Emotional Evaluators: A Theoretical Model of Emotions and Performance Appraisal in Organizations

In this paper, I propose a theoretical model – the Emotion in Performance Appraisal Model (EPAM) – to understand the role of emotion in performance appraisal. Performance appraisal is perhaps the most important human resource process in organizations, and emotions are pervasive in this process. In this model, I propose that current emotions – emotions that raters experience in the performance appraisal process – influence the performance appraisal process and performance ratings. Current emotions include integral emotions – emotions triggered by the performance appraisal process – and incidental emotions – emotions triggered by an entirely unrelated situation. I also propose that expected emotions influence the performance appraisal process and performance ratings. Expected emotions include expected rater emotions – the emotions that raters expect to experience in response to the performance appraisal – and expected ratee emotions – the emotions that raters expect their ratees to experience in response to the performance appraisal. In all, this paper expands our understanding of the performance appraisal process in organizations and provides a theoretical foundation for empirical research on emotions and performance appraisal. In this process, it also introduces an entirely new direction for theory and research into the performance appraisal literature.