Because interviewing is a face-to-face interaction belonging to the genre of interpersonal relationships, the employment interview is subject to some of the same problems that beset interpersonal relationships. Problems can occur in both interviews and interpersonal relationships because of bias, which originates from background characteristics, psychological factors, and behavioral factors pertaining to both parties. To learn more about how bias toward behavioral characteristics and background characteristics of job applicants can influence selection decisions, three hypotheses were tested: (1) applicants who spoke little during an interview would be viewed less favorably; (2) evaluations of black applicants by white interviewers would be less favorable than those of white applicants; and (3) interviewer evaluations would be a function of the combined effects of vocal activity and race of the applicants. Each hypothesis was confirmed. The results suggest that, under experimental conditions, applicant behaviors (vocal activity) are more important than applicant characteristics (race), but that race remains an important variable in interviewer evaluations. (Author/CS)