Applying the social relations model to self and peer evaluations

Peer evaluations of performance increasingly are being used to make organizational decisions and to provide individuals with performance related feedback. Using Kenny's social relations model (SRM), data from 14 teams of undergraduate students who completed performance ratings of themselves and other team members were analyzed. Results indicated a significant target variance effect for the majority of performance dimensions and a significant perceiver variance effect for all performance dimensions. Results further indicated that, in general, how individuals see themselves is not congruent with how others see them, how individuals see themselves is congruent with how they see others, how individuals are seen on a particular dimension is related to how they are seen on other performance dimensions, and, how a person is seen by others does not relate to how that individual sees others. Implications, limitations, and suggestions for future research using the SRM are discussed.