A test of the context dependency of three causal models of halo rater error.

C. E. Lance, J. A. LaPointe, and S. A. Fisicaro (1994) tested 3 different causal models of halo rater error (general impression [GI], salient dimension [SD], and inadequate discrimination [D] models) and found that the GI model better accounted for observed halo rating error than did the SD or ID models. They also suggested that the type of halo rater error that occurs might vary as a function of rating context. The purpose of this study was to determine whether rating contexts could be manipulated that favored the operation of each of these 3 halo-error models. Results indicated, however, that GI halo error occurred in spite of experimental conditions designed specifically to induce other forms of halo rater error. This suggests that halo rater error is a unitary phenomenon that should be defined as the influence of a rater's general impression on ratings of specific ratee qualities.