Dimensions of work appraisal: Stress, strain, coping, job satisfaction, and negative affectivity.

Stress, strain, and coping were measured by S. H. Osipow and A. R. Spokane's (1987) Occupational Stress Inventory with 249 adults in 75 occupations; results supported the validity of the inventory. Higher stress predicted higher strain and lower job satisfaction; the converse was true for coping, although the coping–satisfaction link was weak. In hierarchical regression analyses, predictor variables were gender, age, education, job tenure, negative affectivity, 6 stress measures, and 4 coping measures. Outcome variables were 4 measures of occupational strain (vocational, psychological, interpersonal, and physical) and 3 measures of job satisfaction (intrinsic, extrinsic, and general). The 7 hierarchical regressions revealed strong stress–strain and stress–job satisfaction relationships; negative affectivity had variable impacts on strain but little influence on job satisfaction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The dimensionality of phonological awareness: An application of item response theory.

A battery of 7 tasks composed of 105 items thought to measure phonological awareness skills was administered to 945 children in kindergarten through 2nd grade. Results from confirmatory factor analysis at the task level and modified parallel analysis at the item level indicated that performance on these tasks was well represented by a single latent dimension. A 2-parameter logistic item response (IRT) model was also fit to the performance on the 105 items. Information obtained from the IRT model demonstrated that the tasks varied in the information they provided about a child's phonological awareness skills. These results showed that phonological awareness, as measured by these tasks, appears to be well represented as a unidimensional construct, but the tasks best suited to measure phonological awareness vary across development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive psychology meets psychometric theory: On the relation between process models for decision making and latent variable models for individual differences.

This article analyzes latent variable models from a cognitive psychology perspective. We start by discussing work by Tuerlinckx and De Boeck (2005), who proved that a diffusion model for 2-choice response processes entails a 2-parameter logistic item response theory (IRT) model for individual differences in the response data. Following this line of reasoning, we discuss the appropriateness of IRT for measuring abilities and bipolar traits, such as pro versus contra attitudes. Surprisingly, if a diffusion model underlies the response processes, IRT models are appropriate for bipolar traits but not for ability tests. A reconsideration of the concept of ability that is appropriate for such situations leads to a new item response model for accuracy and speed based on the idea that ability has a natural zero point. The model implies fundamentally new ways to think about guessing, response speed, and person fit in IRT. We discuss the relation between this model and existing models as well as implications for psychology and psychometrics. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Valence of and Satisfaction with Job Outcomes

Approximately 2,800 unionized construction workers were surveyed and responses were received from 703, representing all crafts except boilermakers. The workers were asked about the importance they attach to various job related factors and their satisfaction with each factor. The 28 individual factors were reduced to seven using a factor analysis technique. The most important set of factors were those relating to the intrinsic nature of the work: working like a craftsman, performing challenging work, etc. The set of factors with which the workers was most satisfied was that of performance level: high productivity; quantity; and doing your work in a craftsmanlike manner. Individual factors that require attention on the part of contractors to improve worker motivation and satisfaction were identified using a 2×2 matrix that allowed the combination of importance and satisfaction scores. Overall satisfaction with the job was measured and a multiple regression analysis revealed that satisfaction with intrinsic factors makes the greatest contribution to general job satisfaction.     

A longitudinal test of the investment model: The impact on job satisfaction, job commitment, and turnover of variations in rewards, costs, alternatives, and investments.

A 12-mo longitudinal study of 88 newly hired nurses and junior accountants (mean age of all Ss 24 yrs) tested a series of assumptions from the authors' (see record 1981-31481-001) investment model concerning the determinants of job satisfaction, job commitment, and turnover. In general, greater job satisfaction resulted from high job rewards and low job costs; whereas strong job commitment was produced by high rewards, low costs, poor alternative quality, and large investment size. Whereas the impact of job rewards on satisfaction and commitment remained relatively constant, job costs seemed to exert an increasingly powerful influence over time. Investment size also exerted greater impact on job commitment with the passage of time. Just prior to their leaving, the job commitment of Ss who left was best predicted by a combination of rewards, costs, and alternatives. Ss who stayed and those who left differed from one another with regard to changes over time in each investment model factor—those who left experienced greater decline in rewards, increase in costs, increase in alternative quality, and decrease in investment size than those who stayed. Turnover appeared to be mediated by a decline over time in degree of job commitment. (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Job satisfaction: Environmental and genetic components.

Monozygotic twins reared apart from an early age were used to test the hypothesis that there is a significant genetic component to job satisfaction. 34 monozygotic twin pairs who had been reared apart completed the Minnesota Job Satisfaction Questionnaire as part of a comprehensive work-history assessment. Three subscales were formed from the job satisfaction items to reflect intrinsic, extrinsic, and general satisfaction with the current (or major) job. Intraclass correlations were computed to estimate the proportion of observed variability resulting from genetic factors for all job satisfaction items and for the 3 subscales. Resulting values indicated that approximately 30% of the observed variance in general job satisfaction was due to genetic factors. Additional analysis indicated that these results obtained even when job characteristics such as complexity, motor skill requirements, and the physical demands were held constant via partialing methods. Finally, the data indicated significant heritabilities for several of these job characteristics, which is consistent with the hypothesis of a genetic disposition to seek and remain in similar environments (jobs). Implications of these findings for theories of job satisfaction, selection, and job enrichment are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychopathy and ethnicity: Structural, item, and test generalizability of the Psychopathy Checklist—Revised (PCL-R) in Caucasian and African American participants.

The Psychopathy Checklist--Revised (PCL-R) is an important measure in both applied and research settings. Evidence for its validity is mostly derived from male Caucasian participants. PCL-R ratings of 359 Caucasian and 356 African American participants were compared using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and item response theory (IRT) analyses. Previous research has indicated that 13 items of the PCL-R can be described by a 3-factor hierarchical model. This model was replicated in this sample. No cross-group difference in factor structure could be found using CFA; the structure of psychopathy is the same in both groups. IRT methods indicated significant but small differences in the performance of 5 of the 20 PCL-R items. No significant differential test functioning was found, indicating that the item differences canceled each other out. It is concluded that the PCL-R can be used, in an unbiased way, with African American participants. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality and job satisfaction: The mediating role of job characteristics.

This study tested a model of the relationship between core self-evaluations, intrinsic job characteristics, and job satisfaction. Core self-evaluations was assumed to be a broad personality concept manifested in 4 specific traits: self-esteem, generalized self-efficacy, locus of control, and low neuroticism. The model hypothesized that both subjective (perceived) job characteristics and job complexity mediate the relationship between core self-evaluations and job satisfaction. Two studies were conducted to test the model. Results from Study 1 supported the hypothesized model but also suggested that alternative models fit the data well. Results from Study 2 revealed that core self-evaluations measured in childhood and in early adulthood were linked to job satisfaction measured in middle adulthood. Furthermore, in Study 2 job complexity mediated part of the relationship between both assessments of core self-evaluations and job satisfaction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Job satisfaction reconsidered.

Discusses 6 latent assumptions underlying current research on job satisfaction and analyzes their role in producing incomplete and unrealistic approaches to job satisfaction. It is suggested that these assumptions have induced researchers to (a) overlook important barriers to job satisfaction and sources of intrinsic satisfaction, (b) underestimate the importance of extrinsic sources of satisfaction, and (c) ignore the powerlessness→ alienation hypothesis. New topics for research and new roles for psychologists are suggested as steps toward the development of more comprehensive approaches to job satisfaction. Some speculations about the implications of the analysis for applied social science in general are advanced. (40 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Four-factor justice and daily job satisfaction: A multilevel investigation.

This study examined the differential effects of 4 types of organizational justice on daily job satisfaction at between- and within-individual levels. Specifically, the authors predicted that interpersonal justice and informational justice would exhibit meaningful daily variations and would have direct impacts on individuals’ job satisfaction on a daily basis. They further theorized that distributive justice and procedural justice at a between-person level would moderate the within-person relationships. The authors used hierarchical linear modeling to test their hypotheses with a sample of 231 full-time employees in Hong Kong over the course of 25 working days. The results showed that both daily interpersonal and informational justice were positively related to daily job satisfaction. As hypothesized, between-individual distributive justice moderated the relationship between daily interpersonal justice and daily job satisfaction, and between-individual procedural justice moderated the relationship between daily informational justice and daily job satisfaction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Confirmatory analytic tests of three causal models relating job perceptions to job satisfaction.

Tested 3 models of causal relations between job perceptions and job satisfaction: (a) a postcognitive-nonrecursive model in which job satisfaction occurs after job perceptions in the causal order and job perceptions and job satisfaction are reciprocally related; (b) a precognitive-recursive model in which job perceptions occur after job satisfaction in the causal order and are effects but not causes of job satisfaction; and (c) a precognitive-nonrecursive model in which job satisfaction occurs prior to job perceptions, and job satisfaction and job perceptions are reciprocally related. Data from a previous study by the 1st author and A. P. Jones (see record 1981-22760-001) were analyzed. These data had been obtained from 642 nonsupervisory workers in 5 occupations. Results of confirmatory analyses indicate disconfirmation of all but the postcognitive-nonrecursive model. (39 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Five-factor model of personality and job satisfaction: A meta-analysis.

This study reports results of a meta-analysis linking traits from the 5-factor model of personality to overall job satisfaction. Using the model as an organizing framework, 334 correlations from 163 independent samples were classified according to the model. The estimated true score correlations with job satisfaction were -.29 for Neuroticism, .25 for Extraversion, .02 for Openness to Experience, .17 for Agreeableness, and .26 for Conscientiousness. Results further indicated that only the relations of Neuroticism and Extraversion with job satisfaction generalized across studies. As a set, the Big Five traits had a multiple correlation of .41 with job satisfaction, indicating support for the validity of the dispositional source of job satisfaction when traits are organized according to the 5-factor model. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Incremental validity of an empirically based measure of job characteristics.

We tested the assertion of Stone and Gueutal (1985) that an empirically based measure of job characteristics can explain more of the variance in job satisfaction criteria than measures based on a priori formulations. Our second purpose was to assess whether job satisfaction mediates the relation between job characteristics and intent to leave. Surveys were administered to 742 male and female employees of a chemical manufacturing company. Results of multivariate analyses indicated that (a) job dimensions not considered by the frequently used Motivating Potential Score (MPS) operational definition of job scope contributed significantly to the explanation of variance in satisfaction with the work itself, satisfaction with other job facets, and general job satisfaction (p?p?p?     

On the heritability of job satisfaction: The mediating role of personality.

In this article the authors investigate the extent to which traits reflecting individual differences in personality and affectivity explain or mediate genetic influences on job satisfaction. Using estimates of the dispositional source of job satisfaction according to 2 dispositional frameworks--the five-factor model and positive affectivity-negative affectivity (PA-NA)--and behavioral-genetic estimates of the heritabilities of job satisfaction and the dispositional factors, the authors computed the proportion of genetic variance in job satisfaction that is explained by these trait frameworks. Results indicate that the affectivity model is a stronger mediator of genetic effects on job satisfaction than the five-factor model. PA and NA mediate about 45% of the genetic influences on job satisfaction, whereas the five-factor model mediates approximately 24% of these genetic effects. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A parametric model for local dependence among test items.

A framework is presented to model instances of local dependence between items within the context of unidimensional item response theory (IRT). A distinction is made between item main effects and item interactions. Four types of models for interdependent items are considered, on the basis of the distinction between order dependency and combination dependency on the one hand, and dimension-dependent versus constant interaction on the other hand. For each of the 4 model types, variants of the 1-parameter logistic model can be formulated as well as variants of the 2-parameter logistic model. A number of existing IRT models for polytomous items that are variants of the partial credit model may be reconsidered in these terms. Two examples are given to demonstrate the approach. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Work-based resources as moderators of the relationship between work hours and satisfaction with work-family balance.

This study reports an investigation of the relationships of work hours, job complexity, and control over work time to satisfaction with work-family balance. Based on data from a sample of 570 telephone call center representatives, a moderated hierarchical regression analysis revealed that work hours were negatively related to satisfaction with work-family balance, consistent with the resource drain perspective. Job complexity and control over work time were positively associated with satisfaction with work-family balance. Control over work time moderated the relationship such that as work hours rose, workers with low control experienced a decline in work-family balance satisfaction, while workers with high control did not. Results encourage greater research attention to work characteristics, such as job complexity and control over work time, and skills that represent resources useful to the successful integration of work and family demands. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Core Self-Evaluations and Job and Life Satisfaction: The Role of Self-Concordance and Goal Attainment.

The present study tested a model explaining how the core self-evaluations (i.e., positive self-regard) concept is linked to job and life satisfaction. The self-concordance model, which focuses on motives underlying goal pursuit, was used as an explanatory framework. Data were collected from 2 samples: (a) 183 university students (longitudinal measures of goal attainment and life satisfaction were used) and (b) 251 employees (longitudinal measures of goal attainment and job satisfaction were utilized). In both studies, the core self-evaluations concept was positively related to goal self-concordance, meaning that individuals with positive self-regard were more likely to pursue goals for intrinsic and identified (value-congruent) reasons. Furthermore, in both studies, goal self-concordance was related to satisfaction (job satisfaction in Study 1 and life satisfaction in Study 2). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Theoretical and methodological considerations in the age-job satisfaction relationship.

Research investigating the form and magnitude of the relationship between age and job satisfaction has produced mixed and generally inconclusive results. Potential explanations for such results relate to the largely atheoretical nature of research in this area as well as the inconsistent application of proper statistical and methodological controls. Our study addresses both areas of concern in an effort to permit more accurate and informed interpretations of both the form and magnitude of the age–job satisfaction relationship. We conducted hierarchical polynomial regression analyses, controlling for three different tenure measures, to examine several forms of the age–job satisfaction relationship for an all-female sample of registered nurses (N?=?81). Results supported both a U-shaped and a linear relationship between age and job satisfaction. Implications for both theory and research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)