Publication Type

Journal Article

Version

publishedVersion

Publication Date

2-2025

Abstract

There is increasing attention to storification of assessments (i.e., embedding a storyline into a non-storified assessment) in research and practice and to gamified and game-based assessment in general. However, there is a surprising lack of agreement and of recommendations regarding what level of fantasy of the storyline one should choose for the storification from the perspective of applicant reactions. A distinction is typically made between fantasy (e.g., fighting aliens) and realistic (e.g., workday simulations) storylines, with both choices having their advantages and disadvantages. In this study, a sample of 195 participants was shown either a storified realistic test, a storified fantasy test, or a non-storified test. Afterwards, they rated various applicant reaction measures. Both storified assessments were rated equally positively on perceived modernity of the organization and enjoyment but the storified realistic test was superior to the storified fantasy test in terms of perceived job-relatedness, procedural fairness, organizational attractiveness, and clarity of work activity. Thus, the level of fantasy of a storyline in a storified assessment plays an important role for applicant reaction variables, whereby the overall pattern of results showed that the storified realistic test was rated most favorably, followed by the non-storified test, and the storified fantasy assessment.

Keywords

applicant reactions, gamification, Germany, job-relatedness, personnel psychology, personnel selection, storification, work and organizational psychology

Discipline

Industrial and Organizational Psychology | Organizational Behavior and Theory

Research Areas

Organisational Behaviour and Human Resources

Publication

Applied Psychology

Volume

74

Issue

2

First Page

1

Last Page

21

ISSN

0269-994X

Identifier

10.1111/apps.12569

Publisher

Wiley

Copyright Owner and License

Author

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Additional URL

https://doi.org/10.1111/apps.12569

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