Job candidates are judged on their social status just a few seconds after they start to speak, according to a new study.

一项新研究发现，求职者开口说话几秒钟后，面试官就已经对他们的社会地位做出了判断。

Hopeful interviewees expect to be evaluated on their experience, conduct and ideas. But new research shows class bias¹ in recruitment is based on just a few seconds of speech - and those first words can shape the way they are assessed in their competence² and fitness for a job.

求职者期待面试官根据自己的经验、表现和想法来评估自己。然而新研究显示，求职者开口说话才几秒钟，面试官就已经对他们形成了阶级偏见。那几句开场白甚至影响到了面试官对求职者能力及是否适合某个职位的评估。

The findings demonstrate that people can accurately³ assess a stranger's socio-economic position, defined by their income, education, and occupation status, based on brief speech patterns.

这项研究结果表明，人们可以基于简短的言语模式界定一个人的收入、教育和职业，从而准确判断一个陌生人的社会经济地位。

Hiring managers are influenced by these snap perceptions in ways that favor job applicants⁵ from higher social classes.

这些第一印象会让人事经理更偏向于来自更高社会阶层的求职者。

Dr Michael Kraus, Assistant Professor at Yale School of Management in the US, said: 'Our study shows that even during the briefest interactions, a person's speech patterns shape the way people perceive them, including assessing their competence and fitness for a job.

美国耶鲁大学管理学院的助理教授迈克尔·克劳斯博士说：“我们的研究显示，即使是在最简短的互动中，一个人的言语模式也能决定别人对自己的看待方式，包括对他们的能力以及是否适合一份工作作出评估。”

'While most hiring managers would deny that a job candidate's social class matters, in reality, the socio-economic position of an applicant⁴ or their parents is being assessed within the first seconds they speak - a circumstance that limits economic mobility⁶ and perpetuates⁷ inequality.'

“尽管多数人事经理都会否认求职者的社会阶层会影响面试结果，但事实上，在求职者开口说话的前几秒钟，面试官就已经对求职者或其父母的社会经济地位作出了评估。这种情况会限制经济流动性，让不平等持续下去。”

The researchers based their findings on five separate studies.

这项研究结果基于五项独立研究。

The first four examined the extent that people accurately perceive social class based on a few seconds of speech.

前四项研究考察了人们基于几秒钟的言语来判断社会阶层的准确程度。

Researchers found that reciting seven random⁸ words is sufficient to allow people to discern the speaker's social class with above-chance accuracy.

研究人员发现，背诵七个随机单词足以让人们辨别出说话者的社会阶层，准确率高于随机猜测水平。

The researchers also showed that pronunciation cues in an individual's speech communicate their social status more accurately than the content of their speech.

研究人员还指出，根据一个人的发音来判断社会地位比根据说话内容更准确。

The fifth study examined how these speech cues influence hiring, based on 20 prospective⁹ job candidates from varied¹⁰ socioeconomic backgrounds who were recruited to interview for an entry-level lab manager position at Yale.

第五项研究基于20名求职者的面试来考察言语信号是如何影响招聘的。这些求职者拥有不同的社会经济背景，他们都是应聘耶鲁大学一个入门级实验室经理的职位。

Prior¹¹ to sitting for a formal job interview, the candidates each recorded a conversation in which they were asked to briefly¹² describe themselves.

在正式面试前，研究人员请每个候选人简要地描述自己并把这段话录下来。

A sample of 274 individuals with hiring experience either listened to the audio or read transcripts¹³ of the recordings¹⁴.

然后，研究人员请274名有招聘经验的人听上述录音或阅读文字记录。

The hiring managers were asked to assess the candidates' professional qualities, starting salary, signing bonus, and perceived social class based solely¹⁵ on the brief pre-interview discussion without reviewing the applicants' job interview responses or resumes.

研究人员让人事经理们评估候选人的专业素质、起薪、签约奖金，并在不看面试表现或简历的情况下单凭这段简短的面试前谈话来判断候选人的社会地位。

Findings suggest the hiring managers who listened to the audio recordings were more likely to accurately assess socioeconomic status than those who read transcripts.

研究结果显示，听录音的人事经理比阅读文字记录的人事经理更可能准确评估出候选人的社会经济地位。

Devoid¹⁶ of any information about the candidates' actual qualifications, the hiring managers judged the candidates from higher social classes as more likely to be competent for the job, and a better fit for it than the applicants from lower social classes.

在缺少候选人资质证明相关信息的情况下，人事经理认为社会地位高的候选人比社会地位低的候选人更可能胜任、更适合这份工作。

They also assigned the applicants from higher social classes more lucrative¹⁷ salaries and signing bonuses than the candidates with lower social status.

他们还给社会阶层高的候选人分配了更丰厚的薪水和签约奖金。

Dr Kraus added: 'If we want to move to a more equitable¹⁸ society, then we must contend with these ingrained psychological processes that drive our early impressions of others.

克劳斯博士补充道：“如果我们想生活在一个更平等的社会中，我们必须和这些造成第一印象的内在心理机制作斗争。”

'Despite what these hiring tendencies may suggest, talent is not found solely among those born to rich or well-educated families.

“尽管在招聘中会有阶层偏好，但人才并不只存在于富有家庭或书香门第中。”

The findings were published in the journal Proceedings¹⁹ of the National Academy of Sciences.

这些研究结果发表在《美国科学院院报》上。