What term refers to a rater's estimation based on personal theory of how different types of people behave in certain situations?

• A. Implicit personality theory
• B. Halo effect
• C. Central tendency
• D. Recency error

Answer: (A)

Implicit personality theory is the mental model a rater uses to predict how different types of people behave in various situations. When someone holds a personal belief about how certain types act, they apply that belief to interpret behavior and fill in missing information, which shapes their ratings. In practice, this means judgments reflect the rater’s own theory about types rather than what the person actually did, leading to biased assessments.

For example, if a rater thinks that “people who are quiet tend to be thoughtful,” they may rate a quiet employee as more thoughtful in a rating, even if there isn’t enough evidence from behavior to justify that conclusion. This reflects relying on an internal theory to categorize and evaluate others.

The halo effect, central tendency, and recency error describe different biases: halo effect is a general impression coloring all trait judgments; central tendency pulls ratings toward the middle of the scale; recency error weights recent actions more heavily.