Effect of Framing on Applicants' Reactions to Personnel Selection Methods

*Behavioral Sciences Department, Ruppin Academic Center, Emek Hefer 40250, Israel. eyalg@ruppin.ac.il**School of Education, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91905, IsraelThis research demonstrates the effect of framing on applicants’reactions to two personnelselection methods: undergraduate grade point average and personnel interview scores.Presenting a selection situation framed positively (to accept applicants) caused applicantsto rate bothselectionmethods morefavorablyrelative to presentingthemwithanidenticalselection situation framed negatively (to reject the remaining applicants). Framing affectedreactions that emphasized distributive justice aspects of the selection situation andprocedural justice aspects. The results are consistent with Prospect theory and withFairness Heuristic theory. The paper offers a theoretical explanation for the effect offraming on applicants’reactions to personnel selection methods, discusses the implicationsof this effect, and suggests directions for future research.