Effects of subsequent performance on evaluations of previous performance.

Tested the hypothesis that subsequent performance levels would bias the recall and evaluations of a ratee's previous level of performance with 183 undergraduates, who rated 3 videotaped lectures in either immediate or delayed rating conditions. The 1st videotape depicted an average level of performance and was followed by either 2 good lectures or 2 poor lectures. A significant performance level?×?time of rating interaction was found, in which memory-based ratings were biased in the direction of subsequent performance (i.e., when there was a delay between observation and rating, Ss who had seen an average lecture followed by good lectures rated that average lecture more favorably than did Ss who had seen that same lecture followed by poor lectures). It is suggested that raters are biased in favor of recalling behaviors that are consistent with their general impression of a ratee and that subsequent performance may systematically alter the rater's recall of the ratee's previous behavior. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects on avoidance performance of vagal stimulation during previous fear conditioning in rats.

Attempted to determine, from experiments on 5 groups of 10 male albino rats each, whether parasympathetic stimulation given coincidentally with electric shock in a fear-conditioning situation would alter later performance on an avoidance conditioning task. 10 Ss were implanted with a small chronic electrode around the cervical vagus. During preconditioning, consisting of 8 trials of tone followed by inescapable shock, 1 group of Ss received stimulation of the vagus at the time foot shock was delivered. During subsequent avoidance conditioning, these Ss performed the avoidance task significantly better than Ss that received the same preconditioning without vagal stimulation and as well as Ss that had received no preconditioning shock trials. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Search and retrieval patterns for performance information: Effects on evaluations of multiple targets.

Examined search, organization, and use of performance information about multiple targets. In Exp I, 41 undergraduates searched among 64 performance vignettes, stored in a 4?×?4?×?4 (Target?×?Task?×?Occasion) computer array. The predominant search pattern involved examining a set of performances by one target before proceeding to another. Exp II tested whether various acquisition patterns affect organization and use of performance information. 125 Ss were shown 16 vignettes from Exp I, organized in target-by-target (target blocked), task-by-task (task blocked), or mixed sequences. Results indicate greater recall under blocked than under mixed conditions. Blocking also influenced organization in recall. Target blocking produced clustering by target; task blocking produced clustering by task; mixed presentation produced no discernible clustering. Accuracy of ratings for overall target performance was unaffected by blocking, but task blocking produced better differentiation among instances of good and poor performance exhibited by specific targets. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of anonymity on student evaluations of faculty performance.

Studied the main and interactive effects of anonymity and professor on student ratings of faculty performance. Ratings of faculty performance were obtained from 244 undergraduates in 7 classes using a 20-item rating form with Positive Item Total (PIT) and Negative Item Total (NIT) subscales. Results show main effects for professor for both the scales. Hypothesized main effects for anonymity were insignificant for both the PIT and NIT scales. The Anonymity?×?Professor interaction was marginally significant for the PIT scale, but not for the NIT scale. Implications for practices associated with the collection of rating data from students are discussed. (29 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Determinants of perceived fairness of performance evaluations.

217 middle managers from 3 industrial groups responded to an open-ended questionnaire in which they described the determinants of particularly fair or unfair performance appraisals. By Q-sort procedure, the responses were categorized and combined to yield 7 distinct determinants of fairness in performance evaluations. Ratings of the perceived importance of these determinants were factor analyzed, revealing 2 distinct factors—Procedural and Distributive determinants. The implications of the determinants are discussed with respect to existing research and theory on justice in organizations. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of children's physical attractiveness on teachers' evaluations.

After viewing the photograph of a physically attractive or unattractive child and a vignette depicting a misbehavior possibly committed by the child, 144 female elementary school teachers evaluated the pupil for blame, personality, and punishment before and after reading a report card characterizing the child as a good, satisfactory, or poor student. Though attractive children generally received more desirable personality ratings than unattractive children, a misbehavior was deemed less undesirable if attributed to unattractive rather than attractive children. Furthermore, unattractive girls were blamed less frequently and received more lenient recommendations for punishment than did unattractive boys. Implications for the physical attractiveness stereotyping hypothesis are discussed as well as explanations for the differential evaluations based on the child's sex. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Liberal grading improves evaluations but not performance.

The effects of examination grades on 250 college students' study behaviors, attendance, and evaluations of instruction were examined in an undergraduate psychology course. A paradigm involving a team-teaching procedure was employed, which enabled the questions to be investigated in the natural setting using an experimental rather than a correlational methodology. Liberal grading was found to result in higher evaluations of course and instructor but had no demonstrable effect on studying or attendance. (10 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of mood on mothers' evaluations of children's behavior.

Examined the effects of mood on mothers' evaluations of their children's behavior. Ss were 54 mothers and their 4- to 5-yr-old children. Families were randomly assigned to a depressed, positive, or neutral mood condition. Mothers evaluated their children's behavior after participating in a mood induction. Independent observers also evaluated children's behavior. Mothers in the positive mood condition evaluated their children's behavior as more favorable than did mothers in the depressed and neutral mood conditions. Mothers in the positive mood condition also evaluated their children's behavior as more favorable than did independent observers of the children's behavior. Evaluations provided by mothers in the depressed mood condition did not differ from those provided by mothers in the neutral mood condition or from those provided by independent observers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Peer reviewer evaluations and evaluations of peer reviewers: Effects of theoretical orientation.

Investigated the effects of both provider and reviewer theoretical orientation on the evaluation of treatment in the context of document-based peer review and on the consequent evaluation of the reviews themselves. 141 staff members from 35 university counseling centers were assigned to 1 of 2 treatment groups, each of which received different combinations of client problems (depression and anxiety) and provider theoretical orientation (psychodynamic and cognitive-behavioral); each S reviewed 2 sets of treatment documents composed of 2 of the 4 treatment combinations. There was no relationship between quality of review and theoretical orientation of the reviewer or treatment provider and no relationship between theoretical orientation and reimbursement recommendations. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of instructor/course evaluations on student course selection.

Instructor/course evaluations had an impact on student election of courses as shown by the frequency with which 1,150 students elected differentially rated classes. Prior to registration students were given reports on student evaluations of political science courses. A comparable group of students did not receive the ratings. The course rated most highly was elected more frequently by those with access to ratings despite the fact that it was also rated as requiring more work. (9 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Job performance over time is a function of latent trajectories and previous performance.

Previous literature addressing job performance over time notes that past performance can affect future performance and that individuals often have distinct latent performance trajectories. However, no research to date has modeled these 2 aspects of job performance in tandem. Drawing on previous literature, the authors note that current performance may act as performance feedback, influencing future performance directly (i.e., autoregression), and that individuals differ in their performance trajectories due to individual-difference factors (i.e., latent trajectories). The authors demonstrate an autoregressive latent trajectory (ALT) model to show how both autoregressive and latent trajectory parameters may be incorporated in modeling job performance over time. Also discussed are the implications of the ALT model for future studies examining job performance longitudinally. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Improving the accuracy of performance evaluations: Comparison of three methods of performance appraiser training.

A total of 52 supervisory personnel were trained under one of three performance-appraisal training programs: rater error (response set) training, observation training, or decision-making training. Halo, leniency, range restriction, and accuracy measures were collected before and after training from the three training groups and a no-training control group. The results suggested that although the traditional rater error training, best characterized as inappropriate response set training, reduced the classic rater errors (or statistical effects), it also detrimentally affected rating accuracy. However, observation and decision-making training caused performance rating accuracy to increase after training, but did little to reduce classic rater effects. The need for a reconceptualization of rater training content and measurement focus was discussed in terms of the uncertain relation between statistical rating effects and accuracy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

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

Examined the effects of knowledge of a ratee's prior performance on evaluations of present performance. 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. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of nonpathological sex role stereotypes on student evaluations of psychiatric patients.

50 male and 50 female undergraduate judges evaluated statements (drawn from the MMPI Mf and L scales) that were attributed to male and female seriously disturbed psychiatric patients but that were not symptomatic of disturbance. When a male judge rated a female patient who expressed an attitude conventionally associated with a masculine sex role, she was evaluated as more disturbed than if she had described herself neutrally or in terms of a feminine stereotype. No similar bias occurred among female judges or in evaluations of male patients. (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)     

Effects of earned and assigned grades on student evaluations of an instructor.

Experimental manipulation of grades assigned to 148 members of an introductory psychology class was performed to determine the effects of actually earned and randomly assigned grades. Earned grade had minor effects on evaluation of the instructor, but assigned grade produced significant modifications in ratings. Less adequate Ss showed greater evaluation rating shifts as a function of manipulations performed. Responses made to attribution questions were consonant with responses to evaluation items. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of cognitive feedback on performance.

This presents a comprehensive review of the empirical literature bearing on the effects of cognitive feedback (CFB) on multiple measures of performance. CFB refers to the process of presenting the person information about the relations in the environment (task information [TI]), relations perceived by the person (cognitive information [CI]), and relations between the environment and the persons's perceptions of the environment (functional validity information [FVI]). Overall, CFB does improve performance on judgment tasks. Specifically, the research indicates that TI rather than CI is the aspect of CFB that influences performance. Factors influencing the effects of CFB on performance are discussed, and both current and potential applications of CFB are explored. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of authoritarianism on vigilance performance.

An experiment was performed on the effects of authoritarian monitoring conditions upon vigilance performance. Two groups of 20 Ss each were employed. One group worked at a light monitoring task for a period of 135 min. without rest and alone. The second group worked at the same task for the same amount of time but was observed by either a commissioned or noncommissioned officer according to a random visiting schedule. Signal rate was 12 signals per hr. The results indicated a highly significant facilitation of detection performance resulting from observation by the officers. It was suggested that these conditions represent an extreme point along a dimension of perceived threat to the monitor. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)