Sounds like a match: Leveraging the stereotype content model to understand and overcome accent and gender discrimination in job interviews

Job candidates can face discrimination based on accent alone, but few studies have examined the interaction between candidate accent, candidate gender, and any resulting discrimination. The current study incorporates the Stereotype Content Model to test whether the discrimination that non-native accented speakers face is correlated with perceptions of low warmth and/or competence. Additionally, the current study seeks to counteract effects of perceived low warmth or competence by having the speaker verbally signal high warmth or competence. Alongside a Standard American accent, two non-native accents (Asian and Hispanic) are used to measure how stereotypes vary across accents and genders. Each accent is represented by a male and female speaker for a total of six speakers. Each speaker will be recorded three times: a control recording with standard answers to interview questions, an almost identical recording signaling competence, and an almost identical recording signaling warmth. This eighteen-condition study will be a between subjects design. We expect that candidates can counteract negative stereotypes of their accent and gender combination through appropriate signaling of warmth or competence.

Slide 1: “Sounds like a match: Leveraging the stereotype content model to understand and overcome accent and gender discrimination in job interviews, by Renee McCauley.”

Slide 2: “We know that employers can’t discriminate against job candidates on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin, but have you ever considered what traits haven’t made that list? Specifically, accent is not a protected status according to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, but accent can serve as an indicator of national origin.”

Slide 3: “Previous research has demonstrated that job candidates are discriminated against based on accent, but much of this research has focused on male candidates or failed to specify the candidate gender. Since there is a huge body of research that demonstrates that people have different experiences based on their gender, I wanted to study the intersectional experience of accent and gender in the job interview process.”

Slide 4: “This summer I’ve been reading lots of journal articles so that I can lay a sound theoretical foundation for my study. One of the key theories that my study will apply is the Stereotype Content Model, otherwise known as the SCM. The SCM proposes that we judge others on two key traits: warmth and competence. Studies indicate that there are four quadrants of SCM impressions: the ingroup is stereotypically judged as high in competence and high in warmth; a second group, the enviable, but competing outgroup, is judged as high in competence, low in warmth; a third group, the pitiable outgroup, is judged as high in warmth, and low in competence; and lastly the despised outgroup is judged as low in warmth and low in competence.”

Slide 5: “In my study, I use three accents to symbolize three of the four stereotype quadrants. A large body of research supports the stereotypes found in America for the following people groups: native-born White Americans are perceived as the ingroup (high in competence, high in warmth), Asians are viewed as the enviable but competing outgroup (high in competence, but low in warmth), and Hispanics are viewed as the pitiable outgroup (low in competence, high in warmth). In our study, we represent each of these ethnic groups by their accent alone. Each accent is represented by both a male and female speaker so we can see how gender interacts with accent perception.”

Slide 6: “My study has 18 conditions. I have six readers, a male and a female reader for each of my three accent types, which are American, Asian, and Hispanic.”

Slide 7: “I will have three recordings of each candidate. One recording will be a control recording that is just standard answers to normal interview questions. The next recording will be almost identical, but the candidate will have an extra line or two signaling their warmth. The last recording will be almost identical to the control recording but have an added line or two signaling the candidate’s competence.”

Slide 8: “My study will be a between-subjects design. Each participant will be assigned to randomly listen to one of the 18 recordings.”

Slide 9: “Then they will answer questions about the candidate’s hireability, warmth, and competence. Finally, they’ll answer some basic demographic questions. Once all our data is collected, we’ll start analyzing it to see what patterns emerge.”

Slide 10: “We expect the ingroup (speakers with Standard American accents) to be rated most highly by our participants.”

Slide 11: “We expect that our Asian and Hispanic candidates will be judged according to their gendered cultural stereotypes, with the Asian males ranked second highest on hireability,”

Slide 12: “Asian females ranked third highest on hireability,”

Slide 13: “Hispanic males ranked fourth highest on hireability,”

Slide 14: “and Hispanic females being ranked last on hireability.”

Slide 15: “However, we are hoping to see that our warmth and competence interventions counteract stereotypes. For instance, a Hispanic male who would normally be perceived as high in warmth, low in competence, would be able to fight low competence perceptions by signaling competence in his interview.”

Slide 16: “I’m excited to conduct this experiment and see what the results are! I’m very thankful to my mentors, Drs. Afra Ahmad and Ho Kwan Cheung, for guiding me during this process. I’d also like to thank the URSP office at George Mason for giving me support over the summer.”