Effects of Context and Initial Impression on Performance Evaluation: An Experimental Study

本研究探討情境與初始印象對績效評估的影響，研究主題有三：（1）主管在評估多位部屬的績效時，是否會受到評估情境的影響，產生對比效果；（2）主管對部屬的初始印象，是否會影響主管對該部屬的績效評估；（3）主管對部屬的初始印象，是否能調節對比效果。 本研究採3（前一位部屬表現好、沒有前一位部屬的表現資料、前一位部屬表現差）× 3（對後一位部屬有好的初始印象、沒有後一位部屬的初始印象資料、對後一位部屬有差的初始印象）之受試者間操弄設計，以132位EMBA學生為受試者，要求受試者依照實驗程序，評估相關資料。研究結果顯示，前一位部屬的表現情境，會對後一位部屬之績效評估結果有顯著的影響，此結果和對比效果一致；另外，對後一位部屬的初始印象，也會顯著的影響其績效評估之結果；但是情境和初始印象的交互作用不顯著，因此本研究結果無法說明初始印象能調節對比效果。This study examines the effects of context and initial impression on the superior’s evaluation of the subordinate’s performance. In this study, the context is defined as the performance of the subordinate preceding the target subordinate (hereafter “performance of the preceding subordinate”). Adopting a 3 (good performance of the preceding subordinate, no performance information on the preceding subordinate, poor performance of the preceding subordinate) x 3 (good impression on the target subordinate, no impression information on the target subordinate, poor impression on the target subordinate) between-subjects factorial design, this study recruits 132 executive M.B.A. students as the experimental participants in which they are required to serve as the superior and to evaluate the performance of a target subordinate after reading some materials about the target subordinate, and performance information on the preceding subordinate (except for those in the control groups). ANOVA shows that context (i.e., performance of the preceding subordinate) significantly affects the participants’ performance evaluation, which is consistent with contrast effects. The results also show that initial impression on the target subordinate has a significant effect on the participants’ performance evaluation. But the interaction between context and initial impression is not significant, suggesting that initial impression cannot mitigate contrast effects