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.