I think it's not necessarily a bad thing when team members figure out
how to award peer evaluations that result in everyone getting the same
score.  In my experience, teams that do this are the better-functioning
groups, as seems to also be Maureen Jonason's experience. Even figuring
out how to accomplish equal peer ratings requires teamwork!  While
everyone in a team may not make the same contribution, members of
well-functioning teams may feel that everyone makes an equivalent
contribution and, therefore, should be rewarded equally. In teams where
there are big differences in contributions, I've seen big differences in
peer ratings.

While I'm aware that there is a possibility that some team members might
"bully" others into producing equal ratings, I've never seen this happen
in practice.

Marie Thomas

Marie D. Thomas, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychology
California State University San Marcos
San Marcos, CA 92096
760-750-4157 (office)
760-750-3418 (fax)
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