Leniency error

Leniency error is a type of measurement error that occurs when a survey respondent over-reports desirable behaviors or attributes and under-reports undesirable behaviors or attributes. This can lead to a biased sample, as the data collected is not a true representation of the population.

Leniency error is kind of distortion mostly occurs in employee ratings when person who is responsible for rating are unusually understanding towards evaluated person even if employee does not deserved that. Other definition of leniency error emphasize that this problem occurs when raters value all employees regardless of their productivity at work, in this case above the employee evaluation scale.

The opposite of the leniency error is strictness or severity error, sometimes also called as negative leniency error. It is distinguished by the employee's rating below their actual performance.

Example of Leniency error

An example of leniency error is when a survey respondent over-reports their income in order to appear more successful. This can lead to a biased sample, as the data collected is not a true representation of the population. This type of error can be caused by social desirability bias, where respondents are motivated to answer questions in a way that is seen as socially acceptable, even if it does not accurately reflect their true behavior. It can also be caused by incentives, such as offering rewards for answering questions in a certain way, or by poor question wording, such as questions that are too vague or ambiguous. Leniency error can be minimized by taking steps such as asking questions that are clear and specific, phrasing questions neutrally, and training interviewers to be aware of sources of error.

Reasons of occurrence

Leniency error can be caused by:

• Social desirability bias: Respondents may be motivated to report behavior that is seen as socially acceptable, even if it does not accurately reflect their true behavior.
• Incentives: Respondents may be more likely to answer questions in a certain way if they are offered an incentive to do so.
• Poor question wording: Questions that are too vague or ambiguous can lead to inaccurate responses, as respondents may interpret the question in different ways.

There are a lot of reasons why leniency error occurs. The most common reasons is caused by perception errors of the evaluator and assessment methods or by company policy. Some examples of reasons of occurrence are mentioned below:

• Recognizing only positive aspects or intentional avoiding negative aspects of the employee.
• Supervisor believe that low ratings may jeopardized the relationship with subordinates.
• Low employee rating also means low effectiveness of the manager.
• The manager does not give high ratings to avoid to be noticed that he favor someone special.
• The employee's evaluation is done face-to-face.

Ways to avoid leniency error

Leniency error caused by the above-mentioned reasons can be easily neutralize by:

• Using well constructed rating scales.
• Employee evaluation by several people.
• Organize for assessors Rater Error Training and Rater Acurracy Training.
• Reducing leniency error with training for supervisor called calibration meeting.
• Adopting tested methods of employee evaluation preventing wrong rating.
• Normalizing results from ratings to establish norms of comparability between different raters or employees.

Leniency error can be minimized by taking steps such as:

• Asking questions that are clear and specific.
• Choosing survey questions that are phrased in a neutral way, rather than leading the respondent to give a certain answer.
• Training interviewers to be aware of social desirability bias and other potential sources of error.

Where to find Leniency error

Leniency error can be most commonly found in survey research and other forms of data collection where responses are voluntary. It is a way of measuring the accuracy of the results, and is particularly important when dealing with sensitive topics or when the responses may be affected by social desirability bias.

Leniency error can also be used to compare the results of two different surveys, to check for differences in the way the questions were answered. For example, if one survey was conducted face-to-face and the other was conducted online, then comparing the two could provide insights into how the mode of survey affected the responses.

Types of Leniency error

• Substantive leniency: This occurs when respondents are too lenient in their ratings of the items being measured. For example, a respondent may give higher ratings to all items on a survey, regardless of their true opinion on the matter.
• Numerical leniency: This occurs when respondents give higher numerical ratings than they truly feel. For example, a respondent may rate an item as a 4 on a 5-point scale, when they truly feel it should be a 3.

Limitations of Leniency error

Leniency error is an important type of measurement error to be aware of when conducting surveys, however there are several limitations to be taken into consideration.

• Leniency error may not be the only source of bias present in a survey. Other sources of bias, such as interviewer bias or response bias, may still be present and can lead to inaccurate results.
• Leniency error can be difficult to detect, as respondents may not be aware that they are providing inaccurate responses.

Disadvantages of ratings errors

Leniency error and other ratings errors have influence on company efficiency. It usually reduces efficiency by:

• Company cannot identify strengths and weaknesses of employees.
• Demotivating effect, for example when two employees doing same work with a different efficiency and they receive the same rating.
• Worse relationship between the manager and his subordinates.
• Excess or lack of the bonuses for effective work.
• Increase in renumeration costs for the company.
• Unfair treatment of employees due to their evaluation of work.

Other ratings errors

For the most common ratings error belongs:

• Strictness error
• Central Tendency
• Halo Effect
• Recency of events error
• Similarity error

There are several approaches that can be taken to address leniency error in survey data. These include:

• Adjusting the data: This approach involves adjusting the raw data to better reflect the true population. This can be done by adding a correction factor to the data based on the expected level of leniency error.
• Weighting the data: This approach involves weighting the data to account for the expected leniency bias. The weights can be derived from external sources, such as census data.
• Using multiple methods of data collection: This approach involves using multiple methods of data collection, such as focus groups and interviews, to ensure that the data is as accurate as possible.

These approaches can help to minimize the effects of leniency error by ensuring that the survey data reflects the true population. They can be used in conjunction with other strategies such as asking clear and specific questions, phrasing questions neutrally, and training interviewers.

In summary, leniency error is a type of measurement error that can lead to a biased sample if not addressed. To minimize its effects, survey designers can take steps such as adjusting the data, weighting the data, and using multiple methods of data collection, as well as ensuring that questions are clear and neutral and that interviewers are trained to be aware of potential sources of error.

Footnotes

Leniency error — recommended articles

Central tendency error — Social desirability bias — Statistical power — Lurking variable — Interviewer bias — Sample selection bias — Experimental error — Correlational study — Common method bias

References

• Aamodt M. G. , (2015), Industrial/Organizational Psychology: An Applied Approach, Cengage Learning, Boston.
• C. Birkenbach, X. (1984) Halo, Central Tendency, and Leniency in performance appraisel: A comparison between a graphic rating scale and a behaviourally based measure, "Perspectives on Industrial Psychology", South African Journal of Industrial Psychology.
• DeCenzo D., Robbins S. P., Verhulst S. L., (2016),Fundamentals of Human Resource Management, Binder Ready Version, John Wiley & Sons.
• Jones J. W., Steffy B. D., Bray D. W., (1991), Applying Psychology in Business: The Handbook for Managers and Human Resource Professionals, Lexington Books, Douglas Weston.
• Kumar D. Bhattacharyya, (2011), Performance Management Systems and Strategies, Pearson Education India, New Delhi.
• Landy F. J., Conte J. M., (2010), Work in the 21st Century: An Introduction to Industrial and Organizational Psychology, John Wiley & Sons, Malden.
• Lunenburg F. C., (2012), Performance Appraisal: Methods and Rating Errors, "International Journal of Scholarly Academic Intellectual Diversity", Volume 14 Number 1, Sam Houston State University.

Author: Fryderyk Olchawa