Reducing racial bias : an additional benefit of asynchronous video interviews

Abstract

This research examines the effect of applicant races and interview modality on interviewers' evaluations in asynchronous video interviews (AVIs). The outcome of interview evaluations, individual-level racial attitudes are examined using a 3 (applicant races: White, Black, Asian) x 3 (interview modality: video, audio-only, partially blind modes) design. Prolific users from the United States (<i>N</i> = 319) participated in one of nine AVI conditions and rated the applicant's interview performance based on the materials they received. Analyses of variance revealed that in AVIs, the interview modality did not affect interviewers' evaluation. The effect of applicant races showed that two minority applicants received equal or higher scores than the White applicant. However, there was no effect of applicant races in the audio-only and partially blind modes as the visual cues are mainly resources that cause interviewers' racial bias. The interviewers' racial bias moderates interview evaluations of the Black applicant in the partially blind mode as interviewers who hold a higher level of racial bias rate the Black applicant lower. Several limitations of this study and practical implications for both interviewees of AVIs and employers using AVIs are discussed.