Thomas P. Cafferty

A cognitive view of the performance appraisal process: A model and research propositions

Abstract This paper presents a model of performance appraisal which focuses on the cognitive processes employed by a rater attempting to form an evaluation. The model describes the method by which a rater collects, encodes, stores, and later retrieves information from memory, and the method by which he or she weights and combines this information to form an evaluation which is converted to a rating on a scale. The model is based on diverse bodies of literature which share a social-cognitive orientation, and it forms the foundation for a number of testable research propositions.

The role of appraisal purpose: effects of purpose on information acquisition and utilization

Abstract Past research on the role of appraisal purpose in the appraisal decision-making process has concentrated on the motivational role of purpose. Research has found that raters are less willing to give poor ratings when appraisals are to be used for some purposes rather than others. The present paper describes two experiments which explore how appraisal purpose might affect rater cognitive activities as well. The first experiment investigated how appraisal purpose and outcomes affect how raters differentially utilize information to make appraisal decisions. Few differences were found. The second experiment investigated how raters differentially search for performance information to make appraisal decisions for different purposes and outcomes. Raters were found to search for more comparative information when they had to select one of several ratees for some treatment. The results also indicated a discrepancy between how information is collected and how it is used. Implications for defining the role of purpose in the appraisal process, as well as for recent process approaches to performance appraisal, are discussed.

The effect of performance appraisal salience on recall and ratings

Abstract Although models of performance appraisal implicitly assume that the rating task is highly salient to raters, it is unlikely that raters have evaluation as their main objective when performance information is first encountered. Two studies investigated the effect of appraisal salience on information processing and ratings. High appraisal salience was related to on-line information processing, while low appraisal salience was related to memory-based information processing. Results from Study 1 indicated that when appraisal salience was low, performance information was less accessible to raters and ratings showed marginally less discriminability than when salience was high unless raters were required to recall information prior to rating. Results from Study 2 related low appraisal salience to greater distortions in ratings but found that certain organization strategies used during encoding were able to improve accuracy. Implications for processing models of performance appraisal are discussed.

Who Volunteers for Adult Development Research?: Research Findings and Practical Steps to Reach Low Volunteering Groups.

The present study is an attempt to determine volunteering bias in racial, gender, and age groups in an adult development study. Samples were drawn from three different types of organizations in the Columbia, South Carolina SMSA. Volunteering rates were calculated as a function of the number eligible to participate in three age groups: 1) young adult (aged 20–25); 2) middle adult (aged 40–45); and 3) old (aged 60–80). The middle group volunteered at a higher rate than the other two age groups, but this effect was restricted to the white sample. Women volunteered more readily than men, but not among the elderly. Whites volunteered more readily than blacks. In order to overcome these volunteering biases, special recruitment procedures were employed in order to obtain a sample which adequately represents the populations in question.

A discriminant analysis of adolescent problem drinking.

A discriminant analysis was performed on a sample of 1,715 sixth and eighth grade students to determine which children are engaged in the use of alcohol and which sociocultural factors appear to be influencing their decision to drink. Parental drinking patterns, race, sex, and grade level have predictive ability in deciding if a child will become a frequent or heavy drinker. Targeting individuals, who are predicted as being prone to drink heavily, for special counseling may result in better use of counseling resources.

Television public service announcements as outreach for potential clients

Public service announcements (PSAs) aired by local radio or television stations may be useful to human service agencies as a mechanism to reach potential clients during periods of low service demand. To examine the usefulness of PSAs for this purpose, a series of PSAs were videotaped for three aging-service agencies and aired by a television station during a 6-week period. The three agencies recorded the incoming demand for services received each day before and during the intervention period. The data were tested by a multiple-group interrupted time-series analysis. The results of the analysis indicated that for all three agencies the PSAs were effective for increasing the number of service inquiries received from nonclients over the telephone numbers publicized in the PSAs. At one of the agencies, the number of new clients increased significantly when the PSAs were broadcasted.

LEARNING ASSOCIATIONS CONSISTENT AND INCONSISTENT WITH THE REPRESENTATIVENESS HEURISTIC

24 subjects learned test scores and grade point averages with r = 0, r = .7, and r = 1 in a paired-associates learning paradigm in which they were instructed to observe the relationship between the numbers and to guess those numbers they did not remember on the basis of the relationship. It was hypothesized that intermediate correlations are difficult for subjects to utilize. The r = 1 deck was easier to learn than the other two, and the r = 0 and r = .7 decks did not differ significantly. The position of the deck influenced performance only in the r = .7 deck. In that deck performance was worst when the deck occupied the first position, when the subject was presumably most influenced by the relation-seeking set instructions. The results supported the hypothesis that intermediate correlations present particular difficulties.

Tell Me Where Is Prejudice Bred. In the Heart or In the Head? (Apologies to Shakespeare): A Review of Our Racist Heart? An Exploration of Unconscious Prejudice in Everyday Life

THE TRAGIC DEATH OF TRAYVON MARTIN in 2012 and the subsequent trial and acquittal of George Zimmerman on charges stemming from Martin’s death has once again ignited discussion of race and racial prejudice in America. Among the issues raised is the pervasive presence of implicit biases that played out not only in the decisions of Zimmerman in confronting Martin, but in the public response to the incident and its aftermath. So a book titled Our Racist Heart? An Exploration of Unconscious Prejudice in Everyday Life published this year by Geoffrey Beattie appears very timely and potentially useful in examining current research and theory concerning racial prejudice. Beattie is Professor of Psychology at Edge Hill University and a Fellow of the British Psychological Society. In addition to his work on the role of unconscious bias as described in this book, he has published extensively in the area of nonverbal communication and in the study of unconscious factors underlying decisions affecting environmental sustainability. This book appears aimed toward an advanced student audience, perhaps as material for a seminar on prejudice. For instance, each chapter ends with a bulleted list of simple summary statements that might serve as discussion points. The book consists of 17 chapters organized in three parts, as well as two appendices. Part I includes five chapters that provide an overview of prejudice from a personal and professional point of view. With respect to the personal point of view, it should be noted that Beattie has

On the Diversity of Viewpoints: Review of The Handbook of the History of Social Psychology

IN PREPARING A SURVEY COURSE in social psychology—particularly a graduate survey—it can be difficult to cover the breadth of topics currently in the field while at the same time give a sense of historical depth to each topic. Even a good general text must compromise, usually in favor of breadth of coverage; so a handbook devoted to the history of social psychology is a welcome addition to the resources available for properly covering this rapidly expanding discipline. The editors of The Handbook of the History of Social Psychology, Arie W. Kruglanski and Wolfgang Stroebe, have invited a distinguished list of contributors to provide a historical account of developments in each of his/her area of expertise. The result is an intriguing set of articles that not only cover important historical events in the emergence of a given area but also evaluate current status and potential future directions. The handbook consists of 23 chapters arranged in three sections: an introduction (two chapters), a section titled “Approaches” (six chapters), and a section titled “Domains of Inquiry” (15 chapters). The chapters in the introduction include a somewhat standard brief general overview of the field by the editors and a