Mood vs. Interpersonal Affect: Identifying Process and Rating Distortions in Performance Appraisal

This study was designed to simultaneously analyze the influence of mood and interpersonal affect on the performance appraisal process. Results suggest that affect consistency, as opposed to mood consistency, is likely to influence the weighting of recalled performance information and ratings subsequently assigned. Surprisingly, a mood-incongruent effect also occurred when weighting the performance information. Aside from affective influences, the raters assigned the most weight to positive performance incidents, however, the raters remembered more of the negative performance. Implications for appraisal practice and directions for future research are discussed.     

绩效考核中宽大效应的成因及控制方法

绩效考核中宽大效应对于组织的人力资源管理有极大的危害性。该文从考核情境因素、考核工具因素以及考核者因素三方面分析了绩效考核中宽大效应的成因,考核情境因素主要包括组织文化、考核目的、考核的匿名性;考核工具因素主要指考核指标的清晰与结构化;考核者因素包括考核者的动机、认知过程、情感、情绪以及稳定的人格特质。同时,根据对成因的分析提出了对绩效考核中宽大效应的控制方法。最后,指出了以往研究的不足以及未来需要深入研究的几个问题     

Performance Appraisal Process Research in the 1980s: What Has It Contributed to Appraisals in Use?

In the early 1980s, Landy and Farr (1980) and Feldman (1981) redirected performance appraisal research from issues related to the development of psychometrically sound rating scales to those involving the cognitive processes of raters. Since that time, several reviews have attempted to translate principles from social cognition and cognitive psychology to the specific conditions of formal appraisal systems in work-oriented organizations. In addition, a number of empirical studies have been conducted on this topic. This article reviews empirical research during the 1980s that focused on performance appraisal processes, particularly the research that has focused upon rating accuracy. The review is structured around a three-stage process model of gathering, storing, and retrieving information about social stimuli for the purposes of rating performance. Factors affecting this process are clustered into four categories: appraisal settings, ratees, raters, and the nature of the scales used for the appraisal. Once reviewed, the research is evaluated in terms of its contributions to improving the quality of appraisal systems as they are used in organizations.     

Who Will Evaluate Me? Rater Selection in Multi‐Source Assessment Contexts

This study investigates the factors that motivate the preference of individuals, or ratees, participating in multi‐source assessment (MSA) processes for some raters over others. Two rater characteristics were assessed to attempt to identify these preferences: rater familiarity and the affect toward the rater. Two separate studies were conducted to assess the extent to which these characteristics are used. The extent to which the purpose of the appraisal (developmental vs. administrative) and the rating source (peer vs. subordinate) influenced the use of these characteristics was also investigated. Evidence from these two studies suggests that ratees selected their raters based on rater familiarity but not on affect. In addition, while the purpose of the appraisal did not influence selection patterns, the preference for peers was motivated by different factors than the preference for subordinates. The implications of these results for research and practice are discussed.     

INTERPERSONAL AFFECT AND PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL: A FIELD STUDY

Interpersonal affect has been found, in prior laboratory research, to be related to ratings of job performance. Such findings have been taken to mean that affect creates bias in ratings. The present study was conducted to determine if this relationship would hold up in a field setting. The present study was also designed to examine how structured diary-keeping, and the nature of the appraisal instrument, might be related to affect-appraisal relationships. The results for 85 raters, and 404 ratees, suggested that affect was significantly related to all ratings, but more strongly related to trait-like ratings than task/outcome-like ratings, and that having raters keep performance diaries actually increased the strength of the relationship between affect and ratings. We concluded that affect may not be a biasing influence on ratings, but may be a result of better subordinate performance. Results from an analysis of the diary content supported this conclusion. Implications for the role of affect on ratings and the nature of the relationship between past performance and interpersonal affect in field settings are discussed.     

Effects of Self-Appraisal Information, Appraisal Purpose, and Feedback Target on Performance Appraisal Ratings

This experiment investigated the effects of three factors on performance appraisal ratings: self-appraisal information, appraisal purpose, and feedback target. Two hundred and three subjects rated a subordinate's performance on a clerical task subsequent to receiving either a high or low self-assessment. They were told they would provide performance feedback either to the experimenter (organizational agent) or their subordinate, and their ratings would be used either for an administrative decision or developmental feedback. Performance ratings were significantly higher when subjects received a favorable subordinate self-assessment than when self-assessments were unfavorable. A significant interaction was found between feedback target and the appraisal purpose. Implications for the use of self-appraisals in organizations were discussed.     

多源评价的特点与内在机制

多源评价在国外企业中的运用已日益成熟, 但在我国还停留在探索与发展阶段。基于已有的研究发现, 围绕评价过程、评价源及被评价者三方面对多源评价的特点及内在机制进行了探讨与分析。从评价过程看, 其评价目的具有多重性, 评价形式注重匿名性, 且评价结果的合理应用非常重要; 从评价源看, 不同评价源间的评价一致性较低, 且易造成晕轮效应和宽大效应; 从被评价者来看, 个体对多源评价结果的反应, 受到个性特征、反馈信号及自我-他人评价间差距等因素影响。研究也发现, 多源评价所带来的绩效改进结果具有不稳定性。基于此, 如何提高多源评价过程的有效性与准确性, 改善评价者对评价结果的反应, 以及如何对多源评价结果进行有效汇总等是未来值得研究的重要内容。     

An examination of raters' and ratees' preferences in process and feedback in performance appraisal

This paper examined the raters' and the ratees' preferences in Malaysia regarding the performance appraisal process and feedback. A total of 52 managers (raters) and 122 subordinates (ratees) participated. Analysis by t test and correlation showed significant differences between raters and the ratees on most factors. Ratees preferred to have more frequent appraisals than once a year and preferred to have more frequent feedback from the managers about their performance. Ratees' preference for the purpose of information on performance was towards salary increase, promotion, training, and career development whereas the raters gave more importance to training and career development.     

The gap between medical and monetary choices under risk persists in decisions for others

Decisions under risk in the medical domain have been found to systematically diverge from decisions in the monetary domain. When making choices between monetary options, people commonly rely on a decision strategy that trades off outcomes with their probabilities; when making choices between medical options, people tend to neglect probability information. In two experimental studies, we tested to what extent differences between medical and monetary decisions also emerge when the decision outcomes affect another person. Using a risky choice paradigm for medical and monetary decisions, we compared hypothetical decisions that participants made for themselves to decisions for a socially distant other (Study 1) and to recommendations as financial advisor or doctor (Study 2). In addition, we examined people's information search in a condition in which information about payoff distributions had to be learned from experiential sampling. Formal modeling and analyses of search behavior revealed a similarly pronounced gap between medical and monetary decisions in decisions for others as in decisions for oneself. Our results suggest that when making medical decisions, people try to avoid the worst outcome while neglecting its probability—even when the outcomes affect others rather than themselves.     

EXPLAINING U.S. COURTS OF APPEALS DECISIONS INVOLVING PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL: ACCURACY, FAIRNESS, AND VALIDATION

Accuracy and due process perspectives were used to extend policy-capturing research concerning employment discrimination case law. Two-hundred ninety-five usable U.S. Circuit Court decisions concerning performance appraisal were located from 1980–1995. In both chi-square and multivariate LOGIT analyses, decisions were explained by: use of job analysis, provision of written instructions, employee review of results, and agreement among raters. Contrary to hypotheses, appraisal frequency and type (traits vs. behaviors or results) were unrelated to judicial decision. Rater training approached significance in chi-square analysis. Of other variables checked (e.g., type of discrimination claim, statutory basis, class action status, year of decision, circuit court, type of organization, purpose of appraisal, evaluator race and sex), only circuit court approached significance. We conclude that issues relevant to fairness and due process were most salient to judicial decisions; issues pertaining to accuracy were important, yet validation was virtually ignored in this sample of cases.     

Knowing when to move on: cognitive and perceptual decisions in time

We investigated people's ability to decide how much time to spend on the task at hand. To make such decisions well, one must take into account, among other things, the cost of failing and how one's task performance changes as a function of time. We first investigated timing decisions when the underlying task was perceptual. Decisions were highly efficient and suggested that people can make good use of perceptual knowledge and abstract reward information. Previous studies have found that perceptual decisions are generally optimal, but that cognitive decisions are generally suboptimal--a perception-cognition gap. Does a similar gap exist for timing decisions? We compared timing decisions for a perceptual task with timing decisions for more cognitive tasks. Performance was highly similar across the tasks, which suggests that knowledge can be acquired, and used to make timing decisions, in an equally efficient way regardless of whether that knowledge is derived through perceptual or cognitive experience.     

A Preliminary Investigation of the Sources of Information Used by Raters When Appraising Performance

Raters (N = 135) from six organizations completed a survey regarding the sources of information used when appraising an employee's performance. Results indicated that multiple sources of information are used, and that raters are active seekers, as well as passive recipients of performance information. The perceived usefulness of volunteered versus requested second-hand performance information was found to differ across the various information sources. Also, the number of sources of performance information used by a rater was found to be related to rater characteristics (e.g., job level, number of subordinates). Implications for performance appraisal research and practice are discussed.     

The effect of dimension content on observation and ratings of job performance

Recent theory and research in the performance appraisal area (e.g., Denisi, Cafferty, & Meglino, 1984; Feldman, 1986; Ilgen & Feldman, 1983; Williams, Denisi, & Blencoe, 1985) have suggested that providing information regarding the performance dimension to be rated will cause raters to select appropriate observational schemata and, as a result, produce higher quality ratings. A study was conducted to determine if giving raters dimension-relevant information prior to performance observation would affect their attention processes and rating quality. Prior to watching a videotape of an instructor giving a lecture, 156 subjects were given either: 1) correct information, 2) incorrect information, or 3) no information regarding dimensions of performance they would subsequently be asked to rate. The results indicated that giving prior information regarding dimension content affected subjects' attention processes. Further, raters receiving no information and those receiving misinformation prior to performance observation produced less accurate ratings compared to expert raters. Ratings produced by subjects receiving correct information did not differ significantly from experts' ratings. These results are discussed in terms of both their practical and theoretical implications.     

An experimental investigation into judgment and behavioral implications of disability‐based stereotypes in simulated work decisions: Evidence of shifting standards

We investigated the explanatory relevance of the shifting standards model to the role of employee disability in two simulated organizational processes: (a) job performance appraisal and (b) resource allocation. Two experimental studies found evidence of the shifting standards effect—employees with and without a disability received similar ratings when subjective judgment standards were employed, but those without a disability received significantly higher performance ratings than their counterparts with a disability when rated with objective standards. Furthermore, the analysis of the ranking process on the dimension of deservingness of limited resources yielded evidence that disability‐related stereotypes can differentially affect perceptions of deservingness through the allocation of organizational resources.     

Outcome effects: The impact of decision process and outcome controllability

An ‘outcome effect’ refers to the phenomenon whereby performance evaluations of decision makers are affected by the outcomes of those decisions. Although some consider such an effect to be a judgmental error, judgment by outcomes may not be dysfunctional when the evaluator does not know how the decision maker chose his or her action. In such situations, outcomes may provide some noisy information about decision quality. We test whether an outcome effect will still occur when the decision methodology and quality are more explicitly identified. Further, we test whether outcome controllability, a previously unexplored moderator variable, will have an impact on the outcome effect. Our first experiment, using undergraduates as subjects, shows that decision quality and controllability have an impact on performance evaluations but that the ubiquitous outcome effect still obtains. These results were replicated with experienced business people, except that controllability only affected their judgments in the case of negative outcomes. Implications of these results are discussed. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Leniency effect as a function of rating format,purpose for appraisal,and rater individual differences

The effect of rating format and non-performance variables on rating leniency were studied in two law enforcement organizations. One of these variables, trust in the appraisal process, was defined as the extent to which a rater believes that fair and accurate appraisal will be made in the organization. A measure of trust in appraisal accounted for a significant proportion of variance in performance ratings. The purpose of appraisal (i.e., feedback or promotion) also accounted for rating variance. A mixed-standard rating format showed less susceptibility to the non-performance variables on the extent of leniency. Discussion centers on the usefulness of rater and organizational variables in performance appraisal research.     

WHERE ALL THE CHILDREN ARE ABOVE AVERAGE: THE PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL PURPOSE EFFECT

More than 40 years ago, Taylor and Wherry (1951) hypothesized that performance appraisal ratings obtained for administrative purposes, such as pay raises or promotions, would be more lenient than ratings obtained for research, feedback, or employee development purposes. However, research on appraisal purpose has yielded inconsistent results, with roughly half of such studies supporting this hypothesis and the other half refuting it. To account for those differences, a meta-analysis of performance appraisal purpose research was conducted with 22 studies and a total sample size of 57,775. Our results support Taylor and Wherry's hypothesis as performance evaluations obtained for administrative purposes were, on average, one-third of a standard deviation larger than those obtained for research or employee development purposes. In addition, moderator analyses indicated larger differences between ratings obtained for administrative and research purposes when performance evaluations were made in field settings, by practicing managers, and for real world subordinates. Implications for researchers and practitioners are discussed.     

认知闭合需要、框架效应与决策偏好

在带有模糊性的决策情境中,决策者个人的认知特征会对其判断决策产生重要影响。通过实验的方法,考察了认知闭合需要和特征框架效应对个体决策偏好的影响。93名工商管理硕士（MBA）参与了实验,研究的结果支持了本研究的3个假设,即认知闭合需要与特征框架效应不仅对被试的决策偏好存在显著的影响,而且二者还存在显著的交互作用。具体来说,研究发现,在模糊情境中：高认知闭合需要的被试偏好于立刻做出决策,而低认知闭合需要的被试偏好于暂缓做出决策;接收到正向框架信息的被试偏好于立刻做出决策,而接收到负向框架信息的被试偏好于暂缓做出决策;认知闭合需要与特征框架对被试的决策偏好还存在显著的交互作用。研究结论为根据个体认知闭合需要的水平来选拔决策者、利用框架效应来影响个体的信息加工方式进而提高决策质量提供了理论依据     

The relative contribution of scene context and target features to visual search in scenes

Many experiments have shown that knowing a targets visual features improves search performance over knowing the target name. Other experiments have shown that scene context can facilitate object search in natural scenes. In this study, we investigated how scene context and target features affect search performance. We examined two possible sources of information from scene context—the scenes gist and the visual details of the scene—and how they potentially interact with target-feature information. Prior to commencing search, participants were shown a scene and a target cue depicting either a picture or the category name (or no-information control). Using eye movement measures, we investigated how the target features and scene context influenced two components of search: early attentional guidance processes and later verification processes involved in the identification of the target. We found that both scene context and target features improved guidance, but that target features also improved speed of target recognition. Furthermore, we found that a scenes visual details played an important role in improving guidance, much more so than did the scenes gist alone.