RELEVANCE OF RATER-RATEE ACQUAINTANCE IN VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY OF RATINGS

69 unacquainted undergraduates worked in 3-man groups under relevant (mathematical tasks) and irrelevant (socializing) acquaintance conditions. The Ss rated one another on scales that defined several cognitive skills. They were also rated on these same scales by Os, dependent on visual information, and unacquainted with Ss or the nature of the tasks being performed. As hypothesized, Ss under the relevant acquaintance condition achieved consistently good validity for all 3 cognitive areas with the best validity for ratings of math ability. Validity under the irrelevant acquaintance condition was nil on all scales. Os achieved significant validity (at lower levels than Ss) for ratings under the relevant acquaintance condition. Levels of inter- and intrarater reliability were not associated with levels of validity under the various rating conditions. (16 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved). © 1969 American Psychological Association.