The effects of job type and applicant race on attributions for job selectio

This study examined whether job applicants were differentially evaluated based on their race and the job into which they were hired. The dependent variables were three causal attributions, ability, effort, and luck, and a fourth attribution, affirmative action. One hundred and thirty student subjects reviewed personnel materials of a recently hired fictional applicant. The hiree was either White, Latino, or Black and was hired into one of two positions. The subjects were asked to determine the degree to which they felt the applicant was hired because of each of the aforementioned causal attributions. Analysis indicated that there were no significant main effects for applicant race nor were there any interactions between race and job type for attributions for hire.