‘Faking’ From the Applicant's Perspective: A theory of self‐presentation in personnel selection settings

Abstract

The paper outlines an alternative theoretical perspective on what is most often discussed as ‘faking’ in the personnel selection literature. The basic premise of the present theory is that, from an applicant's perspective, self‐presentational behaviors in selection settings can be understood as attempts to adapt one's projected self‐image to situational demands of attracting prospective employers. Self‐presentation in selection settings is conceptualized as a process linking four distinguishable motivational and skills sets of individuals acting within context. As opposed to the faking perspective, the present self‐presentation perspective aims to (a) understand applicant behavior from the actor's perspective, (b) does not assume that self‐presentation is illegitimate, (c) broadens the scope of the discussion beyond personality testing and interviews, and (d) predicts effects on criterion‐related validity that range from negative, to neutral, to positive. Implications for research and practice are also discussed.