Job satisfaction and job performance: A meta-analysis.

Coded 9 variables in a meta-analysis of 74 empirical studies of job satisfaction–job performance. Aggregated studies had an S sample size of 12,192 and 217 satisfaction–performance correlations. Findings show that (1) the best estimate of the true population correlation between satisfaction and performance was relatively low (.17); (2) much of the variability in results obtained in previously research was due to the use of small sample sizes, while unreliable measurement of the satisfaction and performance constructs has contributed relatively little to this observed variability in correlations; and (3) the 9 variables coded (composite vs unidimensional criteria, longitudinal vs cross-sectional measurement of performance relative to satisfaction, the nature of the performance measure, self-reports vs other sources, use of specific performance measures, subjectivity or objectivity of measures, specific-facet satisfaction vs global satisfaction, well-documented vs researcher-developed measurement, and white-collar vs blue-collar) were only modestly related to the magnitude of the satisfaction–performance correlation. (3 p ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Job characteristics and job attitudes: A multivariate study.

Obtained attitude data from 556 employees in a western telephone company. Respondents held 1 of 16 "craft" jobs in the department selected for study. Multiple discriminant function analysis was performed using 16 groups formed on the basis of Ss' job titles. Variables used in this primary analysis included job satisfaction, organizational commitment, motivational force, and sources of organizational attachment. Discriminatory power for the 16 group solution was .53. A secondary analysis was performed in which discriminant function means were related to means of jobs on several job characteristics variables. Viewed jointly these 2 analyses suggest that the relatively high discriminatory power achieved in the primary analysis may have been a function of job scope-job attitude relationship demonstrated in the secondary analysis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Employee stock ownership and employee attitudes: A test of three models.

Results of a test of three alternative models of the conditions necessary for employee ownership to positively influence employee attitudes are reported. Based on a study of 37 employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) companies (N of individuals?=?2,804), results support hypotheses for the extrinsic and instrumental satisfaction models. Average company ESOP satisfaction and organizational commitment are high and average company turnover intention is low when the ESOP provides substantial financial benefits to employees, when management is highly committed to employee ownership, and when the company maintains an extensive ESOP communications program. In contrast, the results provide no support for the intrinsic satisfaction model of ESOP effects. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Two- versus three-alternative concurrent-chain schedules: A test of three models.

Two experiments with pigeons used concurrent-chain procedures with variable-interval schedules as initial links and different delays to food as terminal links. Two schedules were present in all sessions, but a 3rd schedule was alternately present and absent in successive sessions. When the 3rd schedule delivered food with no terminal-link delay, the presence of this schedule led to an increase in preference for the schedule with the shorter terminal link of the 2 unchanged schedules. When the terminal-link delay for the 3rd schedule was 30 s, the presence of this schedule led to a decrease in preference for the schedule with the shorter terminal link of the 2 unchanged schedules. These results are inconsistent with the predictions of R. Grace's (1994) contextual-choice model, but they are consistent with 2 other mathematical models- delay-reduction theory and the hyperbolic value-added model. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Job satisfaction and job survival.

Using a job satisfaction questionnaire constructed on previous samples, mail questionnaires were sent to 2,710 insurance agents, of whom 990 made a return. From these, matched samples of 99 survivors and 99 terminated agents were compared. The results "indicated that certain attitudes held by agents are significantly related to the criterion of survival-termination. It was also found that the proportion of agents expressing dissatisfaction with a particular item was not related to whether or not that item was predictive of the criterion. The data show that the validation of signed job satisfaction questionnaires leads to a much different kind of interpretation of the responses than is obtained from anonymous questionnaires." (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)     

Minimizing strain and maximizing learning: The role of job demands, job control, and proactive personality.

Using a sample of 268 production employees, this study extended research on R. Karasek's (1979) demands-control model of stress in 2 ways. First, results show that Karasek's proposed interaction between demands and control when predicting strain occurred only for more proactive employees. This 3-way interaction helps reconcile previous inconsistent findings about the interaction between demands and control when predicting strain. Second, the study extends research by investigating the demands-control interaction and the moderating influence of proactive personality in relation to learning-oriented outcomes (perceived mastery, role breadth self-efficacy, and production ownership). There were no 3-way interactions among the variables when predicting these learning-oriented outcomes, but all were important predictors. These results show (1) that demands and control can influence learning as proposed in the dynamic version of the demands-control model and (2) that proactive personality plays an important moderating role. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of anxiety on analogical reasoning: A test of three theoretical models.

Three mediational theories of anxiety and performance, namely, J. A. Easterbrook's (see record 1961-03074-001) cue utilization theory, G. Mandler and S. B. Sarason's (see record 1953-02743-001) attentional theory, and M. W. Eysenck's (1979) working memory capacity theory, were compared for their efficacy in explaining anxiety-induced performance decrements on a task of analogical reasoning. 102 undergraduates who varied in their trait and state anxiety levels completed 100 geometric analogies under either relaxed (reassurance, non-time-limited) or stress (ego-threat, time-limited) conditions. Response time and error rate data for 9 levels of task complexity (1-, 2-, and 3-element analogies with 0, 1, or 2 transformations for each element) were analyzed by means of multivariate analysis of variance. Results in the relaxed condition support attentional theory in that more anxious Ss were both slower and less accurate than were less anxious Ss. In the stressed condition, none of the 3 anxiety-performance theories was supported. More anxious Ss were faster but made more errors than did less anxious Ss. Thus, in the stressed condition, performance differences suggested differences in speed–accuracy trade-off strategies rather than differences in processing abilities. The limitations of attentional theory and the need to study the effects of anxiety and time stress on information processing are discussed. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Organizational justice evaluations, job control, and occupational strain.

To explore how organizational justice evaluations affect the occupational stress process, the authors formulated and tested the following 2 hypotheses: (a) The effect of job control on strain is mediated by justice evaluations, and (b) justice evaluations moderate the effect of job control on occupational strain. The results of structural equation modeling, based on data collected from 688 employees, suggest that job control affects strain through justice evaluations. Thus, the results of this study supported the lst hypothesis and provided evidence that perceptions of the organization are potential factors contributing to employee health. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Bias in prediction: A test of three models with elementary school children.

Studied 2 competing conceptualizations of test bias in educational settings and compared each to the traditional regression model. The bias model proposed by T. A. Cleary and that proposed by R. L. Thorndike (see record 1971-31520-001) were each employed, along with the traditional regression model, on data obtained from 95 male and 101 5th graders to determine the extent of sex bias in selection resulting from each of the 3 models. Results show that the Cleary procedure produced substantial bias in both selection and accuracy of selection in favor of the female subgroup. The traditional prediction model resulted in pronounced selection bias in favor of the male subgroup and a slight bias in accuracy of selection in favor of the same subgroup. The Thorndike procedure, by definition, results in no selection bias but did produce slight bias in the accuracy of selection favoring the female subgroup. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Asymmetrical social influence in freely interacting groups: A test of three models.

Using freely interacting mock juries, this study tested the predictions of 3 different models of social influence: social impact theory, the other–total ratio, and the social influence model. All 3 models use faction size as the basis for their predictions. On the basis of the predeliberation verdict preferences of 879 female students, groups were composed using all possible nonunanimous verdict compositions (e.g., 5 members for "guilty," 1 for "not guilty," etc.) for 3-, 4-, 5-, and 6-person groups. Each group deliberated and reached a group verdict for an attempted murder case, and postdeliberation verdict and probability-of-guilt judgments were obtained from the individual group members. The results showed that faction size affected the relative amount of both majority and minority influence. However, faction size effects differed substantially depending on the verdict supported by the particular faction. Thus, the predictions of even the most accurate model could presumably be improved by modifications allowing for additional interpersonal factors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interpersonal attraction and the polarity of similar attitudes: A test of three balance models.

In a variation of D. Byrne's (1965, 1971) anonymous-stranger technique, a PDP-11 computer was used to provide feedback on 5 attitude issues for each of the cells of a design created by 3 levels of the p-x variable (–2, 0, +2) and 3 levels of the o-x variable (–2, 0, +2). Measurements of p-o sentiment were used to test the adequacy of 3 models for the quantification of balance: the equal-weights tetrahedron model, the unequal-weights tetrahedron model, and the Feather model. Correlations of obtained and predicted measures for the 3 models were .48, .51, and .52, respectively, with various problems noted for each model. Results show a predicted shift in the polarity of similar attitudes, but a predicted difference between ambivalent and indifferent neutral attitudes was not supported. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Job experience correlates of job performance.

Although measures of job experience are frequently-used screening devices in the selection of employees, personnel psychologists have devoted little attention to their usefulness. This article quantitatively summarizes data on the relation between job experience and job performance from a total sample of 16,058. The correlation between job experience and job performance was found to be moderated by two variables: length of experience and job complexity. The highest correlations were obtained in populations with low mean levels of job experience and for jobs that place low levels of cognitive demands on employees. Results appear to be consistent with the causal model of job performance proposed by Schmidt, Hunter, and Outerbridge (1986). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Job needs, job satisfaction, and job behavior of women manual workers.

Administered a forced-choice questionnaire and unstructured interview to 2159 female workers and 236 female ex-workers associated with electronics firms to investigate their attitudes to various aspects of their jobs. 21% of the present workers and 36% of the ex-workers expressed overall dissatisfaction with their jobs, which were of a highly rationalized type. Analysis of responses indicate the overriding importance of the actual work done as a determinant of job dissatisfaction. Analysis of reasons for leaving given by the ex-workers indicate that voluntary labor turnover resulted mainly from job dissatisfaction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Job enrichment versus social cues: A comparison and competitive test.

41 part-time student employees were randomly assigned in a 2–2 factorial design (2 types of social cues and 2 levels of job enrichment) to investigate the effects of the independent variables on perceptions of job enrichment, job ambiguity, job satisfaction, and productivity. All Ss worked in a simulated organizational setting involving a routine clerical task. Results show that both the cues given by co-workers as well as the physical properties of the task had an effect on employee perceptions of job enrichment and job ambiguity. In addition, Ss receiving positive social cues from co-workers were more satisfied and more productive than Ss receiving negative social cues from co-workers. Results are discussed in terms of their relevance for current theories of job motivation. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality and conditioning: A test of four models.

Four experiments were conducted to test hypotheses derived from 4 alternative models of individual differences in instrumental conditioning. A standard go–no-go discrimination learning task was used in each of the 4 experiments. The results indicate that individual differences in performance of this discrimination are more consistently and strongly associated with impulsivity and anxiety than with extraversion and neuroticism. In each of the experiments, high anxiety hindered the learning of a go–no-go discrimination more among high-impulsive Ss than among low impulsive Ss, and in 2 of the experiments high anxiety actually facilitated learning among low impulsive Ss. These findings are incompatible with H. J. Eysenck's (1967) and J. A. Gray's (1982) hypotheses regarding extraversion but are not inconsistent with the hypotheses of J. P. Newman et al (see record 1985-22847-001). Aspects of these results do support J. T. Spence and K. W. Spence's (1966) and Gray's models of anxiety and instrumental conditioning. However, both of these models were contradicted by other trends in the data. A modification of Gray's model of impulsivity and anxiety that emphasizes the role of expectancies was proposed to fit these data. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Realistic job previews: A test of the adverse self-selection hypothesis.

The realistic job preview (RJP) literature has focused more on posthire outcomes such as employee retention than on prehire outcomes such as applicant attraction and job choice behavior. This study extends the RJP literature by focusing on 2 important issues related to applicant attraction: (a) the weight applicants place on negative information in relation to other variables such as pay level and promotional opportunity and (b) whether the "best" applicants react differently to negative information than do other applicants (adverse self-selection). Results indicate that applicants place a fairly high negative weight on negative job information, relative to other vacancy characteristics. The results regarding adverse self-selection are less clear but suggest that the highest quality applicants may be less willing to pursue jobs for which negative information has been presented, especially when doing so imposes opportunity costs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A test of the context dependency of three causal models of halo rater error.

C. E. Lance et al (see record 1994-17452-001) tested 3 different causal models of halo rater error (general impression [GI], salient dimension [SD], and inadequate discrimination [ID] models) and found that the GI model better accounted for observed halo rating error than did the SD or ID models. It was also suggested that the type of halo rater error that occurs might vary as a function of rating context. The purpose of this study was to determine whether rating contexts could be manipulated that favored the operation of each of these 3 halo-error models. Results indicate, however, that GI halo error occurred in spite of experimental conditions designed specifically to induce other forms of halo rater error. This suggests that halo rater error is a unitary phenomenon that should be defined as the influence of a rater's general impression on ratings of specific ratee qualities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Job satisfaction, job performance, and situational characteristics.

How are job satisfaction and performance related to the variables of the situation? S were approximately 2500 workers in 72 warehouses of 1 company. Job satisfaction was measured by questionnaire items. Factor analysis was used to relate the variables of quantity, quality, profitability, turnover, size of workforce, city size, wage rate and unionization and percentage of males. Job satisfaction was highest with the greatest productivity and profit. Small town culture had the most satisfaction and performance. From Psyc Abstracts 36:01:3LH65K. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Musculoskeletal symptoms and job strain among nursing personnel: a study over a three year period

OBJECTIVES: To examine the variation of symptoms from the neck, shoulders, and back over a three year period among female nursing personnel and the relation between job strain and musculoskeletal symptoms. METHODS: At a county hospital the female nursing personnel answered a questionnaire at baseline and then once a year over a period of three years. There were 565, 553, 562, and 419 subjects who answered the questionnaire at the first, second, third, and fourth survey, respectively. Of the study group, 285 nursing personnel answered the questionnaire on four occasions. Ongoing symptoms of the neck, shoulders, and back were assessed by means of a 10 point (0-9) scale with the verbal end points "no symptoms" and "very intense symptoms." Cases were defined as nursing personnel reporting ongoing symptoms, score > 6, from at least one of the body regions. For assessments of job strain, a Swedish version of Karasek and Theorell's model was used. RESULTS: Of the 285 subjects, 13% were defined as cases at all four assessments, and 46% varied between cases and not cases during the study period. In the repeated cross sectional surveys the estimated rate ratio (RR) for being a case was between 1.1 and 1.5 when comparing the group with job strain and the group without job strain. For the combination of job strain and perceived high physical exertion the estimated RR was between 1.5 and 2.1. When the potential risk factors were assessed one, two, or three years before the assessment of symptoms the estimated RR for becoming a case was between 1.4 and 2.2 when comparing the group with job strain and the group without job strain. CONCLUSION: Almost half of the healthcare workers varied between being a case and not, over a three year period. The analysis indicated that job strain is a risk factor for musculoskeletal symptoms and that the risk is higher when it is combined with perceived high physical exertion.