Hallie is appraising her subordinate, Larry's, performance. Even though Larry is a nice guy, Hallie notes that Larry’s performance at work is less satisfactory than that of the other employees in the same position. Nonetheless, she does not want to upset Larry, and so she gives him a very good performance rating. This is a typical example of _____.

a.a leniency error

b.substantive conflict

c.personalized conflict

d.the horns effect