PERCEPT PERCEPT INFLATION IN MICROORGANIZATIONAL RESEARCH - AN INVESTIGATION OF PREVALENCE AND EFFECT

Analysis of 42,934 correlations published in 581 articles not only revealed general evidence that self-report methods have produced percept-percept inflation in microresearch on organizations but also suggested that this effect is diminished when 1 or both covariates are demographic variables. Further analysis of a subsample of 11,710 correlations indicated that percept-percept inflation has influenced research on particular bivariate relationships but has not had the broad, comprehensive effects envisioned by critics. These findings challenge the validity of general condemnations of self-report methods, suggesting instead that domain-specific investigations are required to determine which areas of research are especially susceptible to percept-percept effects.