Applying Multidimensional Item Response Theory Analysis to a Measure of Meta‑Perspective Performance

Abstract

The authors introduce a scale to measure meta‑perspectives, my view of your view of me, about one's performance in an organizational setting. Applied to the performance appraisal process, this perspective allows the authors to investigate how employees think their supervisors view their performance. Meta‑perspectives thereby enrich our understanding of the relationship effects inherent in the performance appraisal process. Due to the desirable properties of item response theory (non‑sample specific item parameter estimates), a multidimensional item response theory (MIRT) model was applied to the data. This allowed for the simultaneous estimation of dimensionality and item threshold values. Data collected from 1,255 full‑time workers in two different organizations reveal that the items did not lie along a unidimensional continuum, but that three dimensions underlie the proposed scale: employee perceptions of the supervisor's view of employee work ethic, work product, and self‑regulation. The authors offer suggestions for refinement of the scale and future research.