The Effects of Training Strategies on Assessor Behavior and the Accuracy of Assessment Center Consensus Ratings

The purpose of this research was to examine the effects of four training strategies (e.g., part, whole, individual, and team) on the accuracy of performance ratings and the occurrence of interactive behaviors in consensus meetings. The results were analyzed using a 2 x 2 factorial ANOVA design. Part and whole training strategies were directly compared with one another. Team and individual training strategies made up the other direct comparison. Undergraduates (N = 108) were randomly assigned to four training conditions. The subjects were grouped into teams of three assessors. In these teams the assessors needed to exchange information about assessee performance across three assessment center exercises and form dimension and overall ratings for four experimental assessees. The rating accuracy results indicated that (a) no differences in rating accuracy existed between part and whole training, (b) team training led to more accurate final ratings than individual training, and (c) the Whole-Team training condition led to more accurate overall assessment ratings than the remaining three conditions. Reasons for the superiority of team training stem from the higher frequency of interactive behaviors observed in the team training condition. Further explanations for the findings and suggestions for future research are discussed