Discrimination in recruitment procedures is persistent and widespread. In this research project, we investigated how people get to discriminatory decisions. The main aim of this research project is to get a better understanding of the psychological processes involved in decision-making. More specifically, we investigated a pre-decision step, that is, the creation of a consideration set.
Recent research suggests that to arrive at a choice, people first create a set of options they consider. Such a consideration set is a collection of options that is stored in working memory when faced with a decision. Here, we investigated whether considering available options before making a decision is already biased. That is, whether individuals from advantaged social groups have a higher chance of being considered than individuals from marginalized social groups.
The current study has provided insights into the early stages of this decision-making process, allowing us to move further with this research. Gaining fundamental insights into this process is important because it provides us with information on where to intervene. This, hopefully, can lead in the long run to more effective solutions to target discrimination in the workplace and more equal chances for marginalized group members in society.