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MY interest in self-appraisal has focused primarily on self-ratings of present job performance. I have been especially interested in how selfappraisals affect the respective individuals' reactions to a feedback interview with a supervisor who has also rated their performance in a formal performance appraisal program. I first became interested in self-appraisals of job performance in connection with an intensive research study of the appraisal interview conducted in the General Electric Company (Meyer, Kay, and French, 1965). In that study we used comparisons of self-appraisals and the respective supervisor appraisals as a measure of the degree to which the self-esteem of the subordinate member of each such pair might be threatened (Kay, Meyer, and French, 1965).In interviews conducted with each of the subordinates before they had their appraisal discussions with their supervisors, we asked them for a confidential appraisal of their own job performance. They were

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Real-life appraisal interviews conducted by 92 manager-subordinate pairs were studied intensively. Reactions of subordinates were systematically obtained before and after their appraisal interviews and the proceedings in the actual interviews were carefully documented by trained observers. Measures of subsequent performance improvement realized as a result of the appraisal interviews were taken 12 wks later The results indicated that a manager's attempts to assist a subordinate by pointing up improvement needs were likely to be perceived by the subordinate as threatening to his self-esteem and to result in defensive behavior. The greater the threat, the less favorable the attitude toward the appraisal system and the less the subsequent constructive improvement in job performance realized. These reactions were strong to the extent that the subordinate had relatively low occupational self-esteem Some practical implications for appraisal practices are cited

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The In-Basket TestThe In-Basket Test is a simulation exercise requiring the performance of a managerial position by dealing with the mail and related items which have presumably accumulated in the "Inbasket" of the manager. Each subject is confronted with a standard set of problems in the form of letters, memos, reports, and related materials. The exercise provides an excellent training tool for prospective managers, and it is widely used for this purpose in industry. I n addition, several methods of scoring performance on these materials have been worked out so that the in-basket is frequently used as a selection aid.One of the major advantages of the in-basket test as a selection aid is its high face validity. Since it requires performance of an important aspect of a managerial work, the use of this test as a screening device makes sense to candidates for managerial jobs.It is probably the high face validity of the test that accounts for the fact that there have been few attempts to validate the test as a measure of actual on-the-job managerial performance. Its validity for the purpose seems obvious.