Examined outcome expectancies of people who conduct appraisals. Interviews with 32 appraisers in the newsprint industry showed that appraisers perceived no consequences to them of conducting appraisals. Questionnaires completed by 39 appraisers in the banking industry provided moderate support for alternate hypothesis that appraisers perceive…

Investigated the frequent but previously untested assertion that utility analysis can improve communication and decision making about human resource management programs by examining a performance feedback intervention in a small fast-food store. Results suggest substantial payoffs from performance feedback, though the store's owner-managers had…

Surveyed industrial employees (N=218) who had used peer evaluation system for over one year. Found a higher degree of user acceptance than that reported in previous research. Found users were significantly more favorable in their attitudes toward peer appraisals when the appraisals were used for developmental rather than evaluative purposes.…

Study seeks to determine whether verbal and arithmetic skills measures were related to indices of job behavior for a hardcore'' unemployed sample. (Author)

Investigated influence of retranslated behavior checklists on construct validity of dimension ratings for 2 assessment center exercises using 10 assessors. Found assessor use of behavior checklists increased average convergent validity while decreasing average discriminant validity. Behavior checklist sums were moderately correlated with…

Outlines issues pertaining to possible sex bias in job evaluation procedures and reviews relevant research. Gives attention to possible sex bias in job analysis procedures, choice and weighting of factors, and reliability and validity issues. Discusses future research needs, particularly reliability and validity aspects of job evaluation…

Data assembled from assessment centers run by an international manufacturing organization are analyzed for the purpose of evaluating which tests and exercises effectively measure specific traits or characteristics of subjects and which don't. The importance of trained observers is also stressed. (RW).

Many proposed moderators, "explanatory variables," in personnel psychology are probably illusory, having been created solely by belief in the law of small numbers. Race is one such illusory moderator. Also described is a model for validity generalization that questions the traditional doctrine of situational specificity of test…

Analyzes critically and integrates the legal, psychometric, and professional literature on the use and misuse of cutoff scores by managers to help make personnel decisions. Examines alternative methods in relation to legal precedents set by the courts, to psychometric principles, and to the various sets of professional guidelines. (Author/ABL)

Reports research which used 18,814 performance records to generate error statisitics using the Mixed Standard Scale evaluation format. Reduction of system error rates following revision guided by statistical analysis is a clear indication that the quality control features of this format are useful in the management of performance evaluation…

Examined supervisor perceptions and subordinate reactions to formal performance-appraisal reviews. There were three dimensions of formal performance appraisals: two developmental (being supportive; emphasizing performance improvement) and one administrative (discussing pay and advancement). Support in appraisal review was associated with higher…

Investigated the developmental effects of assessorship, i.e., serving as a trained member of an assessment center staff, on managers' (N=80) proficiency in three categories of behavior: acquiring, evaluating, and communicating information about people. Results indicated that experienced assessors were more proficient in these skills. (LLL)

Reviewed characteristics of peer evaluations and notes their striking industrial validity. A review of the conditions under which peer evaluations yield strong validity coefficients as well as certain factor analytic and experimental studies indicated that social comparison theory might be useful for elucidating the nature of peer evaluation…

Investigated the consistency and loci of leniency, halo, and range restriction effects in performance ratings in a longitudinal study. Policy supervisors (N=90) rated 350 subordinates on five occasions. Concluded that reliable variance in mean ratings is partly attributable to ratees, but mainly introduced by raters. (JAC)

Investigated effectiveness of a self-appraisal-based performance evaluation system that incorporates self-assessment into traditional supervisory evaluation procedures using university faculty members (N=88). Found a high congruency between self-ratings and chairperson ratings, both ratings had high levels of criterion-related validity, and…