Three approaches to the investigation of subgroup bias in performance measurement: Review, results, and conclusions.

Three methods of assessing subgroup bias in performance measurement commonly found in the literature are identified. After a review of these approaches, findings are reported from analyses of data collected in the US Army's Project A (J. P. Campbell, 1987). Correlations between nonrating performance measures and supervisor ratings were generally not moderated by race, but correlations between nonrating indicators of negative performance and ratings assigned by peers were. In addition, significant interactions between rater and ratee race on performance ratings were not eliminated when variance in the nonrating measures was removed from the ratings provided by Black and White raters. Conclusions about the magnitude and nature of bias in supervisor and peer ratings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of applicant's sex, race, and performance on employers' performance ratings: Some additional findings.

Studied the effect of ratee sex and race on rater evaluation when objective performance standards were established. 60 White male undergraduates in a personnel management course were assigned the role of grocery store manager and viewed a film depicting the performance of 8 stock room employees representing 4 sex-race combinations. Results indicate that Ss were able to distinguish clearly between high and low performers. Sex and race bias was found, however, even when objective performance standards had been implemented. While low-performing males and low-performing females were rated nearly identically, high-performing females were rated significantly higher than high-performing males. Low-performing Blacks were rated significantly higher than low-performing Whites. No significant difference was found between the Ss' ratings of high-performing Blacks and Whites. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A meta-analysis of ratee race effects in performance ratings.

Conducted a meta-analysis of how the race of the ratee affects performance ratings by examining 74 studies with a total sample of 17,159 ratees for White raters and 14 studies with 2,428 ratees for Black raters. The 5 moderators examined were the study setting, rater training, type of rating, rating purpose, and the racial composition of the work group. Results show that the corrected mean correlations between ratee race and ratings for White and Black raters were .183 and –.220, with 95% confidence intervals that excluded zero for both rater groups. Substantial moderating effects were found for study setting and for the saliency of Blacks in the sample. Race effects were more likely in field settings when Blacks composed a small percentage of the work force. Both Black and White raters gave significantly higher ratings to members of their own race. It is suggested that future research should focus on understanding the process underlying race effects. References for the studies included are appended. (47 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of student race and physical attractiveness on teachers' judgments of transgressions.

60 student teachers (STs) and 137 practicing teachers (PTs) rated the severity of classroom misbehaviors ascribed to either a Black or White attractive or unattractive child. Following student teaching, STs' ratings of Black children's transgressions significantly increased in severity, while ratings of White children's transgressions remained the same. PTs were affected by student attractiveness but not by race, with transgressions by attractive children of both races being rated more severely than transgressions by unattractive children. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personal beliefs and cultural stereotypes about racial characteristics.

Social stereotypes may be expressed as personal beliefs about the characteristics of a group or as beliefs about the predominant cultural view of a group. In a study with a full intergroup design, Black and White participants rated Black and White racial groups. Results supported 3 sets of predictions derived from a projection model of stereotyping. First, participants' personal beliefs predicted their ratings of cultural stereotypes even when the group averages of personal beliefs and cultural stereotypes were statistically controlled. Second, interrater agreement in stereotype ratings was substantial for both rating tasks. Third, members of both groups underestimated how favorably their own group was rated by members of their respective out-group. Implications of the findings for the mental organizations of stereotypes, their measurement, and their consequences for social behavior are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The impact of differences in subordinate and supervisor age on attitudes and performance.

In a study of the influence of differences in employee age and the age of the employee's immediate supervisor, an age-difference variable was created and used to test 4 competing sets of predictions for performance and attitudinal outcomes within a sample of 292 high school teachers. Analyses revealed that employees who were older than their supervisors (1) reported better working relations with their supervisors, (2) evaluated their supervisors more favorably, and (3) received ratings from their supervisors that were not less favorable than other employees. The results suggest that bias does not necessarily operate against employees who are older than their supervisors and that a relational approach that is based on attribute similarity–dissimilarity offers an additional source of systematic variance that can aid in explaining individual responses. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Black-white differences in leader behavior related to subordinates' reactions.

Investigated differences in 4 managerial leadership measures (managerial support, goal emphasis, work facilitation, and interaction facilitation) among 72 Black, 36 White, and 15 Chicano subordinates of 16 Black and 17 White supervisors in 3 industrial plants. The 10 supervisory leadership questions used are part of a larger instrument, the Survey of Organizations. Findings were analyzed to determine whether or not the subordinates' reactions to their supervisors on each managerial leadership measure varied with (a) the race of the supervisor, (b) the race of supervisor and subordinates, and (c) the majority or minority numerical status of subordinates in work groups with supervisor of the same or different race. Results indicate that the behavior of supervisors toward their subordinates is a complex function of (a) the supervisor's own race and role in combination with (b) the race of subordinates and (c) the majority or minority positions of racial groups within the group supervised. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Nonperformance influences on performance evaluations: A laboratory phenomenon?

Reviews research that investigated the effects of nonperformance factors (i.e., gender and race) on a variety of organizational criteria, including performance evaluations. It is argued that previous findings are attributable to a research design that bears little resemblance to the performance appraisal process in real organizational contexts. 134 Black and 417 White male candidates for a police-department promotion were rated on a battery of attitude and behavior measures by 3 of the 14 Black and 18 White interviewers to examine the effects of 2 nonperformance factors (ratee and rater race) and an index of ratee past performance on performance ratings. Results of a higher-order MANOVA showed significant effects of ratee race, past performance, rater race, and a Ratee?×?Rater interaction. All of these sources of variance combined, however, accounted for no more than 4% of the total variance in performance ratings. Reasons for the low relationship between past performance and oral interview performance, which involve dissimilarity between rating dimensions and interview demand characteristics, are discussed. Thus, the applicability of results from past laboratory studies to performance evaluation in real organizational environments is questioned. (45 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of ethnicity in observers’ ratings of mother–child behavior.

This study examined the role of ethnicity in untrained observers’ ratings of videotaped mother–child interactions. Participants were Black, White, and Latino undergraduates (N = 109), who rated videotapes of 4 Black, 4 White, and 4 Latino mother–child dyads. Overall, participants of different ethnicities showed more similarities than differences in their ratings of parent–child behavior. There was, however, evidence that participant ethnicity and parent–child ethnicity interacted for ratings of child defiance/negative emotion. Black and White participants differed in their ratings of Black and White children’s defiance/negative emotion, with members of each ethnic group favoring children of their own ethnic group. Intergroup contact appeared to play a role in ratings of parent behavior among Black observers. Black observers who reported low intergroup contact tended to rate Black mothers high on strictness and low on permissiveness. More research is needed to better understand the role of ethnicity in observers’ ratings of parent and child behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Study of race effects in objective indices and subjective evaluations of performance: A meta-analysis of performance criteria.

Used meta-analytic techniques to examine the race effect for objective measures of performance and to compare the relative effect sizes for objective indices and subjective ratings. 53 samples from both published and unpublished studies were located that included at least 1 objective index of actual performance, absenteeism, or cognitive test performance and 1 subjective measure of performance for the same group of Black and White employees. Ss were firefighters, police officers, bank tellers, skilled technicians, production workers, nurses, or clerical workers. The corrected average effect sizes across the 53 samples were low but similar for the objective ad subjective criteria. Moderating effects for the objective criteria were found, as race effects were much higher for cognitive than for performance criteria. Subjective ratings had a lower effect size than objective cognitive test scores but were higher than comparable objective performance indices. Implications for personnel research practices are discussed, and the need for a better understanding of the constructs underlying criterion measures is emphasized. (61 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of race and socioeconomic status on the perception of process variables in counseling.

Analyzed the effects of race and socioeconomic status (SES) on the perception of process variables in counseling, including judged counselor empathy, judged counselor–client cognitive similarity, and attraction. The study used a 2?×?12?×?2?×?6 design (race of S, tape order, SES of client, race of counselor and client) with repeated measures on the SES of client variable and the race of counselor and client variable. Following empathy training, 12 Black and 12 White undergraduate middle-class males listened to 12 specially prepared counselor–client taped dialogs and rated the counselor and client on each tape on the process variables being researched. All hypotheses were confirmed. Both Black and White Ss gave highest counselor empathy ratings, client–counselor attraction and cognitive similarity ratings, and client improvement ratings to matchings in which the counselor and client were similar over race and social class, and they gave lowest ratings when the counselor and client were dissimilar over race and social class. Effects of client accent were generally not significant. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex and race composition of assessment center groups as a determinant of peer and assessor ratings.

Evaluated the effects of sex and race composition of assessment center groups on assessment center ratings for 54 racially and sexually mixed groups. Results indicate that there were minimal effects as a result of the race–sex composition of the group, but some assessment ratings for Black females were negatively and significantly correlated with the number of White males in the assessment group. The ratings of White males tended to be higher when the number of White males in the assessment group increased. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Escalation bias in performance appraisals: An unintended consequence of supervisor participation in hiring decisions.

The tendency of supervisors to escalate their commitment of a previously expressed opinion by biasing performance ratings was examined in the context of a "real" organization. The hypotheses of the study were (a) that supervisors who participate in a hiring or promotion decision and agree with the eventual decision would positively bias subsequent performance appraisal ratings for that employee, and (b) that supervisors who participate in the original decision but disagree with the decision would bias subsequent performance appraisal ratings in a negative direction. Cases in which the supervisor had not participated in the hiring or promotion decision were used as a control condition. The study was conducted in a large public-sector organization with a sample of 354 clerical employees. Data provide strong support for both hypotheses, demonstrating both positive and negative escalation biases. The implications of these findings for research on escalation and for organizational policy are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Suppression of antitumor lymphocyte mediated cytotoxicity by human chorionic gonadotropins

Thirty new patients in a psychiatric outpatient clinic rated the friendliness, interest, politeness, and informativeness of three functionally distinct groups of support employees. Following a personnel workshop, designed to increase the ability to relate to clients and the understanding of patient problems, ratings were obtained from 30 additional new patients. The overall ratings were favorable, both before and after the workshop, for all employee groups on all behavior variables. One employee group received higher ratings than the other two, and the staff members were perceived by the patients as more informative than congenial. The workshop resulted in increased amicability and decreased informativeness.     

Racial and behavioral cues in Black and White children's perceptions of ambiguously aggressive acts.

Examined the way in which the interpretation of ambiguous social behavior is influenced by racial stereotypes and cultural differences. 40 Black and 40 White 6th-grade males were shown a variety of ambiguously aggressive behaviors performed by Black and White stimulus figures. As predicted, both Black and White Ss rated these behaviors as more mean and threatening when the perpetrator was Black than when he was White. In contrast, ratings of personal characteristics were in general determined by individual behavior rather than by group stereotypes, although Blacks, whether they were the perpetrator or the recipient of the behaviors, were rated as stronger than their White counterparts. Cultural differences between S groups were apparent in the greater tendency of the White Ss to read threat into ambiguously aggressive behaviors involving no physical contact and to assume that the perpetrators of such behaviors were stronger than the recipients. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of race on interview ratings in a situational panel interview.

This study investigated the effects of interviewer race, candidate race, and racial composition of interview panels on interview ratings. Data were collected on 153 police officers applying for promotion. Results confirmed a same-race rating effect (i.e., candidates racially similar to interviewers received higher ratings) for Black and White interviewers on racially balanced panels. A majority-race rating effect (i.e., candidates racially similar to the majority race of panel interviewers received higher ratings) existed for Black and White interviewers on primarily White panels. Rating patterns of Black and White interviewers on primarily Black panels also suggested a majority-race rating effect. Racial composition of selection interview panels in combination with interviewer and candidate race were proposed as variables affecting candidates' ratings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predictors of observer ratings of multicultural counseling competence in Black, Latino, and White American trainees.

Using transcribed intake sessions of 52 counselor–client dyads, this study explored the relative contributions of (a) counselor and client race or ethnicity, (b) counselor–client racial or ethnic match, (c) previous academic training in multicultural counseling, and (d) self-reported multicultural counseling competence to observer ratings of trainees' multicultural counseling competence. Results revealed that (a) Black American and Latino American counselor trainees were rated as more multiculturally competent than their White American peers, and (b) prior multicultural training was positively predictive of observer-rated multicultural counseling competence. Implications of the findings for counselor training and practice are presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of cognitive development in children's explanations and preferences for skin color.

One Black and 1 White female examiner assessed 72 White 2.5–10.5 yr old children to investigate children's understanding of the origins of race and explore the developmental concomitants of skin color preferences. Ss' understanding of the origins of race followed a developmental hierarchy and correlated significantly with performance on previously researched measures of physical conservation, physical causality, and social identity. Both physical conservation and physical causality appeared to be developmental prerequisites to understanding the origins of race. Significant Race?×?Cognitive Developmental Level interactions indicated that pro-White bias was significantly lower for higher levels of cognitive development when the examiner was Black. The possibility that skin color preference is influenced by social desirability is discussed. (30 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Antecedents and consequences of emotional display rule perceptions.

Central to all theories of emotional labor is the idea that individuals follow emotional display rules that specify the appropriate expression of emotions on the job. This investigation examined antecedents and consequences of emotional display rule perceptions. Full-time working adults (N = 152) from a variety of occupations provided self-report data, and supervisors and coworkers completed measures pertaining to the focal employees. Results using structural equation modeling revealed that job-based interpersonal requirements, supervisor display rule perceptions, and employee extraversion and neuroticism were predictive of employee display rule perceptions. Employee display rule perceptions, in turn, were related to self-reported job satisfaction and coworker ratings of employees' emotional displays on the job. Finally, neuroticism had direct negative relationships with job satisfaction and coworker ratings of employees' emotional displays. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)