The Effect of Implicit Person Theory on Performance Appraisals

• Published in: Journal of applied psychology Vol. 90; no. 5; pp. 842 - 856
• Main Authors: Heslin, Peter A, Latham, Gary P, Don VandeWalle
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Psychological Association 01.09.2005
• Subjects: Adaptation, Psychological; Adult; Anchoring; Aptitude; Behavior Change; Behavioural psychology; Biological and medical sciences; Career Mobility; Cognitive psychology; Employee Characteristics; Employee Performance Appraisal; Employee Skills; Employees; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Generalization (Psychology); Human; Humans; Implicit personality theory; Industrial psychology; Job Performance; Male; Management Personnel; Management science; Management techniques; Middle Aged; Occupational psychology; Organization and management. Professional relation; Organizations; Performance appraisal; Personal Construct Theory; Personality; Personality traits; Personnel Evaluation; Persuasion; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Studies; Theories; Theory; implicit person theory; self-persuasion; anchoring; performance appraisal; Human; Social perception; Professional relation; Manager; Persuasion; Employee; Social interaction; Implicit theory; Performance; Anchoring
• ISSN: 0021-9010; 1939-1854
• DOI: 10.1037/0021-9010.90.5.842

Four studies examined whether implicit person theory (IPT) regarding the malleability of personal attributes (e.g., personality and ability) affects managers' acknowledgment of change in employee behavior. The extent to which managers held an incremental IPT was positively related to their recognition of both good (Study 1) and poor (Study 2) performance, relative to the employee behavior they initially observed. Incremental theorists' judgments were not anchored by their prior impressions (Study 3). In the 4th study, entity theorists who were randomly assigned to a self-persuasion training condition developed a significantly more incremental IPT. This change in IPT was maintained over a 6-week period and led to greater acknowledgment of an improvement in employee performance than was exhibited by entity theorists in the placebo control group.