Initial Decisions and Subsequent Performance Ratings

University of South CarolinaPerformance evaluations are often based on information acquired in different situations and are basedon the representation of that information in memory. A laboratory experiment was conducted toexamine how information initially encountered for one decision was later used for evaluating rateeperformance. Subjects viewed videotaped performances of carpenters blocked by workers or by tasksand were instructed to make initial deservedness or designation-type decisions. Two days later, subjectswere asked to rate (from memory) each worker's performance. The results suggest that the pattern inwhich information is presented to raters and the nature of previous decisions may affect memory-based performance ratings.Information from performance appraisals is involved in manydifferent types of organizational decisions, such as promotions,salary allocations, and actions taken as part of employee devel-opment programs. The appraisal decisions themselves, however,are not typically based on concurrent observation of employeeperformance undertaken simply to help complete a rating form.Instead, these decisions are often based on performance infor-mation acquired some time before the actual appraisal is madeand acquired in different situations for different initial purposes.The context in which performance information is acquired,therefore, may influence the way in which ratee performance islater represented in memory-based judgments. The present studyinvestigates how different acquisition patterns and the purposefor which the information is initially acquired influence subse-quent performance ratings.