The results of the study supported the predicted hypotheses. Firstly, the resumes which supposedly belonged to the Internally Displaced Persons received overall higher hiring recommendation scores than those that had the control locations specified as birthplaces. This shows that positive biases likely exist in favor of the IDPs; thus, the previous findings that positive biases exist in favor of disabled people whose disabilities were caused by external factors (Bordieri & Drehmer, 1986), can be generalized to people who experienced distressing life circumstances caused by external factors, but which did not necessarily result in a disability.
The second important result was the dependence of the effect of personality fit on whether the alleged applicant was an IDP. Explicit bias was directly included in the study through the pretend personality test results, but its effects alone did not explain the differences between the IDP and control resumes. Namely, if the positive biases were only explicit, we would expect the hiring recommendation scores to decrease by the same amount between the high and average personality fits across all birthplaces. However, when the resume was …show more content…
The existence of positive biases for the IDPs strengthens the bases for the argument that positive biases may exist for a multitude of populations affected by negative external circumstances. This deepens our understanding of the nature of biases in general and provides a platform for further research in populations who suffer from different external distress factors such as natural disasters, chronic illnesses, ethnic persecution or financial losses due to shocks to economy. Additionally, the identification of implicit positive biases serves as a first step in the research of the nature of positive biases and provides building blocks to further narrow down the mechanisms operating behind
The second important result was the dependence of the effect of personality fit on whether the alleged applicant was an IDP. Explicit bias was directly included in the study through the pretend personality test results, but its effects alone did not explain the differences between the IDP and control resumes. Namely, if the positive biases were only explicit, we would expect the hiring recommendation scores to decrease by the same amount between the high and average personality fits across all birthplaces. However, when the resume was …show more content…
The existence of positive biases for the IDPs strengthens the bases for the argument that positive biases may exist for a multitude of populations affected by negative external circumstances. This deepens our understanding of the nature of biases in general and provides a platform for further research in populations who suffer from different external distress factors such as natural disasters, chronic illnesses, ethnic persecution or financial losses due to shocks to economy. Additionally, the identification of implicit positive biases serves as a first step in the research of the nature of positive biases and provides building blocks to further narrow down the mechanisms operating behind