The relationship between rater affect and three sources of 360-degree feedback ratings

We investigated whether rater affect has a similar effect on the leniency of ratings from three of the sources of 360-degree feedback (downward, upward, and peer) and whether there is an interaction between a rater's affect and the time he or she has spent observing the ratee. The findings indicate that the influence of rater affect on the leniency of ratings was significantly greater in upward and peer feedback than in downward feedback and that the influence increased as raters' observation time increased. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.