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 offen 
sive 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 lik 
ing 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 re 
corded 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 pro 
duce 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