Self-assessments of performance are commonly used in the human workplace, although compared to peer or supervisor ratings, they may be subject to positive biases or leniency. The use of subjective ratings scales in animal sciences is also common, although little consideration is usually given to possible rater bias. Dog handlers, work very closely and form strong relationships with their dogs and are also best placed to monitor dog performance since they often work in isolation. Previous work found ratings of search dog performance correlated well between experienced dog trainers, instructors, and scientists; but until now, there has been no investigation into ratings made by a dog's own handler. We compared handlers' subjective assessment of their own dog's search performance to scores given by other handlers and in a second study, to scores made by impartial raters. We found that handlers generally showed leniency; for example scoring their own dogs more favorably for Control (responsiveness to commands) and Strength of Indication. But the degree of bias varied with the trait being scored and between raters. Such differences may be attributable to greater desirability or importance of favorable scores for certain traits, or a lack of clarity of their precise meaning. Handlers may vary in susceptibility to bias due to differing levels of experience and the extent to which they view their dog's ability as dependent on their own. The exact causes require further investigation. We suggest working dog agencies provide rater-training to overcome leniency, improve reliability and validity, and to increase handler's motivation to provide accurate assessments. This study represents one of a series of steps to formulate robust, validated and evidence-based performance rating systems and has relevance to any situation where raters assess their own performance or others (particularly where they may have a vested interest in, or loyalty toward, the ratee).

绩效自我评估通常在人类工作场所中使用，尽管与同行或上级评估相比，它们可能会受到正面偏见或宽大处理。尽管通常很少考虑评分者的偏见，但在动物科学中也普遍使用主观评分量表。训犬师非常紧密地工作，并与他们的犬建立了牢固的关系，并且由于它们经常孤立地工作，因此也最适合监视犬的表现。先前的工作发现，经验丰富的训犬师，讲师和科学家之间对搜查犬性能的评价之间具有很好的相关性；但是直到现在，还没有对狗自己的处理者的评级进行调查。我们将处理人员对自己狗的搜索性能的主观评估与其他处理人员给出的分数进行了比较，在第二项研究中，公正的评分者的得分。我们发现处理人员通常表现出宽大处理；例如，为自己的狗评分更好，以提高控制力（对命令的反应能力）和指示强度。但是偏倚的程度随所评分的特征和评估者之间的不同而不同。这种差异可能归因于某些特质对更高分数的渴望或重要性，或者其确切含义缺乏明确性。由于经验水平的不同以及他们认为狗的能力取决于自己的能力，处理人员的偏见敏感性可能会有所不同。确切原因需要进一步调查。我们建议工作犬机构提供评估者培训，以克服宽大处理，提高信度和效度，并增加操作者提供准确评估的动机。