title: ANALYSIS AND REDUCTION OF COMPONENTS OF SYSTEMATIC ERROR IN RATINGS '.
abstract: A formal model of rating behavior was deveioped in which true and systematic error components of ratings were differentiated. A general error reduction procedure was developed, and the effects of the transformation of ratings on the validity of inter-rater agreement were analyzed within a computer simulation methodology. The method of mathematical mode1 simulation allowed the error reduction procedure to be validated, and the interactive effects of various components of error were demonstrated. Specifically, it was shown that characteristics of both the perceiver (rater) and the perceived person were invalidating sources of error which were reduced by the data reduction procedure. The proposition that the method of mathematical model simulation will prove valuable in the analysis of more complex psychological phenomena was advanced.
authors.forename: G N
authors.initials: GN
authors.lastname: Braucht