Performance appraisal is acknowledged as one of management's most effective tools for good employee motivation, satisfaction and productivity. Not surprisingly then, there are plenty of books of the how to do sort for managers, but are the methods described based on a sound theoretical knowledge? Do they correctly account for the biases and heuristics in memory, for instance? This is an account of a research programme into rater cognitive processes and their effects on the performance appraisal interview. The author has conducted over 30 experiments both in the laboratory and in real life...