Effect of Identifiability,Rating Audience,and Conscientiousness on Rating Level

This paper investigated three factors, two related to accountability and one an individual difference factor, which may influence rating level: (1) identifiability, (2) to whom one feels accountable (audience), and (3) conscientiousness. In study 1, results from students who rated their instructors indicated that not only did raters relatively high in conscientiousness report feeling more accountability but also that identifiability and conscientiousness interacted in predicting rating level. Raters relatively low in conscientiousness provided higher ratings when identified but raters relatively high in conscientious did not provide higher ratings. Rating audience did not influence rating level. Study 2 replicated the findings from study 1: Low conscientious raters assigned higher ratings when identified than when anonymous but high conscientious raters did not assign higher ratings when identified. Implications are discussed.     

Structural and psychological empowerment climates, performance, and the moderating role of shared felt accountability: a managerial perspective

The authors proposed and tested a model in which data were collected from managers (n = 539) at 116 corporate-owned quick service restaurants to assess the structural and psychological empowerment process as moderated by shared-felt accountability on indices of performance from a managerial perspective. The authors found that empowering leadership climate positively relates to psychological empowerment climate. In turn, psychological empowerment climate relates to performance only under conditions of high-felt accountability; it does not relate to performance under conditions of low-felt accountability. Overall, the present results indicate that the quick-service restaurant managers, who feel more empowered, operate restaurants that perform better than managers who feel less empowered, but only when those empowered managers also feel a high sense of accountability.     

Effects of rater conscientiousness on evaluations of task and contextual performance of older and younger co-workers

The possibility for age discrimination and stereotypes to affect performance evaluations is rising. Although careful evaluations might be expected from conscientious raters, little is known about whether they might show more or less bias towards certain age groups. Therefore, in our study using a time-lagged design, we investigated the effects of rater conscientiousness on the performance evaluations of younger and older actual co-worker (N = 242). We found that raters who were more conscientious provided higher ratings for older workers than for younger workers on task performance and organizational citizenship behaviours. Specifically, we tested the model of mediated moderation, in which the relation between rater conscientiousness and ratee age predicts ratee-perceived conscientiousness, which in turn predicts performance ratings. The model was significant for older ratees, but not for younger ratees. We discuss our results in terms of the “similar to me” effects and implications for organizational practices.     

The interactive effects of conscientiousness and agreeableness on job performance

The authors hypothesized that the relationship between conscientiousness and job performance would be stronger for persons high in agreeableness than for those low in agreeableness. Results of hierarchical moderated regression analyses for 7 independent samples of employees across diverse occupations provided support for the hypothesis in 5 of the samples. In samples supporting the hypothesis, among the highly conscientious workers, those low in agreeableness were found to receive lower ratings of job performance than workers high in agreeableness. One explanation for lack of an interaction between conscientiousness and agreeableness in the other 2 samples is that those jobs were not characterized by frequent, cooperative interactions with others. Overall, the results show that highly conscientious workers who lack interpersonal sensitivity may be ineffective, particularly in jobs requiring cooperative interchange with others.     

Rule breakers and attention seekers: Personality predictors of integrity and accountability in leaders

Unethical leadership behavior can encourage follower CWBs and have costly organizational impacts. In this meta-analysis, we use data from 3,000 managers and executives to identify antecedents of ethical behaviors: integrity and accountability. Results suggest that many five factor model (Big Five) personality scales, personality derailers (dark side attributes), and values predict integrity and accountability. Leaders who are more conscientious, professional, and rule following and less attention seeking receive higher ratings of integrity and accountability. The strongest relationships were often for personality derailers (Excitable, Leisurely, Mischievous, Imaginative). Values and preferences (Aesthetics, Hedonism, Recognition) also had notable relationships. We discuss our results and their implications for organizations seeking to reduce CWBs, promote OCBs, or establish a climate of ethical behavior.     

Effects of Peer-Mediated Accountability on Opportunities to Respond and Correct Skill Performance by Elementary School Children in Physical Education

We investigated the effects of group instruction, peer-dyads, and peer-mediated accountability on the number of trials performed and the number of correct trials during one-minute timed trials of volleyball skills. Peer-mediated accountability consisted of teacher goal setting, peer recording of performance, public posting of performance, and special content-related activities that served as public recognition of achievement. Twenty-four students in a Grade 4 physical education class participated. A reversal A-B-A-C design was used to assess the effects of each condition. Results indicated that students performed more trials and were more successful in the peer-mediated accountability condition than during either group instruction of peer dyads conditions. Findings are discussed in terms of the contingent relation between performance and consequences created by the peer-mediated accountability variable.     

Accountability and need for cognition effects on contrast, halo, and accuracy in performance ratings

In the present study, the authors investigated the effects of accountability and need for cognition on contrast errors, halo, and accuracy of performance ratings examined in good and poor performance context conditions, as well as in a context-free control condition. The accountability manipulation reduced the contrast effect and also modified rater recall of good ratee behavior. Accountability reduced halo in ratings and increased rating accuracy in a poor performance context. Accountability also interacted with need for cognition in predicting individual rater halo.     

‘The less I trust,the less I contribute (or not)?’ The effects of trust,accountability and self‐monitoring in social dilemmas

The present research examined the influence of trust, accountability, and self‐monitoring on individual decision makers' willingness to contribute in a give‐some game and in an experimental public goods dilemma. Previous research has shown that trust and contributions are positively related such that high trusters generally contribute more than low trusters. The present research questions the pervasiveness of this relation by arguing that low trusters may increase their contributions to the same level as those of high trusters, but only under circumstances where their decisions are highly identifiable to their interaction partner(s). Both studies showed that strong perceptions of trust, high accountability and high self‐monitoring influenced contributions positively. In line with predictions, individuals low in trust contributed up to the same level as high trusters when accountability was high rather than low. Moreover, this interaction between trust and accountability was only found among those classified as high self‐monitors. Our results suggest that the well‐known positive relation between trust and contributions may take a different form when situational cues and individual predispositions are taken into account. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of sex on raters' accountability

The effects of sex (rater and ratee) on raters' accountability in the context of performance appraisal were investigated. The 130 participating undergraduates (men and women) rated a fictitious male or female's performance on a clerical task subsequent to receiving self-assessment information. As expected, raters' knowledge of a high self-assessment was followed by significantly higher performance ratings than after knowledge of a low self-assessment. Contrary to expectations, no differences were found for either raters' or ratees' sex. The results suggest that the sex of the rater or ratee is not associated with raters' accountability.     

The effect of applicant age, job level, and accountability on perceptions of female job applicants

We used simulated videotaped employment interviews to assess the effect of accountability on impressions of female job applicants. One hundred and twenty American undergraduates majoring in business and personnel related areas were informed that they would be participating in the pilot testing of a new employee placement technique. The age of the job applicant (25, 40, or 55 years), the position for which they were being considered (assistant director or director), and the degree to which subjects were made to feel accountable for their impressions of the applicant (low or high accountability) were manipulated, resulting in a 3 x 2 x 2 between-subjects design. The predicted interaction between accountability and applicant age applicant age was found on age-related adjective checklist items. Increasing the subjects' accountability produced more stereotypical impressions of all applicants, along with a tendency to attribute the applicant's behavior to dispositional factors.     

Person-organization fit and work-related attitudes and decisions: examining interactive effects with job fit and conscientiousness

This study examined boundary conditions that surround the importance of perceived person-organization (P-O) fit for work-related attitudes and decisions. The authors hypothesized that P-O fit is more strongly related to satisfaction and job choice decisions when needs-supplies (N-S) job fit or demands-abilities (D-A) job fit is low, and that P-O fit is more strongly related to job choice decisions for highly conscientious individuals. Hypotheses were tested among 299 participants in a 12-week internship program. Results indicated that P-O fit was more strongly related to satisfaction when individuals experienced low N-S job fit. P-O fit was more strongly related to job choice intentions when individuals experienced low D-A job fit or were highly conscientious. Finally, P-O fit was related to job offer acceptance for highly conscientious individuals.     

Groups and Solos in Context: The Effects of Accountability on Team Negotiation

This study examines whether and how accountability to constituents affects the cognitions, performance, and outcomes of team and solo negotiators. Previous findings for solos were replicated here: solo negotiators respond competitively when they are accountable to constituents. For teams, however, accountability pressures were distributed across the members resulting in each team member experiencing little responsibility for outcomes. As a consequence, teams did not respond to accountability pressures by behaving contentiously as solos did. Analysis of negotiators' perceptions of advantage reveals that solos who negotiate under conditions of high accountability consider themselves to be at a disadvantage in the negotiation even before the negotiation begins. These perceptions may underlie the accountability/competitive relation that characterizes solo negotiation. Implications for negotiation research as well as the study of groups in organizations are discussed.     

The influence of examiner race on the cognitive functioning of urban and rural children of different races

Urban and rural girls enrolled in second grades of a school system in the South were randomly assigned to black and white examiners to be tested on an individually administered intelligence test. The interaction of race of examiner, race of subject, and location of subject's home on test performance was investigated using a factorial design employing analysis of covariance. This interaction was not significant. However, as found in other studies, the white children as a group scored significantly higher than the black children. A discussion of conditions in which an interaction relationship may result is presented.     

An investigation of factors influencing accountability and performance ratings

The authors explored whether accountability has implications for performance ratings and investigated factors that may influence both accountability and performance ratings. Specifically, they investigated (a) whether feelings of accountability are directly related to performance ratings, (b) whether experimental manipulations that have been proposed to manipulate accountability in fact do so, and (c) the role of motivation-related constructs. They developed and tested a model of factors proposed to influence accountability and performance ratings. Results from 334 raters in an upward feedback situation in a classroom context provide empirical support that feelings of accountability influence rating level, as do perceptions of anonymity and the importance raters place on their jobs. However, neither anonymity nor importance perceptions were related to feelings of accountability.     

问责能否抑制个体非伦理行为？——调节定向和自我损耗的作用机制

根据以往研究,问责对于非伦理行为的影响可能产生混淆的结论,它既可能降低,也可能促进非伦理行为的产生,即出现“问责失灵”的情况。鉴于此,本文通过实验研究来探究问责失灵的理论边界和内在机制。结果发现：（1）促进定向启动下的个体,问责对于非伦理行为有促进作用;预防定向下的个体,问责对于非伦理行为有抑制作用;（2）促进定向启动下,问责通过增加个体的自我损耗增强了其非伦理行为,即促进定向下个体的自我损耗中介了问责与非伦理行为的关系。     

Effects of Accountability on Rating Behavior and Rater Accuracy

We tested whether improvements in rater accuracy on a performance-appraisal task attributed to rater accountability could be explained by variance in rater behavior. Data from Mero and Motowidlo (1995) were used initially to test whether observed improvements in rater accuracy could be explained by rating process behaviors of attending to relevant subordinate performance and taking better notes to record that performance. Results showed that both behaviors were correlated with accuracy and that these behaviors partially mediated the relationship between accountability and improved decision quality for participants who were held accountable for their rating decision and did not have any preconceived information about that rating from their supervisor. We then tested this process model on a new sample of participants and found that attentiveness and notetaking mediated the relationship between accountability and accuracy.     

问责能否抑制个体非伦理行为？——调节定向和自我损耗的作用机制

根据以往研究,问责对于非伦理行为的影响可能产生混淆的结论,它既可能降低,也可能促进非伦理行为的产生,即出现“问责失灵”的情况。鉴于此,本文通过实验研究来探究问责失灵的理论边界和内在机制。结果发现：（1）促进定向启动下的个体,问责对于非伦理行为有促进作用;预防定向下的个体,问责对于非伦理行为有抑制作用;（2）促进定向启动下,问责通过增加个体的自我损耗增强了其非伦理行为,即促进定向下个体的自我损耗中介了问责与非伦理行为的关系。     

Individual Differences in the Effectiveness of Error Management Training for Developing Negotiation Skills

This study investigated whether the effectiveness of an error management approach to training negotiation knowledge and skill depended on individual differences in conscientiousness, extraversion, and openness to experience. Participants were randomly assigned to two training programs that incorporated key elements of an error management and behavioral modeling approach to training, and were trained in the complex interpersonal skill of negotiation. At the end of training, declarative knowledge acquisition, procedural knowledge acquisition, declarative knowledge retention, and transfer performance were assessed at different points in time. Results suggested that the effectiveness of the error management training program was dependent on individual levels of conscientiousness and extraversion. For several learning outcomes, the performance of highly conscientious and extraverted individuals was superior in the error management condition, while the performance of less conscientious and introverted individuals was superior in the behavioral modeling condition. The implications of these findings, and suggestions for future research, are discussed.     

Automation bias: decision making and performance in high-tech cockpits

Automated aids and decision support tools are rapidly becoming indispensable tools in high-technology cockpits and are assuming increasing control of"cognitive" flight tasks, such as calculating fuel-efficient routes, navigating, or detecting and diagnosing system malfunctions and abnormalities. This study was designed to investigate automation bias, a recently documented factor in the use of automated aids and decision support systems. The term refers to omission and commission errors resulting from the use of automated cues as a heuristic replacement for vigilant information seeking and processing. Glass-cockpit pilots flew flight scenarios involving automation events or opportunities for automation-related omission and commission errors. Although experimentally manipulated accountability demands did not significantly impact performance, post hoc analyses revealed that those pilots who reported an internalized perception of "accountability" for their performance and strategies of interaction with the automation were significantly more likely to double-check automated functioning against other cues and less likely to commit errors than those who did not share this perception. Pilots were also lilkely to erroneously "remember" the presence of expected cues when describing their decision-making processes.     

Information Exchange in Context: Effects of Gender Composition of Group,Accountability, and Intergroup Perception on Group Decision Making1

In the present study, the dissemination of shared and unshared information (cf. Stasser & Titus, 1985) in unstructured group discussion is analyzed. In previous experiments, several manipulations of the task itself were introduced, in search of conditions that could facilitate the exchange of unshared information. As such, these studies neglected the potential impact of context variables on group performance. In the present study, the effects of accountability, intergroup perception, and gender composition of group on information exchange are investigated. The results indicate that heterogeneous groups exchanged more information when a second group was present. Information exchange was not promoted by the presence of an outgroup for homogeneous groups. Groups in the accountability condition displayed more difficulties to reach agreement, but this did not lead to the mentioning of more information.