Common Rating Errors

1. Common Rating Errors

2. Distribution Errors • Distribution error happens when rater uses only one part of the rating scale, such 4 or 5 on a 5-point rating scale. • Leniency error versus strictness error • Central tendency error • Overcoming distribution errors

3. Halo Effect • Halo effect happens when one single attribute or an overall impression on an individual affect other ratings. • Judgement of the rater has been clouded by the single attribute. • Occurs when rater has little knowledge of the job and do not know he employee very much. • More common in peer ratings than in supervisor ratings ( Viswesvaran, Schmidt, and One, 2005, in Aamodt 2010)

4. Proximity Errors • Happens when the rating of one dimension affects the rating on the other dimension which follows. • Only the dimensions located nearest are affected, not the overall as in the halo effect.

5. Contrast effect • Rating of one employee is being influenced by a previously evaluated person. • The rating of the particular employee has been compared to the first employee rather than the standard. • Contrast effect can also happen between two separate evaluation of the same person. • Contrast effects only occur when the person making the evaluation actually sees the employee perform.

6. Low reliability across raters • Due to halo effect, leniency etc • Due to different standards • Different raters see different behaviours of an employee.

7. Sampling problems • Recency effect • Infrequent observation

8. Cognitive Processing of Observed Behaviour • Observed behavior not properly remembered or recalled. • Emotional state of raters • Bias