I misunderstand you because I worry about you: The relationship between neuroticism and ratings of linguistic interpreting

Reliable assessment of interpreting performance is important for interpreter education, interpreting certifications, and interpreting studies. Previous research has shown that a broad range of linguistic, educational, and social factors may influence scoring quality. However, very few studies have investigated the role of personality traits in interpreting assessment. Based on the findings that higher neuroticism is associated with a skewed perception of problems due to their recurrent negative thoughts, the present research investigated the association between neuroticism and interpreting assessment in professional and novice raters. The results showed that high-neuroticism novice raters were more likely to overestimate the probability and severity of perceived problems and to give lower ratings in interpreting assessment than professional raters and low-neuroticism novice raters. These findings provide the first step to understanding of the idea that the neurotic personality of the rater is one additional source of variance in the accuracy of interpreting assessment. The current data enable and establish a critical evidential base for implementing assessment-focused professional development in high-stakes testing practices to offset the negative effect of neuroticism in inaccurate interpreting assessment.