Date of Graduation
Spring 2011
Degree
Master of Science in Psychology
Department
Psychology
Committee Chair
Robert Jones
Abstract
Bias in performance ratings can be an important issue for many companies, especially when ratings are used for employment-related decisions (selection, promotion, termination). For this reason, finding ways to reduce bias and identifying contributing factors has become a goal of the field. In this thesis, variation in ratee-rater accent are examined to see if meaningful differences arise in performance ratings when other qualifications are held constant. Three target-person accents were assessed to determine whether the source of the bias is norm violation or stereotyping. Frame of reference training was also tested as a means to control for this bias, by focusing rater attention on job-related (norm-related) behaviors. Biases were found based on accent; however, such biases were not mitigated by training, suggesting that stereotyping was the basis for rating differences.
Keywords
bias, accent, performance ratings, stereotypes, norm violation
Subject Categories
Psychology
Copyright
© Erin Amanda Trivitt
Recommended Citation
Trivitt, Erin Amanda, "Performance Rating Bias Resulting from Ratee Accent" (2011). MSU Graduate Theses. 1784.
https://bearworks.missouristate.edu/theses/1784
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