What is an Attitude?: What is an Attitude? “An organized predisposition to respond in a favorable or unfavorable manner toward a specified class of objects” (Shaver, 1977) Position on a bipolar affective or evaluative dimension (Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975) Networks of interrelated beliefs that reside in long-term memory and are activated when the attitude object or issue is encountered (Tourangeau & Rasinksi, 1988)


Measuring Attitudes:Thurstone’s Equal Appearing Intervals (1928): Measuring Attitudes: Thurstone’s Equal Appearing Intervals (1928) Create pool of belief items (~100) ~300 judges rate favorability of items Scale value of item = average rating Exclude items with high variance Final scale: ~20 evenly distributed items Person checks items (s)he agrees with Score = median value of checked items


Measuring Attitudes:Likert’s Summated Ratings (1932): Measuring Attitudes: Likert’s Summated Ratings (1932) Create pool of belief items Decide how to score each (+ or -) exclude neutral or ambiguous items Administer to relevant sample bipolar SA (+2) to SD (-2) scale Criterion of internal consistency item-total correlations & Coefficient Alpha


Issues with Likert Scales: Issues with Likert Scales Ambiguity of SD responses Women deserve same job opportunities as men So use bipolar scales (“Women deserve…”) Scaling is compensatory 5 SA + 5 SD = 10 N = 5A + 5D Include neutral midpoint? How many anchors?


Measuring Attitudes:Guttman’s Scalogram (1944): Measuring Attitudes: Guttman’s Scalogram (1944) Create set of items that form a uni-dimensional hierarchy Score = “highest” item person endorses e.g., attitudes towards gambling: Place bets with bookie Gambling trips to Las Vegas Bet on greyhounds/horses Office football/basketball pools Penny ante poker with friends No-stakes wager with a friend


Measuring Attitudes:Osgood’s Semantic Differential Scale: Measuring Attitudes: Osgood’s Semantic Differential Scale Subjects rate items on bipolar adjectives: good…………………………………bad favorable ……………………unfavorable like……………………………….dislike Score = sum of responses to all items Most direct measure of evaluation/affect


What is Job Satisfaction?: What is Job Satisfaction? Spector: “the degree to which people like their jobs” “How people feel about their jobs and different aspects of their jobs” Work characteristics Job Satisfaction(s)


Simple Discrepancy Models: Simple Discrepancy Models Porter (1961): Need Satisfaction Desired-Actual Minnesota Work Adjustment Model 20 “reinforcers” (based on Murray’s 12 needs) Locke (1976): Values “Job satisfaction results from appraisal of one’s job as attaining…one’s important job values” provided these values are congruent with basic needs


Slide10: Perceived characteristics Job Satisfaction(s) Objective characteristics Needs/ Values


Frame of Reference Models: Frame of Reference Models March & Simon Evaluation of inducements/contributions ratio Labor market affects value of contributions Cornell Model: Outcomes vs. Expectations Evaluations of outcomes are affected by Frame of Reference (alternatives, past experience, economy) Hulin, Roznowski & Hachiya (1985) Frame of reference influences both contributions and inducements


Slide12: Perceived characteristics Job Satisfaction(s) Objective characteristics Needs/ Values Frame of Reference


Questioning the Situational View: Questioning the Situational View A chink in the armor: are perceptions veridical with objective reality? Social Information Processing model Dispositional View


Alternative Models of JS: Social Information Processing Model: Alternative Models of JS: Social Information Processing Model Social construction of attitudes vs objective characteristics) Salancik & Pfeffer (1978) Roots in Schachter & Singer (1962) Attitude statements based on: Perception of affective components Social context cues Self-attributions about behavior Event Generalized Arousal Cues JS


Alternative Models of JS: Dispositional Approach: Alternative Models of JS: Dispositional Approach Staw & Ross (1985) Surprising stability over time/situations Staw, Bell & Clausen (1986) Childhood temperament predicts adult JS Arvey et al. (1989) JS has hereditary component (30%)


Caveats re: Dispositional Approach: Caveats re: Dispositional Approach General questions about behavioral genetics Gerhart (1987): Situation AND Disposition Compared effects on current satisfaction of prior satisfaction, pay, job complexity Job complexity had strongest effect Why isn’t extrinsic satisfaction heritable? Why is JS heritable? A JS gene?


Temperament and Job Satisfaction: Temperament and Job Satisfaction Trait NA/PA may be key factor Some reason to believe that it may have biological basis, and thus inheritable Those high in NA are more likely to: Notice negative stimuli Evaluate stimuli in negative terms Recall negative stimuli Create interpersonal conflict  dissatisfaction


Primacy of Affect or Judgment: Primacy of Affect or Judgment Events Affect JS Weiss & Cropanzano (1996) Disposition Mood at work JS Weiss et al. (1999) Disposition Interpretations JS Brief (1998)


Primacy of Affect or Judgment: Primacy of Affect or Judgment Disposition Interpretations JS Brief & Weiss (2002) Mood Stress events Strain JS Fuller et al. (2003) Mood


Slide20: Subjective Norm Attitude: Act Behavior Intent Behavior Theory of Reasoned Action (Fishbein & Ajzen) Attitudes and Behavior


Slide21: Evaluation Behavior beliefs Normative beliefs Motivation to Comply Subjective Norm Attitude: Act Behavior Intent Behavior Theory of Reasoned Action (Fishbein & Ajzen) Attitudes and Behavior


Slide22: Evaluation Behavior beliefs Normative beliefs Motivation to Comply Subjective Norm Attitude: Act Behavior Intent Behavior Theory of Reasoned Action (Fishbein & Ajzen) Constraints Attitudes and Behavior