IMPLICIT STRESS THEORY - AN EXPERIMENTAL EXAMINATION OF SUBJECTIVE PERFORMANCE INFORMATION ON EMPLOYEE EVALUATIONS

Implicit theories lead individuals to make assumptions about one trait based on their knowledge of another trait. These assumptions can be p articularly costly to organizations if they bias performance evaluatio ns. Two studies experimentally examined Implicit Stress Theory (IST) u sing a 2 (high and low stressor) x 2 (high and low performance) design across three dependent variables: ratings of effectiveness, commitmen t, and burnout. Results from a sample of MBA students and a sample of practicing managers showed that employees in a high-stressor job were rated as more effective, committed, and burned out than employees in a low-stressor job when performance was indicated using subjective desc riptive anchors. Interactive patterns in the manager sample demonstrat ed that the biasing effects were more pronounced for low performing em ployees.