BARS (Smith & Kendall 1963) — anchoring scale points to concrete observable behaviors

Claim: Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales (BARS) — Smith & Kendall (1963, Journal of Applied Psychology): anchoring each scale point to a concrete, observable behavior reduces measurement bias (halo, leniency, recency) relative to abstract scales — "sometimes (but not always)," and the benefit depends on rigorous development.

Source: Smith & Kendall 1963, JAP. Foundational with honest "not always" caveat from the primary literature.

Confidence: Verified.

Why this matters for Candid: Even when the widget must include a tier/rating element (e.g., when describing the OUTPUT tier), anchor each tier to a concrete behavior set — not abstract words like "advanced" or "developing." See R1 — Convert every judgment into an observation or counting task and the presentation-layer brief Research brief: SMB widget presentation layer — tiered results without overclaiming (June 2026).