The effect of cultural directness preference on converging and maintenance.
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2022-07-11
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en
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Recent statistics showed that it takes ten to twenty job applications to get one interview, and ten to 15 job interviews to get a serious job offer (Reger, 2020). As a consequence, many experience the job acquiring process as stressful and strenuous (Ryu, 2016). The job interview is an integral part of this journey. Previous research has shown that speakers change their manner of speaking to fit with the conversational partner and that this happens unconsciously. The phenomenon is also known as the Communication Accommodation Theory (CAT). This theory often goes hand in hand with the similarity-attraction paradigm; which states that people evaluate those who are similar to them more positively than those who differ. It might thus seem logical that converging toward the job interviewer would lead to a more positive outcome of a job interview. Job interviewers often communicate in a direct communication style. Should a job candidate converge on this communicative style? Even when this style is not preferred in their own culture? In this research, both high-context and low-context participants listened to and rated a job candidate who either converged towards a direct style or maintained an indirect speaking style. It was hypothesised that the high-context cultures (UK) would prefer an indirect manner of speech (maintaining) whereas those with low-context cultures (Netherlands) would prefer the direct manner of speech (convergence). The results showed that for competence and hirability the candidate converging to the interviewer was evaluated more positively by both cultures. For likeability, the Dutch participants preferred convergence, whereas the English participants had no preference. While there is a great deal of information unknown; this study would advise interview candidates to converge to the interviewer to complete a job interview more successfully.
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