THE EFFECT OF ETHICAL SIGNALS ON RECRUITMENT ...

original twelve) and rate them from most important to least important. The scoring of
the DIT2 was done by an unbiased source at The Center for the Study of Ethical
Development at the University of Alabama. Scores reflect the relative level of moral
development of the individual. DIT scores for college students usually range in the 40s.
Controls
Socially desirable responding (SDR) was measured using Crowne and Marlowe’s
33-item scale (1960). Participants who are high in SDR may be more likely to give
more socially acceptable and “ethical” responses, which is why it is important to control
in this study. Sample items include, “I am always careful about my manner of dress”
and “I like to gossip at times.” The complete list of items is located in Appendix A.
Internship search success, measured by the number of internship offers received,
was also controlled because if internship search success is low (i.e., one only receives
one internship offer), attraction will likely be high.
Relative Role of Ethics
In order to gain a better understanding of the relative influence of ethics on
recruitment outcomes (compared to other influences), all participants in Time 3 were
asked to rank the importance of each of the following on job choice decisions (on a scale
from 1=most important to 9=least important): people, salary, job duties, location, ethics,
benefits, corporate performance, industry, and size. All participants in Time 3 were also
asked a question developed specifically for this study: “how important is ethics when
choosing a job?” (1=not at all important to 5=extremely important). Additionally,
participants who had already made a job choice were asked: “ethics of the organization
43