To Abolish Stereotypes, You Need to Be Aware of Them First! Development of a Coding Scheme to Identify Gender Stereotypes in Situational Judgment Tests

This study aimed to assess gender stereotypes in Situational Judgment Tests (SJTs), which are prominent simulative selection instruments. To address this goal, in Study 1 we developed a coding scheme to detect stereotype-consistent use of gender in selection methods. Results indicated that across ten different SJTs with altogether 263 items, 20.9% of the items showed stereotype-consistent use of gender. In Study 2, we examined whether the use or non-use of stereotype-consistent gender representation in SJT items affected applicant reactions. Contrary to the predictions of stereotype threat theory, results indicated that stereotype-consistent gender representation exists in various SJT items, but it seems to have only a limited impact on applicant reactions and performance of subgroups (i.e., women).