MEASURING  BY  LIMITED  IMPRESSIONS  331

udice,  as  is  well  known,  often  rests  upon  only  one  quality
in  a  person.  Consequently,  when  the  attention  is  called
to  qualities  possessed  by  the  worker  other  than  the  offensive ­
  one,  the  tendency  is  toward  a  more  equitable  and
balanced  opinion.  For  example,  a  supervisor  may  have
conceived  an  intense  dislike  for  one  of  his  workers  because
of  a  strange  and  affected  manner  of  speech.  However,
on  glancing  down  the  card,  he  may  be  compelled  to  admit
that  this  worker  is  very  industrious,  intelligent,  orderly,
accurate,  reliable,  fast,  and  regular  in  attendance.  At
the  end  of  this  complete  survey,  he  must  admit,  even
though  reluctantly,  that,  after  all,  the  man  has  his  good
points.  On  the  other  hand,  he  may  be  compelled  to  admit
that  another  subordinate  for  whom  he  has  a  distinct  liking ­
  because  of  his  amiable  manner  and  ready  wit,  is  lazy,
slow,  and  unreliable,  and  not  at  all  the  man  he  had  been
impressed  with.
Moreover,  the  fact  that  these  opinions  must  be  recorded ­
  and  signed  will  do  much  to  reduce  the  degree  of
prejudice  expressed.  The  appraiser  will  be  conscious  of
the  fact  that,  in  expressing  his  judgment,  he  is  putting
himself,  as  well  as  his  subordinates,  on  record  and  that
any  mistake  or  exaggeration  on  his  part  may  rebound  to
his  own  discomfiture.  Again,  the  fact  that  the  estimates
are  made  at  stated  periods  will  also  lessen  the  degree  of
prejudice  expressed.  One  of  the  most  fruitful  sources  of
prejudice  is  ill-temper.  Ill-temper  may  be  induced  by
any  number  of  causes,  but  its  inevitable  result  is  to  produce ­
  a  prejudice  against  anything  or  anybody  it  comes  in
contact  with.  In  such  moments,  it  is  very  easy  to  conceive
an  opinion  of  a  person  which  is  quite  likely  to  result  in  an
extremely  unfavorable  estimate.  However,  a  comparison
with  estimates  of  that  person  made  in  previous,  calmer