Rater Reactions to Forced Distribution Rating Systems

Performance appraisals are a common evaluation tool that organizations use for employee training and development, compensation, and/or promotions. Forced distribution rating systems (FDRS) are a subset of these appraisal systems, seeking to improve the quality of performance ratings by restricting raters’ autonomy to rate. This current research investigates the constraints imposed on raters by FDRS, and how they might potentially create negative emotional reactions and perceptions in raters. Drawing on the Psychological Theory of Reactance, I examine raters’ reactions (i.e., reactance and perceived difficulty) to various FDRS scenarios in an altered policy capturing approach where psychological outcomes of decisions are predicted rather than the specific decisions themselves. Two constraints I examine include the type of outcome the rater decision has on a ratee, and the direction raters are forced to place ratees in performance categories. Overall, my results indicate that directional forcing can generate elevated levels of both perceived difficulty and reactance. Specifically, forcing ratees down and up categories that their performance does not reflect can raise perceived difficulty and reactance.