Attention to and recall of employment ad attributes: Who cares?

Jan Lucia Boe, Purdue University

Abstract

Even though there has been a significant increase in recruitment research in the last 15 years, much of this research has assumed that all people (regardless of individual differences) respond to recruitment activities similarly. This is especially true when examining the literature on reactions to employment advertisements. Additionally, research examining reactions to employment ads has often failed to employ theory-based foundations. The current study addressed the lack of a theoretically based rationale for explaining what employment seekers attend to and recall. Specifically, Klinger's current concerns theory (1975) and Higgins' (1997, 1998) regulatory focus theory were integrated in order to attempt to explain individual differences in emotional reactions, attention, and recall of work attribute information in on-line employment advertisements. Although the proposed research model was not supported, the results did indicate that participants responded with higher emotional intensity to negative cues than to positive cues and also that participants responded with higher emotional intensity to advancement cues than to achievement, skill variety, or safety cues.

Degree

Ph.D.

Advisors

Reeve, Purdue University.

Subject Area

Occupational psychology|Marketing

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