Introduction: the dispositional approach to job satisfaction

✍ Scribed by Paul E. Spector

• Book ID: 102387973
• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2004
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 28 KB
• Volume: 26
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0894-3796
• DOI: 10.1002/job.297

✦ Synopsis

The role of individual differences versus situations has been debated throughout the history of organizational behavior research. Disposition researchers have argued that job satisfaction is to a great extent a product of personality, as individuals vary in their responses to the same situation. Others have taken an opposing view, suggesting that personality is often confounded with situations, the latter of which is the real driving force behind job satisfaction. This point/counterpoint exchange explores the role of dispositions and situations in determining job satisfaction.

Barry Staw and Yochi Cohen-Charash take the 'pro-disposition causes job satisfaction' position. Their paper traces the history of the dispositional argument, discusses and refutes criticisms of the dispositional approach, and provides an information-processing model of how dispositions might affect job satisfaction.

Barry Gerhart takes the opposing view, focusing mainly on two implications of the dispositional approach. First, he argues that dispositions do not constrain the effects of situations and that both can have important influences. He points out that some situations will produce higher satisfaction than others, although certainly individuals in each situation may differ from one another. Second, he discusses the use of affective disposition measures for employee selection, outlining additional research that needs to be done before organizations adopt this approach.

These two papers provide a contemporary overview of the issues concerning individual differences versus situations in determining job satisfaction. They raise a number of intriguing questions that need research attention concerning the interplay of individual differences and situational factors in the workplace.