says Industrial psychologist Robert Troutwine, Ph.D. "No company would hire without interviewing, but moot do a very poor Job of it," he says, especially for entry-level jobs.

There are around 2,500 personality test publishers in the Industry, and each puts out its own brand of survey. Troutwine's own 40-question "Evaluation of Service Potential" (ESP) test estimates candidates' performance potential with questions such as, "When faced with a problem do you: a) Get the supervisor involved or b) Try to solve it on your own, even though you might nut have all the information?" The ESP then evaluates a candidate's strengths and weaknesses based on their answers, using both an internal scale--which rates how well a candidate's personality traits match job requirements--and an external scale, which measures people skills.

No matter how you slice it, employers score, Troutwine says. Corporations that administer the test online can screen out candidates who don't match Job profiles. And the lucky ones they select for interviews are far more likely to be per formers than slackers.

--Peter Rebhahn