Although the phenomenon of “halo” effects has been known for over 60 years, little attention has been given to determine their influence in subjective grading. This study involved the evaluation of 20 term papers for introductory psychology by 2 groups of 3 raters. One group had the benefit of knowing the author's previous academic performance, while the other group did not. Correlations of .51 to .81 were found between grades on term papers and those in the course when information about the students' previous academic performance was made available. When this information was not available, the correlation dropped to a negligible level.
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