Attributional Retraining, Self-Esteem, and the Job Interview: Benefits and Risks for College Student Employment

The present study evaluated the effectiveness of an attributional retraining program for helping upper-level undergraduates perform better in employment interviews as moderated by self-esteem levels. The sample consisted of 50 co-operative education students preparing for actual job interviews who were randomly assigned to an attributional retraining condition (controllable attribution focus) or control condition (communication skills focus). Dependent measures included interview-related attributions and actual interview performance. Results showed self-esteem to predict more adaptive attributions and better interview performance in the control group. Findings also demonstrated significant attributional retraining benefits for students with lower self-esteem on attributions and interview success. The authors found unanticipated negative treatment effects for students with higher self-esteem who reported more external attributions and performed substantially worse in employment interviews upon receiving attributional retraining. The authors discuss the implications concerning the risks of high self-esteem and possible improvements to attributional retraining techniques in employment settings.