After conducting interviews with several bad candidates, Althea, a manager at Langrover Inc., interviewed a candidate who was better than the others in terms of skills and experience. Despite not meeting all the necessary qualifications, the candidate was hired by Althea. Which of the following errors did Althea most likely make?
A) The nonrelevancy error
B) The similarity error
C) The first-impression error
D) The contrast error

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Althea likely made the contrast error, which occurs when an interviewer's evaluation is influenced by comparing candidates against one another rather than against an objective standard. In this case, because the candidate seemed better in comparison to the previous bad candidates, Althea might have judged them more favorably than she would have if evaluating them independently or against a consistent set of criteria.

After Conducting Interviews with Several Bad Candidates, Althea, a Manager