Game-Framing to Improve Applicant Perceptions of Cognitive Assessments

Abstract. General cognitive ability is one of the best predictors of job performance, but applicant reactions are often poor. In two samples, we experimentally tested game-framing, the labeling of an ability test as a “game” without changing its content, as a way to improve applicant reactions. Results were analyzed through the lens of applicant reactions theory. Game-framing was associated with decreases in perceived length, perceived length was positively related to test motivation, and in one sample perceived length mediated the relationship between game-framing and test motivation. The direction of the relationship between motivation and perceived length was observed in both samples and opposite that proposed by reactions theory.