Why does honest impression management positively influence interview ratings? The mediating effect of interviewers’ perceptions

Interviewee use of self-promotion and ingratiation impression management (IM) tactics consistently and positively predict interview ratings of interview performance as rated by the interviewer. Researchers have yet to determine exactly why these IM tactics relate to higher interview ratings. The Stereotype Content Model and previous empirical research provides evidence that two fundamental dimensions of social perception – Competence and Warmth – may act as mediators. Thus, this study aimed to examine competence and warmth as mediators of the relationship between IM tactics and interview ratings. I hypothesized that interviewers’ perception of interviewee competence mediates the relationship between honest self-promotion-IM and interview ratings, and interviewers’ perception of interviewee warmth mediates the relationship between honest ingratiation-IM and interview ratings. These hypotheses were tested using real interviews for a research assistant position. Using structural equation modeling, I found support for perception of competence as a mediator of the relationship between honest self-promotion-IM and interview ratings but did not find support for perception of warmth as a mediator of the relationship between honest ingratiation-IM and interview ratings. Results indicate that the Stereotype Content Model extends to the interview context with regards to the ubiquity of competence perceptions. In addition, interviewees can fare better in interviews by increasing their appearance of competence through honest self-promotion.