Keeping up with the Joneses: A field study of the relationships among upward, lateral, and downward comparisons and pay level satisfaction.

The authors examined the relationship between the direction of pay comparisons and pay level satisfaction. They hypothesized that upward pay comparisons would significantly predict pay level satisfaction, even when controlling for other comparisons. Results reported in 2 samples (U.S. sample, N = 295; Belgian sample, N = 67) generally supported this hypothesis. Analyses showed that individuals who were paid much less than their upward pay comparison were dissatisfied with their pay level. The highest levels of pay level satisfaction were observed when actual pay was congruent with the upward comparison pay level. There was also evidence that individuals who were paid much more than their upward pay comparison were dissatisfied with their pay level. However, the negative effects of overreward on pay satisfaction were considerably smaller than were those of underreward. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An under-met and over-met expectations model of employee reactions to merit raises.

The authors developed a model of how raise expectations influence the relationship between merit pay raises and employee reactions and tested it using a sample of hospital employees. Pay-for-performance (PFP) perceptions were consistently related to personal reactions (e.g., pay raise happiness, pay-level satisfaction, and turnover intentions). Merit pay raises were strongly related to reactions only among employees with high raise expectations and high PFP perceptions. The interactive effects of under-met/over-met expectations and PFP perceptions were mediated by the extent to which participants saw the raise as generous and they were happy with the raises they received. The authors discuss the implications of these findings for expectation-fulfillment theories, merit pay research, and the administration of incentives. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reactions to merit pay increases: A longitudinal test of a signal sensitivity perspective.

The relationships among merit pay raises, trait positive affectivity (PA), and reactions to merit pay increases (pay attitudes and behavioral intentions) were explored in a longitudinal study of hospital employees. Drawing on signal sensitivity theory, the authors expected that PA would moderate the relationship between merit pay raise size and reactions to the increase such that pay raise size would be more strongly related to pay attitudes and behavioral intentions among those low in PA. Results strongly supported the predictions in the case of reactions to the raise amount (happiness and effort intentions) but not for pay level satisfaction. Implications of the results and directions for future research are identified. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Antecedents of salesmen's compensation perceptions: A path analysis interpretation.

Selected antecedents of the valence of pay and the instrumentality of performance for pay were combined into an integrative framework and investigated in a study of 92 male life insurance agents (age range 21–67 yrs). Drawing on 2 models proposed by E. E. Lawler, it was hypothesized that valence would be a function of age, job level, income, pay satisfaction, and commission pay plan, while instrumentality perceptions would be a function of tenure, commission plan, and valence. Data were obtained from company sources and from a job-attitudes questionnaire. A path analytic investigation of the hypothesized linkages suggested that a more parsimonious model of pay perception determinants may be adequate. Specifically, valence was found to be independently and negatively related only to age and pay satisfaction, while instrumentality was a positive function of valence and a negative function of tenure. In addition, pay satisfaction was positively related to age and income and inversely related to job level. Implications of the suggested model are discussed in view of current practice. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Compensation satisfaction: Its measurement and dimensionality.

This research examined the influence of contextual variables on the factor structure of Heneman and Schwab's (1985) Pay Satisfaction Questionnaire (PSQ) and further explored the dimensionality of the compensation satisfaction construct. The PSQ is intended to measure four aspects of compensation: pay level, pay raises, pay structure-administration, and benefits. Previous research showed support for the pay level and benefit subscales, with equivocal results for the raises and structure-administration subscales. In this study, using data obtained from 1,007 employees of a manufacturing firm and 95 nursing home employees, we found that PSQ factor structure varied by employee job classification (salaried-exempt, salaried nonexempt, and hourly) and may also vary by other contextual factors such as company labor-relations compensation policy. The question of the underlying dimensionality of the compensation satisfaction construct cannot be adequately addressed by use of the current version of the PSQ. Implications for research and practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Work and family satisfaction and conflict: A meta-analysis of cross-domain relations.

This meta-analysis is a review of the literature examining the relations among stressors, involvement, and support in the work and family domains, work-family conflict, and satisfaction outside of those domains. Results suggest that a considerable amount of variability in family satisfaction is explained by work domain-specific variables, whereas a considerable amount of variability in job satisfaction is explained by family domain-specific variables, with job and family stress having the strongest effects on work-family conflict and cross-domain satisfaction. The authors propose future directions for research on work and family issues focusing on other explanatory mechanisms and moderators of cross-domain relations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Countertransference: A Social Relations Perspective.

Countertransference (CT)-therapists' perceptions of and reactions to their clients-falls within the broader domains of interpersonal perception and relations. Therefore, social psychological paradigms may prove useful for studying this phenomenon. The authors demonstrate how D. A. Kenny's (1994a) social relations model (SRM) can provide a useful approach for studying CT. Specifically, the SRM distinctions among target, perceiver, and relationship variance were used to understand some of the theoretical developments within clinical CT literature. The authors also suggest that findings from prior SRM research may have implications for issues within the CT literature. A sample of prior empirical research on CT was reviewed from an SRM perspective, and the authors offer suggestions for future CT studies using the SRM. Finally, the authors discuss the implications of this approach for psychotherapy integration. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The determinants of pay satisfaction.

Conducted a study to test empirically (a) the utility of a model of the determinants of pay satisfaction developed by E. E. Lawler (1971) and (b) the value of adding to this model a category of variables not previously included: perceptions of pay-system administration. The study was conducted among 180 US, 133 French-Canadian, and 79 English-Canadian managers. Results provide some support for the utility of Lawler's model and additional support for the value of adding the administrative-type variables. Results of this and other studies are used to develop a modified model of the determinants of pay satisfaction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Coping with employee, family, and student roles: Evidence of dispositional conflict and facilitation tendencies.

Balancing multiple roles is a challenge for individuals in many sectors of the population. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that individuals have dispositional tendencies to experience interrole conflict and facilitation. We also aimed to show that coping styles and life satisfaction are correlates of dispositional conflict and facilitation tendencies. Two survey studies were conducted with individuals involved in 3 life roles (i.e., employee, student, and family member; Study 1: N = 193; Study 2: N = 284). The hierarchical structure of conflict and facilitation was examined in both studies. Support for the dispositional model was found in both cases through the use of hierarchical confirmatory factor analyses. In Study 2, a longitudinal assessment of the nomological network surrounding conflict and facilitation tendencies was conducted with structural equation modeling analyses; we found that coping styles had synchronous relations with dispositional conflict and facilitation; dispositional conflict had a lagged and negative relation with life satisfaction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A multilevel model of the effects of equal opportunity climate on job satisfaction in the military.

To date, minimal work has explored associations between equal opportunity (EO) climate and employee work attitudes, and no known research has investigated the effects of EO climate beyond the individual level. We address these gaps in the literature by testing a multilevel structural equation model in which effects of EO climate are considered at both the individual and unit levels. At the individual level, we predicted that psychological EO climate would be directly associated with job stress and job satisfaction, as well as indirectly related to job satisfaction via stress. In addition, cross-level associations between unit EO climate and job stress and job satisfaction were hypothesized to be mediated by cohesion. Findings supported the proposed model; hypothesized relations were supported at both levels of analysis. We conclude with a discussion of the findings, study limitations, and directions for future EO climate research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social cognitive predictors of Mexican American college students' academic and life satisfaction.

In this study, we used Lent's (2004) social cognitive model of well being to examine the academic and life satisfaction of 457 Mexican American college students attending a Hispanic-Serving Institution. Using structural equation modeling, results indicated that the model provided a good fit to the data. Specifically, we found positive relations from positive affect to enculturation, acculturation, college self-efficacy, academic satisfaction, and life satisfaction; from enculturation to college self-efficacy; from acculturation to college self-efficacy and college outcome expectations; from college self-efficacy to college outcome expectations, academic goal progress, academic satisfaction, and life satisfaction; from college outcome expectations to academic satisfaction; from academic goal progress to academic and life satisfaction; and from academic satisfaction to life satisfaction. Findings indicated the model was invariant across gender groups, and overall, 38% and 14% of the variance in academic satisfaction and life satisfaction, respectively, were explained by the predictor variables. Implications for research and practice are discussed. (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)     

Group-level self-definition and self-investment: A hierarchical (multicomponent) model of in-group identification.

Recent research shows individuals' identification with in-groups to be psychologically important and socially consequential. However, there is little agreement about how identification should be conceptualized or measured. On the basis of previous work, the authors identified 5 specific components of in-group identification and offered a hierarchical 2-dimensional model within which these components are organized. Studies 1 and 2 used confirmatory factor analysis to validate the proposed model of self-definition (individual self-stereotyping, in-group homogeneity) and self-investment (solidarity, satisfaction, and centrality) dimensions, across 3 different group identities. Studies 3 and 4 demonstrated the construct validity of the 5 components by examining their (concurrent) correlations with established measures of in-group identification. Studies 5-7 demonstrated the predictive and discriminant validity of the 5 components by examining their (prospective) prediction of individuals' orientation to, and emotions about, real intergroup relations. Together, these studies illustrate the conceptual and empirical value of a hierarchical multicomponent model of in-group identification. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social Cognitive Predictors of Domain and Life Satisfaction: Exploring the Theoretical Precursors of Subjective Well-Being.

Central variables of social cognitive theory were adapted to forge an integrative model of well-being, which was designed to offer greater utility for therapeutic and self-directed change efforts than the dominant personality view of well-being. The authors present 2 studies using versions of the social cognitive model to predict domain-specific and overall life satisfaction. In both studies--one nomothetic, the other idiographic in measurement approach--findings indicated that satisfaction in particular life domains is predicted by domain-specific social cognitive variables (e.g., self-efficacy, perceived goal progress, environmental resources). Domain satisfaction in valued life domains also explained unique variance in overall life satisfaction, even after controlling for trait positive affectivity or extraversion. Implications for theory, research, and counseling aimed at well-being promotion and maintenance are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Dynamic Spillover of Satisfaction Between Work and Marriage: The Role of Time and Mood.

Previous research has indicated important linkages between work and family domains and roles. However, the nature of the dynamic spillover between job and marital satisfaction remains poorly understood. The current study tests both the concurrent and lagged associations between job and marital satisfaction at a within-individual level of analysis using a diary study of 76 fully employed, married adults. The authors further examine the mediating role of mood in this spillover process. Consistent with their hypotheses, findings indicate both a concurrent and a lagged (job to marital and marital to job) job satisfaction-marital satisfaction association at the within-subject level of analysis and lend some support for the mediating role of mood (most notably positive affect) in these associations. The authors hope these findings stimulate new research that uses more complex designs and comprehensive theoretical models to investigate work-family links. (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)     

Job and life attitudes of male executives.

Despite executives' important positions in organizations, their attitudes have not received much research attention. To remedy this deficiency, the authors tested a hypothesized model of executive attitudes involving job satisfaction, life satisfaction, job stress, and work–family conflict. Using data from a large, representative sample of male executives (because of the small number of female executives in the study, the analyses were confined to men), the authors obtained LISREL results indicating support for the overall model and the specific relationships within the model. These results (the first to simultaneously consider job satisfaction, life satisfaction, job stress, and work–family conflict) constitute the most comprehensive evidence to date on executive attitudes. The meaning and contributions of the findings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Individual unionization decisions.

An important component of the employee unionization process is the prediction of the individual's decision to vote for or against union representation. We propose and test a path model that includes the following variables: wage level, extrinsic job satisfaction, satisfaction with administration, perceived union instrumentality, voting intentions, and report on vote. We derived data on the relations among these variables through meta-analyses of the results of 14 individual-level unionization studies. The results of the path analyses suggest that (a) a sequential structure exists among predictors, (b) the relation between intent to vote and report on vote is one of measurement rather than causality, and (c) many individuals do not go through a complete sequential decision process. In view of these findings, we discuss some of the major substantive and research implications for the prediction of the individual's unionization decision. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Within-person variation in security of attachment: A self-determination theory perspective on attachment, need fulfillment, and well-being.

Attachment research has traditionally focused on individual differences in global patterns of attachment to important others. The current research instead focuses primarily on within-person variability in attachments across relational partners. It was predicted that within-person variability would be substantial, even among primary attachment figures of mother, father, romantic partner, and best friend. The prediction was supported in three studies. Furthermore, in line with self-determination theory, multilevel modeling and regression analyses showed that, at the relationship level, individuals' experience of fulfillment of the basic needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness positively predicted overall attachment security, model of self, and model of other. Relations of both attachment and need satisfaction to well-being were also explored. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)