Identify the limitations of Behavioral Ratings.A. Halo effectB. Middl…

Identify the limitations of Behavioral Ratings.

A. Halo effect

B. Middle category bias

C. Faking

D. Extreme response bias

E. Prejudice

Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 1

The correct answer is Option (1) → A, B, D only

A. Halo effect Correct. Raters are often influenced by a single favourable or unfavourable trait, and this forms the basis of their whole judgement of a person. This tendency is the halo effect.

B. Middle category bias Correct. Raters tend to place individuals in the middle of the scale, avoiding extreme positions.

C. Faking Incorrect. Faking means the person being assessed gives false answers to look good or bad. It is a problem of self-report measures, where people answer about themselves and may give socially desirable answers; in a rating it is another person, the rater, who judges.

D. Extreme response bias Correct. The opposite tendency: raters place individuals at the extreme positions, avoiding the middle categories of the scale.

E. Prejudice Incorrect. Prejudice is a negative attitude towards a particular group. It is a topic of social cognition, not one of the limitations named for the method of rating.

NCERT (2025-26): “Behavioural Ratings … The method of rating suffers from the following major limitations:

(1) Raters often display certain biases that colour their judgments of different traits. For example, most of us are greatly influenced by a single favourable or unfavourable trait. This often forms the basis of a rater’s overall judgment of a person. This tendency is known as the halo effect.
(2) Raters have a tendency to place individuals either in the middle of the scale (called middle category bias) by avoiding extreme positions, or in the extreme positions (called extreme response bias) by avoiding middle categories on the scale.…”