Effect of prior performance information on ratings of present performance: contrast versus assimilation revisited

Article Abstract:

The present research examined the effects of knowledge of a ratee's prior performance on evaluations of present performance. In three separate studies, subjects received knowledge of either good or poor prior performances and then viewed and rated a videotape depicting average performance. In Study 1, some subjects received knowledge of the ratee's prior performance by directly viewing videotapes of good or poor ratee behavior, whereas others only reviewed written performance ratings completed by those subjects who had actually viewed the ratee. A contrast effect occurred when knowledge of prior performance was obtained by observing ratee behavior, but an assimilation effect occurred when knowledge of prior performance was obtained by reviewing performance ratings. In study 2, subjects viewed videotapes of good or poor performances prior to viewing an average performance by the same ratee. However, the separate ratee performances were observed over a more realistic time interval than that used in Study 1 (3 weeks vs. 1 h). No significant contrast effects were observed. In Study 3, subjects reviewed written ratings of prior performances before viewing an average videotape. Subjects who reviewed extremely good (or poor) prior performance ratings provided more extreme ratings of the "average" performance than did subjects who reviewed less extreme ratings. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

Psychological aspects

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When ratee satisfaction influences performance evaluations: a case of illusory correlation

Article Abstract:

Iaffaldano and Muchinsky's (1985) meta-analysis suggested that the satisfaction-performance relation constitutes an illusory correlation. Two experiments are reported that investigated whether this illusory correlation may systematically bias performance evaluations when ratee satisfaction levels are known. In Experiment 1, students who were told that an instructor was satisfied rated his performance more favorably than students who were told that he was dissatisfied. In Experiment 2, subjects performed an in-basket task and completed a satisfaction questionnaire prior to evaluating a ratee's performance on a similar in-basket task. Subjects appraised a satisfied ratee more favorably than they appraised a dissatisfied ratee. In addition, subjects provided with bogus feedback indicating that their task satisfaction was high evaluated their own performance more favorably than subjects provided with dissatisfaction feedback. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

Job satisfaction, Organizational behavior

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Relationship between job knowledge and the reliability of conceptual similarity schemata

Article Abstract:

Several investigators have argued that raters often rely on the conceptual similarity among performance dimension labels to guide the pattern of their performance ratings. Recent studies have used individual-level conceptual similarity (CS) judgments to investigate this systematic distortion hypothesis and related performance rating issues. In this article the results from 4 studies are reported in which 171 subjects complete CS judgments on 2 occasions. In 3 separate studies the reliability of CS schemata was found to be positively related to the rater's relevant job knowledge. In a 4th study it was found that changes in CS schemata over a 9-week interval may result from CS unreliability as much as from any meaningful reconceptualization of CS structure. Implications for performance rating research are reviewed. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

Reliability, Reliability (Trustworthiness), Job qualifications

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