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Just Faking It or Faking It Well: Candidate Success in Manipulating Personality Interview Responses

Maja Parmač Kovačić et al.

Journal of Personnel Psychology2026https://doi.org/10.1027/1866-5888/a000386article
AJG 2ABDC B
Weight
0.50

Abstract

Abstract: This study investigates job applicants' success in distorting their responses during simulated selection interviews to match the ideal personality of a call center manager. We assess whether faking success relates to candidates’ job knowledge and interview familiarity. Simulated interviews were conducted with students/recent graduates ( N 1 = 102), focusing on extraversion and honesty/humility in two contexts: honest responding and induced faking. Evaluations from employment experts ( N 2 = 8) regarding ideal responses were collected. Results showed that participants were only partially successful; they effectively manipulated honesty/humility but struggled with extraversion, leading to its inflated importance. No significant correlations were found between faking success and candidates' prior experience or familiarity. These findings raise concerns about the validity of interviews and prompt further research.

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https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1027/1866-5888/a000386

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@article{maja2026,
  title        = {{Just Faking It or Faking It Well: Candidate Success in Manipulating Personality Interview Responses}},
  author       = {Maja Parmač Kovačić et al.},
  journal      = {Journal of Personnel Psychology},
  year         = {2026},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1027/1866-5888/a000386},
}

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Evidence weight

0.50

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20
M · momentum0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.