Examining and reducing rater stereotype affects on performance ratings

Condoning stereotyping? How awareness of stereotyping prevalence impacts expression of stereotypes.

“…Participants rated their stereotypes toward overweight individuals in the specific role of “manager” using the eight-item Obese as Managers Scale (OAMS; Randolph, Finkelstein, Zhdanova, Baltes, & Roehling, 2007; e.g., “Obese people possess the drive to be successful leaders”; reverse-coded; 1 = strongly disagree , 7 = strongly agree ), α = .82 (Rudolph et al, 2012; Zhdanova, Baltes, Chakrabarti, Finkelstein, Roehling, & Sheppard, 2007). The OAMS was designed to assess raters’ endorsement of both general negative stereotypes toward overweight individuals in the workplace and more specific stereotypes about overweight individuals in managerial positions within organizations.…”

Mitigating the Impact of Stereotypes Is More Practical Than Holding People Accountable for Them

“…In three published studies reviewed here (Baltes, Bauer, & Frensch, ; Bauer & Baltes, ; Rudolph, Baltes, Zhdanova, Clark, & Bal, ), and in several unpublished conference papers (e.g., Palmer, Putter, Wolfson, & Gardner, ; Zhdanova et al, ), the SFRI has demonstrated efficacy for reducing raters' reliance on explicitly endorsed stereotypes when rating performance in situations with limited interpersonal contact between rater and target, and when raters have limited access to performance relevant information. Such situations often occur in the workplace (e.g., preemployment interviews and assessment center exercises) and represent fertile ground for the types of marginalization and discrimination that concerns Lindsey et al Each of the studies reviewed below provides evidence for the notion that individual differences in raters' stereotype endorsement (i.e., the degree to which raters agree with explicit negative stereotypes that characterize a stigmatized group) are predictive of performance ratings (see also Dobbins, Cardy, & Truxillo, ; Rudolph & Baltes, ).…”