LONGITUDINAL-STUDY OF THE EFFECTS OF RATER TRAINING ON PSYCHOMETRIC ERROR IN RATINGS

66 supervisory engineers were randomly assigned to (a) an intense training group, (b) a discussion group, or (c) a nontrained comparison group. The intense training and discussion Ss received 14 hrs of rater training designed to minimize halo and leniency error and to use the organization's behavioral expectation scale for engineers more effectively. A longitudinal research design was used to study the halo and leniency errors 6 mo before training (TB), 6 mo after training (T6), and 12 mo after training (T12). Using covariance analysis, ANOVA with repeated measures, and planned comparisons, findings indicate that the intense training module (which included a 6-hr videotape block) was superior to the discussion and comparison groups in reducing halo and leniency error. However, a noticeable dissipation of training effect on these psychometric errors was identified when the T6 and T12 data were examined. (12 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved). © 1979 American Psychological Association.