Cognitive Bias and Performance Reviews
Thursday, February 5th, 2009When asked to review the performance of an employee we are all hit by the fundamental attribution bias. This is a tendency to judge someone based on their personality (the kind of person we think they are) rather than situational analysis (how circumstances compelled their behavior).
Turns out that the strength of the bias is inversely proportional to how well we like the person being evaluated, or so argues Barbara Limanowka, in her capstone research for a Master’s degree in Learning and Organizational Change at Northwestern University. The more we like the person we are evaluating the weaker the bias and vice-versa.
An important insight for cognitive designers tasked with improving the effectiveness of an employee appraisal process.
