A second look at the relationship between rating and behavioral accuracy in performance appraisal.

The accuracy of ratings concerning ratees' strengths and weaknesses was hypothesized to correlate with the accuracy of memories concerning ratees' behaviors, although delay of the rating task was expected to attenuate this relationship. In contrast, because it was presumed that raters would rely on their on-line impressions to formulate holistic evaluations, no association between accuracy of overall ratee evaluations and behavioral accuracy was hypothesized. The results of a laboratory study (N = 262) supported these predictions, suggesting that accurate behavioral memories might help in formulating accurate evaluations of ratees' strengths and weaknesses.