Accuracy of performance ratings as affected by rater training and perceived purpose of rating

Abstract

Investigated the effects of perceived purpose for rating and training type on the following dependent variables: accuracy, leniency/severity, and illusory halo. The purpose factor comprised 3 levels: a hiring purpose, a feedback purpose, and a research-only purpose. The training factor comprised 4 levels: rater error (RE) training, frame-of-reference (FOR) training, the combination of both methods, and no training. With both factors crossed, 164 undergraduates were randomly assigned to 1 of 12 conditions and viewed videotapes of lectures given by bogus graduate assistants. Heterogeneity of variance made it necessary to apply a conservative analytical strategy. Training significantly affected 2 measures of accuracy and halo such that a training condition that contained an FOR component did better than RE or no training. The conservativeness of the conservative analytic strategy made effects for the purpose factor on correlation accuracy, leniency/severity, and halo only tentative; it dissipated the 1 interaction effect of the 2 factors on distance accuracy. Discussion centers on (a) comparison of the results with those of S. Zedeck and W. Cascio (see record 1983-09102-001 ), (b) potential reasons for the heteroscedasticity, and (c) implications for the development of student evaluations of university instructors. (32 ref) (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)