Gender differences in correlates of job satisfaction.

Compared the relationships between evaluations of specific job attributes and overall job satisfaction for men and women. Data from a 1977 national survey of 1,524 Canadians show differences between the sexes in assessed quality of job attributes. Although some hypotheses concerning gender differences for strengths of relation between evaluations and satisfaction were confirmed, the magnitude of these differences was small. Results are discussed in relation to changing attitudes toward work on the part of women. (French abstract) (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Job control and job strain: A test of three models.

Examined the relationship between job control and job strain. Three models of that relationship provide a framework for the study hypotheses: (H1) Control is inversely related to job strain, (H2) job demands interact with job control such that job strain will be highest when job demands are high and job control is low, and (H3) strain increases as the discrepancy between actual and desired levels of job control increases. Study participants (N?=?316) were health care workers in 2 hospitals in the northeastern US. Objective measures of job control and job demands were obtained through supervisor evaluations of incumbents' job characteristics, and perceptual measures were obtained through incumbents' self-reports. Results provide support for Hypotheses 1 and 3; little support was found for an interaction between job control and job demands. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Further investigation of common knowledge effects on job analysis ratings.

Previous research (Smith & Hakel, 1979) raised the possibility that the Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ) only captures common knowledge, or stereotypes, about jobs. Cornelius, DeNisi, and Blencoe (1984) presented data to refute this, but found that the number of PAQ items rated does not apply (DNA) was related to the agreement between naive raters and expert raters. The present study used data from 87 analysts and 24 jobs. Naive ratings were those obtained from analysts who had not studied the job, whereas expert ratings were those obtained from raters who had observed the job, interviewed incumbents, and written task statements describing the job. These ratings were then compared to target-score profiles obtained from PAQ services. Results confirmed earlier hypotheses that large numbers of DNA items artifactually inflate correlational estimates of agreement between expert and naive raters. In addition to this artifact, results also supported the view that the PAQ is less appropriate as a job analysis tool for some types of jobs. Implications for research and practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

When seemingly irrelevant details matter: hidden covariation detection reexamined

Hidden covariation detection (HCD) theory states that when personality characteristics are surreptitiously associated with irrelevant features, these features obtain heuristic value for future evaluations of personality characteristics. According to the theory, subjects are not consciously aware of using such heuristics in their evaluations. We tested these hypotheses by confronting participants with statements that were said to belong to separate individuals, in which the apparent level of intelligence was associated with an irrelevant feature of the person who allegedly made these statements. In line with HCD theory, participants appeared to use this association, unconsciously, to guide their subsequent evaluations. Implications of these findings for HCD theory are discussed.     

"Combining dispositions and evaluations of vocation and job to account for counterproductive work behavior in adolescent job apprentices": Correction.

Reports an error in "Combining dispositions and evaluations of vocation and job to account for counterproductive work behavior in adolescent job apprentices" by Bernd Marcus and Uwe Wagner (Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 2007[Apr], Vol 12[2], 161-176). The following errors were committed: (1) In Table 1, item 7 in the variable column is mislabeled. (2) On page 171, in the paragraph before the Discussion section, the sentence beginning on line 14 reads incorrectly. (3) The caption for Figure 1 reads incorrectly. (4) On page 166, left column, 4th line from the bottom, the sentence reads incorrectly. The corrected information is provided. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2007-05780-007.) In the present research, we investigated the joint impact of selected antecedents of counterproductive work behavior (CWB). A sample of German apprentices reported on their CWB and completed measures of situational evaluations (vocational preference, level and constructiveness of job satisfaction) believed to trigger CWB and of dispositional motivators (measured by integrity test subscales) and controls (self-control and another subset of integrity scales) of CWB. All predictors investigated showed the expected bivariate relationships with CWB. Multivariate analyses revealed that the triggering effect of an unfavorable vocational choice on CWB was fully mediated by job satisfaction. When predictors were aggregated, a composite of dispositional control variables had the largest effect on CWB and moderated the effects of motivational dispositions and situational evaluations. These results extend the knowledge on antecedents of CWB by investigating previously overlooked variables and samples and partially replicate recent findings on the joint impact of dispositions and work-related evaluations on CWB. (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)     

A linear model of job satisfaction.

Data relevant to 5 separate areas of a worker's job satisfaction (satisfaction with: work, pay, promotion opportunities, co-workers, and supervision) and 6 independent variables (age, tenure on the job, tenure with the company, job level, salary, and salary desired minus salary received) were gathered from a sample of 185 male workers and 75 female workers employed in 2 plants of an electronics manufacturing firm in New England. Multiple-regression analyses were done on these data to determine the validity of two hypotheses of Herzberg that age and tenure bear U-shaped relationships to job satisfaction. No support was found for these hypotheses. For the male workers a linear model of job satisfaction predicted work and pay satisfaction. None of the other dependent variables for the male or female workers could be predicted significantly and consistently. An explanation based on discrepancies between expectations and environmental return is offered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Combining dispositions and evaluations of vocation and job to account for counterproductive work behavior in adolescent job apprentices.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 12(3) of Journal of Occupational Health Psychology (see record 2007-10372-007). The following errors were committed: (1) In Table 1, item 7 in the variable column is mislabeled. (2) On page 171, in the paragraph before the Discussion section, the sentence beginning on line 14 reads incorrectly. (3) The caption for Figure 1 reads incorrectly. (4) On page 166, left column, 4th line from the bottom, the sentence reads incorrectly. The corrected information is presented in the erratum.] In the present research, we investigated the joint impact of selected antecedents of counterproductive work behavior (CWB). A sample of German apprentices reported on their CWB and completed measures of situational evaluations (vocational preference, level and constructiveness of job satisfaction) believed to trigger CWB and of dispositional motivators (measured by integrity test subscales) and controls (self-control and another subset of integrity scales) of CWB. All predictors investigated showed the expected bivariate relationships with CWB. Multivariate analyses revealed that the triggering effect of an unfavorable vocational choice on CWB was fully mediated by job satisfaction. When predictors were aggregated, a composite of dispositional control variables had the largest effect on CWB and moderated the effects of motivational dispositions and situational evaluations. These results extend the knowledge on antecedents of CWB by investigating previously overlooked variables and samples and partially replicate recent findings on the joint impact of dispositions and work-related evaluations on CWB. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attributional mediators of evaluation, expectancy, and affect: A response time analysis.

In two studies we examined the informational value of ability and effort cues as guides to achievement-related judgments about others. Using a response time methodology, we first presented subjects with information concerning how much ability a failing student had, how hard the student tried, or both. Subsequently, subjects reported interpersonal evaluations, expectancy predictions, and affective judgments of guilt, shame, and unhappiness. Interpersonal evaluations were made the most rapidly when effort information was provided, and expectancy predictions were made the most rapidly when ability information was provided. These data were consistent with an attributional analysis of effort as a more informative causal cue for evaluation and ability as a more informative cue for expectancy. There was only modest support for related hypotheses concerning the cue value of effort and ability as guides to affective judgments. Finally, the response time data provided evidence for an attributional conception of increasingly complex causally mediated judgments. We discuss implications for causal inference and for self-perception. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dimensions of job incentives among college students.

Job goals at graduation were described, and 8 selected job incentive statements were ranked by college Ss. Factor analysis of intercorrelations among the ranked incentives yielded 3 factors tentatively identified as: need achievement vs. fear of failure, interest in the job vs. the job as an opportunity for acquiring status, and job autonomy of supervision vs. supervisor dependency. "A content analysis of incentive statements contributed by 29% of the ranking Ss (N = 267) gave three major categories: opportunity to help others, job satisfaction, and job interest and variety." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-Presentation Processes in Job Analysis: A Field Experiment Investigating Inflation in Abilities, Tasks, and Competencies.

Although job analysis is a widely used organizational data collection technique, little research has investigated the extent to which job analysis information is affected by self-presentation processes. This study represents the first direct test of the propositions offered by F. P. Morgeson and M. A. Campion (1997) concerning self-presentation in job analysis measurement. Using an experimental design, the authors examined job incumbent response differences across ability, task, and competency statements. Results indicated that ability statements were more subject to inflation than were task statements across all rating scales. Greater endorsement of nonessential ability statements was responsible for the differences. This produced higher endorsement of ability items but lower mean ratings. Finally, frequency and importance ratings of global competency statements were generally higher than decomposed ability and task scales, but required-at-entry judgments demonstrated the opposite relationship. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationships of perceived job design characteristics to job ability requirements and job value.

The relationships between perceived job design characteristics and both job ability requirements and job value were examined for 256 employees of a large pharmaceutical firm. Measures included the Position Analysis Questionnaire, Job Diagnostic Survey, and General Aptitude Test Battery (GATB). Correlational analyses revealed significant relationships between the perceived job characteristics scores and estimated GATB scores and between the job design scores and the job evaluation estimates. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Joint relation of experience and ability with job performance: Test of three hypotheses.

Data from four different jobs (N?=?1,474) were used to evaluate three hypotheses of the joint relation of job experience and general mental ability to job performance as measured by (a) work sample measures, (b) job knowledge measures, and (c) supervisory ratings of job performance. The divergence hypothesis predicts an increasing difference and the convergence hypothesis predicts a decreasing difference in the job performance of high- and low-mental-ability employees as employees gain increasing experience on the job. The noninteractive hypothesis, by contrast, predicts that the performance difference will be constant over time. For all three measures of job performance, results supported the noninteractive hypothesis. Also, consistent with the noninteractive hypothesis, correlational analyses showed essentially constant validities for general mental ability (measured earlier) out to 5 years of experience on the job. In addition to their theoretical implications, these findings have an important practical implication: They indicate that the concerns that employment test validities may decrease over time, complicating estimates of selection utility, are probably unwarranted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Convergent job expectations and ratings of industrial foremen.

A significant positive correlation was hypothesized between evaluations of foremen made by superiors and subordinates and the degree to which foremen share and accurately predict superior-subordinate expectations regarding the foreman's job behavior. The Ss, (8 superiors, 32 foremen, and 377 subordinates) responded to a questionnaire composed of "consideration" and "structure" items yielding "expectation-convergence scores" which were correlated with evaluation measures. In a department providing close face-to-face interaction, a significant proportion of the variance in superior evaluations was accounted for by the hypothesis of expectation convergence. Implications for common personnel practices are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Job resources boost work engagement, particularly when job demands are high.

This study of 805 Finnish teachers working in elementary, secondary, and vocational schools tested 2 interaction hypotheses. On the basis of the job demands-resources model, the authors predicted that job resources act as buffers and diminish the negative relationship between pupil misbehavior and work engagement. In addition, using conservation of resources theory, the authors hypothesized that job resources particularly influence work engagement when teachers are confronted with high levels of pupil misconduct. In line with these hypotheses, moderated structural equation modeling analyses resulted in 14 out of 18 possible 2-way interaction effects. In particular, supervisor support, innovativeness, appreciation, and organizational climate were important job resources that helped teachers cope with demanding interactions with students. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)