No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

Based on analyses of recorded real-life selection interviews in a law firm and in a government department, this study illustrates how crucial it is for job applicants to use the valuable skill of Impression Management (IM), that is, the attempt to portray a particular image by controlling the information available to others so that they will view the actor as he or she intended. By using verbal and non-verbal behaviours persuasively, job applicants can create an image of professionalism in a short period of time, structuring the interviewers’ impressions formed of the applicant in order to lead to high suitability ratings and job. Currently, there is much competition for jobs, hence applicants are faced with increasingly sophisticated selection techniques that aim to ensure only the best applicants are appointed. This study is located within the fields of communication and selection interviewing research and is underpinned by moral and ethical issues in regard to the deployment of power and empowerment of job applicants. The necessarily communicative approach involved qualitative data collection and description i.e. Conversation Analysis (CA) and Content Analysis (ContA). It is argued that because power influences language and language influences power, applicants may empower themselves in interviews by examining their beliefs and by adopting more powerful verbal behaviour. In time, and with further academic inquiry, more equality in interpersonal relations in the workplace could become the norm. The hope is that this study could be a catalyst for future research on preventing misuse of power through communication in the workplace and in social life. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

published_or_final_version / Language Studies / Master / Master of Arts

No description available.

An instructional package is presented for training pre-intern psychologists in behavioral interviewing techniques. A specific interview format, the Problem Identification Interview, was combined with microsetting technology to provide an efficient method of training consultation verbal skills. The instructional package was evaluated with a multiple baseline across subjects design. Results of the study indicated that verbal skills specific to the interviewing format were acquired when the instructional package was used. The acquired skills were maintained across several experimental sessions and at a two month follow-up. A social validation questionnaire revealed that subjects of the study found the training to be preferable to traditional methods and relevant to future applied practice. The implications of this study for the training of psychologists and other professionals providing problem solving services were discussed.

M.A. (Psychology) / The interview appears to be a very popular but nevertheless unreliable and invalid selection instrument. A need therefore exists to improve the selection interview and to place it on a more scientific basis. The purpose of this study can be summarized as the development of: an interview decision-making model an interview reference framework a selection interview interpretation guide Before these topics were discussed, the nature, definition, value, problematics and improvement of the selection interview were examined. Attention was given to the nature, purpose, function, formulation and classifica~ion of interview questions as well as to the interview as a measuring instrument and requirements such as objectivity, appropriateness, adaptability, standardization, reliability and validity. Various decision-making models were examined and discussed, and the decision-making attributes of the decision-maker (the interviewer) were studied. The requirements of the decision making process were discussed and a decision-making model was subsequently developed...