Is This Fair?
Personality Differences in Perceived Fairness of the Use of AI in Hiring Decisions
Introduction
• Investigating how individuals perceive fairness in AI versus human hiring, considering personality traits and hiring outcomes.
• Prior studies suggest people react less favorably to AI decision-makers, especially if they're rejected, impacting hiring processes.
Personality Variables
• Locus of Control: Higher locus of control means individuals believe they shape outcomes through their actions, while lower locus of control attributes outcomes to external factors like chance or others
• Openness to Experience: Reflects the level of originality, curiosity, and inventiveness in an individual
Key Results
• Consistent with our first hypothesis, participants perceived lower fairness when the hiring mechanism involved AI compared to human involvement.
• In line with our second hypothesis, participants perceived higher fairness when the decision resulted in acceptance rather than rejection.
• The third hypothesis received partial support: when the hiring mechanism was human, participants with a higher Locus of Control (LOC) perceived fairness more than those with a lower LOC; however, participants with higher internal LOC perceived AI -based hiring practices as fairer than those with lower external LOC.
• Regarding our fourth hypothesis, no significant main effects or interactions were found between OTE and the hiring mechanism.
Model
Method
Results
• Two hiring mechanisms (Human, AI) crossed with two hiring decisions (Accepted, Rejected) manipulated through vignettes.
• Participants (N = 171) (66% female; mean age of 39.43, SD = 14.51) were recruited through Prolific
• Ratings on Procedural justice and interactional justice
• Two personality scales: Locus of Control and Openness to Experience
Conclusion
Understand how hiring practices influence candidate perceptions to improve hiring processes.
Align hiring practices with candidates' locus of control (LOC) for better fit.
• Tailor hiring practices for fair perceptions, enhancing the candidate experience. Contact
