How Team-Level Performance Feedback Influences Peer-Evaluations: A Social Comparison Perspective

Abstract

Teamwork promises important benefits, especially when it comes to complex problem solving. However, the lack of reliable performance measures at the individual team member level makes the management of team performance challenging. While information from peer monitoring during task completion is a valuable source of knowledge on individual contributions, such information tends to be biased. This paper analyzes how positive or negative feedback on overall team outcomes influences team members’ perceptions of their own and other team members’ relative contribution to overall team performance. Building on social comparison theory, we propose that individuals tend to use same gender peers as social reference points and positive versus negative team-level feedback has an impact on individuals’ (unconscious) strategies for enhancing self-esteem. Overall, we hypothesize that positive (negative) team-level performance feedback leads to a shift of relative contribution ratings towards lower (higher) evaluations of peers that share the evaluator’s gender. We test our hypotheses in an experiment with 247 student participants and find evidence to support our hypotheses.