Examining reactions to employer information using a simulated web-based job fair

The approach taken in the present investigation was to examine reactions to positive and negative employer information by eliciting online (i.e., moment-to-moment) reactions in a simulated computer-based job fair. Reactions to positive and negative information commonly reveal a negatively biased asymmetry. Positively biased asymmetries have been documented in the psychological literature, but they are rare. This article shows evidence for such asymmetry in reactions to realistic information in this simulated recruitment context. The intensity of reactions to positive information was greater than the intensity of reactions to negative information on the same attribute. Findings are discussed in relation to research on temporal discounting in vocational preference.