Sugarcoating in performance appraisal narrative comments: A function of the performance level and the level of self-monitoring

The present study combined literature in performance evaluation, MUM sugarcoating and self monitoring to unwind the social/ situational factors and personality characteristics that impact the production of comments in conditions of high versus low performance. The study also investigated the interplay between comments and ratings in conditions of high versus low performance. A total of 91 undergraduate students (female = 55) from a large metropolitan Canadian University participated in the study. Participants were asked to evaluate the performance of an employee based on a performance information package. They also completed a single online measure for MUM sugarcoating, task self efficacy and self monitoring. Based on the results of analysis, it was found that there is a significant positive relationship between the valence of ratings and that of comments. It was also found that the relationship between the valence of ratings and comments was stronger in the high performance condition that the low performance condition. Regression analyses demonstrated that individuals in the low performance condition did not sugarcoat their comments significantly more than their peers in the high performance condition. Finally, regression analyses demonstrated that self-monitoring did not significantly impact the magnitude of the relationship between the performance level and the amount of sugarcoating. These findings are discussed in relation to future research and their practical significance. Keywords: Performance Evaluation, narrative ratings, numeric comments, MUM sugarcoating, self-monitoring