THE IMPACT OF SELF-APPRAISALS ON REACTIONS TO FEEDBACK FROM OTHERS - THE ROLE OF SELF-ENHANCEMENT AND SELF-CONSISTENCY CONCERNS

This study examined the usefulness of self-appraisal (SA) as a techniq ue designed to enhance the motivational and developmental impact of fe edback from others. Drawing from research on self-enhancement and self -consistency motives, it was hypothesized that individuals would agree with and incorporate feedback that is consistent with their SA, where as they would be more satisfied and perform better if feedback is more favorable than their SA. A field study was conducted with 122 MBA stu dents as participants. On average, students were 25 years old and had 1.8 years of work experience. Seventy per cent of students were male a nd 82 per cent were white. The findings supported all of the hypothese s except the hypothesis concerning satisfaction. Implications for impr oving the impact of performance appraisal feedback are discussed.