Boris Vallée

First Name Popularity as Predictor of Employability

Abstract For more than fifty years, research in psychology has demonstrated that our evaluation of others may be influenced by their surname or first name. In this study, we evaluated the impact of the attractiveness and frequency of names in situations of recruitment for low qualification level jobs. Using data from a recruitment agency, we tested (binomial regression) for effects associated with first name popularity, surname frequency, first name + surname attractiveness, ethnicity, gender, and age on job interview outcome of 507 low qualified French persons. The logistic regression analysis indicated that, among the various variables tested, first name popularity remained the best predictor of employability.

« Contexte évaluatif, règles d’équité et d’égalité. Une approche stratégique de la justice distributive. »

Resume Cet article se situe dans le cadre des travaux portant sur la justice distributive en contexte organisationnel (Adams, 1965; Deutsch, 1975; Colquitt and Jackson, 2002). L’objectif de cette reflexion est d’apprehender le choix des decideurs pour l’egalite ou l’equite, selon une perspective politique. Pour cela nous prendrons appui sur le modele politique de la prise de decision en contexte organisationnel de Murphy et Cleveland (1995). Cette approche postule que l’on ne peut analyser correctement les decisions des managers si l’on ne tient pas compte du contexte immediat dans lequel ils evoluent, et qui conditionne leurs strategies. Deux etudes seront presentees. Les resultats observes tendent a legitimer la pertinence de cette approche.

Door-in-the-Face and But-You-Are-Free Testing the Effect of Combining Two No-Pressure Compliance Paradigms

According to Howard’s proposal of chaining compliance techniques and based on the proximity of interpretation of their effects, this study aimed to test a combination of two paradigms: a door-in-the-face request that makes a high-cost request before the target request and the but-you-are-free request that adds an evocation of freedom to the request. Two experiments were conducted (N = 120 and 1,292) to promote donations to non-profit organizations. There were four conditions. Participants were approached according to the door-in-the-face procedure, to the but-you-are-free procedure, to a combination of both of them, or directly in a control condition. There was an increase of compliance rates in experimental conditions compared to the control condition and an increase in the average amount donated in the combination condition compared to the control condition in the second study. Results are discussed in terms of responsibility and guilt mechanisms, and future developments are proposed.

When a service request precedes the target request: another compliance without pressure technique?

Empirical observation led us to identify a particular and widespread form of solicitation involving requesting a service before making the target request. Relating this form of solicitation to compliance paradigms based on consistency, we hypothesized that the technique would increase the compliance rates of individuals. 167 passersby were approached in the street for a money donation according to two conditions: the appeal for money was preceded by a service request or not. We found that those passersby receiving the service request and the monetary appeal were significantly more compliant than those receiving the monetary appeal only. The discussion focuses on the psychological mechanisms at work in the acceptance of the requests, and avenues for future research are suggested.

Operationalizations of the “but you are free” technique with the word liberty and the Statue of Liberty symbol on clothes: effects on compliance-gaining

The “but you are free” (BYAF) technique is a verbal compliance procedure which solicits people to comply with a request by telling them that they are free to accept or to refuse the request. This technique is based on the semantic evocation of freedom. In two studies, we explored another operationalization of this paradigm: the word “liberty” or a “Statue of Liberty” picture on the experimenters clothes. The data showed that the word liberty printed on a t-shirt produced the BYAF effect whereas the Statue of Liberty picture did not. These results provide some evidence consistent with using reactance and commitment theories to explain the paradigm, contrary to other theoretical interpretations proposed in the literature such as politeness and reciprocity theories.

Effets sur le jugement socioprofessionnel des explications causales en termes d’effort et de pouvoir d’autrui dans une situation de succès

Resume Faire uniquement reference a l’effort ou a l’intervention de la hierarchie (pouvoir d’autrui) afin d’expliquer une situation de reussite a-t-il un effet sur les jugements d’evaluateurs ? C’est a cette interrogation precise que cet article tente de repondre. Il prolonge et approfondit certains resultats obtenus par Chambon (2005) et Dompnier et Pansu (2007). Deux types d’explications causales ont ete etudiees (effort et pouvoir d’autrui) dans une situation de jugement socio-professionnel. Les resultats montrent que les explications liees a l’effort se differencient de celles en termes de pouvoir d’autrui en matiere de jugement de motivation professionnelle. En revanche, ces deux types d’explications amenent des jugements identiques de renforcement institutionnel (passage au statut de cadre), et d’utilite socioprofessionnelle. La cible deferente vis-a-vis de la hierarchie est enfin jugee plus desirable que la cible mobilisant des explications liees a l’effort.