Joel Lefkowitz

The role of interpersonal affective regard in supervisory performance ratings: A literature review and proposed causal model

A literature review reveals that supervisors’ positive affective regard (‘liking’) for subordinates is associated frequently with higher performance appraisal (PA) ratings, and with other findings such as greater halo, reduced accuracy, a better interpersonal relationship, and a disinclination to punish poor performance. However, the interpretability of the empirical literature is weakened by a number of conceptual and methodological problems. Moreover, most investigators have simply assumed that the effects of liking constitute sources of bias in PAs, and the causal nature of the observed relationships needed to be clarified. Based on the review, nine causal hypotheses constituting a model of 10 latent constructs with 17 paths are presented. Each direct effect is characterized as representing either a relevant (valid) influence, a source of bias, or as biased/valid contingent on the particular indicator or circumstances. Suggestions are made for integrating the model with a developmental approach, and implications are drawn for employment test validation and the investigation of test bias.

Job Attitudes of Police: Overall Description and Demographic Correlates.

Abstract Anonymous questionnaire data were obtained from 312 policemen (ca. 80% sample) in a midwest city. The primary emphasis was on obtaining descriptive data from standardized and/or frequently used measures which had not heretofore been administered to policemen. In general, these police appeared to be not dissimilar from other “typical” industrial samples as regards their patterns of job satisfaction, need gratification and orientation, job involvement, dogmatism, anti-Negro bias, and supervisory orientation. They were, however, more dissatisfied with their jobs than were comparable groups. The most significant correlates (determinants?) of job attitudes were the policemens age, rank, and job assignment. The data were also factor analyzed, the results of which are not reported here.

The role of need level and/or need salience as moderators of the relationship between need satisfaction and work alienation-involvement

Abstract Contrary to previous findings documenting the importance of higher-order need satisfaction, a recent study by G. J. Gorn and R. N. Kanungo ( Organizational Behavior and Human Performance , 1980 , 26 , 265–277) has indicated that satisfaction of lower-order needs may lead to job involvement if such needs are salient. Data from a heterogeneous sample of 632 employees from six organizations were used to test six hypotheses concerning the effects of need level (higher vs lower order) and need salience as moderators of the relationship between need satisfaction and alienation-involvement. Three different ways of operationalizing need saliency were used, including a replication of Gorn and Kanungos procedure. Higherorder need satisfaction was correlated with alienation-involvement scores to a significantly greater degree than was lower-order need satisfaction, even for those for whom lower-order needs were most salient. Need saliency was not found to moderate the need satisfaction-involvement relationship when need level was controlled. Issues regarding the operationalization of “need salience” were discussed and a new measure of alienation-involvement (the A-I Scale) was introduced. Implications for further empirical investigations of the need saliency issue were noted, as was the universal application of job enrichment programs aimed at promoting higher-order need satisfaction.

The redundancy of work alienation and job satisfaction: Some evidence of convergent and discriminant validity

Abstract The multitrait-multimethod matrix (MTMM) technique was used in an attempt to help clarify the ambiguities regarding concepts of work alienation, job satisfaction, and the relationships between them. Within each attitude domain considered separately, generally acceptable evidence of convergent and (to a lesser degree) discriminant validity was found for the trait measures (four dimensions of alienation and five of satisfaction). However, the discrimination between alienation and satisfaction measures was no greater than that among satisfaction and among alienation, casting doubt on the demarcation of these as two distinct domains. The measures of satisfaction and alienation also were not correlated differentially with demographic and self-esteem measures. Note was taken of the limitations in our knowledge and operationalization of these areas, as these relate to the assumptions of MTMM technique regarding independence of both underlying trait constructs and measurement methods.

Self-esteem, locus of control, and task difficulty as determinants of task performance

Abstract One hundred twenty-six high school students responded to questionnaire measures of chronic self-esteem (CSE), task-specific self-esteem (TSSE), and locus of control of reinforcements (L of C) and were given a list of anagrams to solve that varied in level of task difficulty (TD). L of C and (to a lesser extent) TSSE were each related to task performance (TP), multiple R = .51 ( p

Self-esteem, need gratification, and work satisfaction: A test of competing explanations from consistency theory and self-enhancement theory

Abstract A sample of 112 administrators provided self-report data used to test two hypotheses derived from Kormans consistency model of work behavior. As predicted, those with high self-esteem experienced significantly greater need gratification than did those with low self-esteem, and self-esteem also significantly positively moderated the relationship between n gratification and work satisfaction. Need gratification was assessed for only those needs that were most salient for each person, thus eliminating a rival interpretation of the findings derived from the self-enhancement model of self-esteem. The moderating effect of self-esteem on the n gratification-work satisfaction relationship was limited to those experiencing low levels of n gratification, indicating a possible “boundary condition” of consistency theory. A problem with the use of moderator variables in behavioral science was also discussed.

Can professions contribute to the reduction of world-wide poverty? A case in point: Organizational psychology and pay diversity

This article was downloaded by: [Lefkowitz, Joel]On: 2 August 2010Access details: Access Details: [subscription number 925052152]Publisher Psychology PressInforma Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK

The “shelflife” of a test validation study: A survey of expert opinion

Anonymous mailed surveys containing a description of a competent and successful content validation or criterion-related validation study were returned by 106 experts in employment test validation: Fellows of SIOP, ABPP Diplomates in I/O Psychology, and experienced practitioners nominated by the first two groups. More than 70% replied that they would seek additional supportive evidence within 5 years or less following the validation. The most frequently suggested action was a review of the target job requirements. Opinions did not differ as a function of demographic and experiential variables—except between those who have been involved in Title VII employment discrimination litigation and those who have not, and between those who have primarily represented employers vs those who have represented plaintiffs more frequently in such litigation. Whereas decrements to the original supporting evidence would lead respondents to shorten their estimates of longevity, a surplus of supportive evidence would not lead to extended estimates. Generalizability and limitations of the survey are discussed as well as implications for Title VII litigation.