A Methodological and Substantive Note on the Performance-Cue Effect in Ratings of Work-Group Behavior

According to research on the performance-cue effect in work ratings, knowledge that a group performed well or poorly can trigger raters' implicit theories, resulting in inaccurate judgments of the group's behavior. Unfortunately, because information concerning group performance has always...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of applied psychology 1995-02, Vol.80 (1), p.191-195
Main Authors: Martell, Richard F, Guzzo, Richard A, Willis, Cynthia E
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Behavior
Bias
Biological and medical sciences
Evaluation
Feedback
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Group behaviour
Group Performance
Groups
Human
Observers
Occupational psychology
Orientation. Selection. Evaluation
Performance appraisal
Psychology
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Statistical analysis
Studies
Work environment
Citations: Items that cite this one
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Summary:According to research on the performance-cue effect in work ratings, knowledge that a group performed well or poorly can trigger raters' implicit theories, resulting in inaccurate judgments of the group's behavior. Unfortunately, because information concerning group performance has always been provided by the experimenter, it has been impossible to tell whether the performance-cue effect reflects the influence of participants' implicit theories or is simply an attempt to conform to the experimenter's belief. To test these 2 explanations, participants observed a work group without having received performance information and then completed evaluative and behavioral ratings of the group. Allowing participants to evaluate the group free of any externally provided performance information enabled participants to form independently generated impressions; thus, the demand characteristic problem was eliminated. Results indicated the performance-cue effect is not an artifact and that it is likely due to a systematic response bias.
ISSN:0021-9010
1939-1854
DOI:10.1037/0021-9010.80.1.191