Chapter 4: Attitudes

Question 1

What are Attitudes?

Answer 1

a fairly stable tendency to respond consistently to some specific target (e.g., person, situation, etc.)
* Often positive or negative toward the target
* Less stable than values
* attitudes can (sometimes) predict behavior like job performance

Question 2

Formation of Attitudes:

Answer 2

Beliefs (Cognitive component): What a person thinks is true.

Values (Affective component): What a person feels is important

Question 3

Job performance is a behavior, and encompasses:

Answer 3

Task performance
Organizational citizenship behavior
Counterproductive work behaviors

Question 4

Task performance

Answer 4

Behaviors that are recognized as part of the job (e.g., doing the duties and responsibilities of the job; making something, providing a service; how many units you make in a shift)

Question 5

Organizational citizenship behavior

Answer 5

voluntary, informal behaviors that benefit the organization and are not formally rewarded, such as helping coworkers
o Fair treatment and positive moods enhance OCB, while perceived unfairness may reduce it.

Question 6

Counterproductive work behaviors (CWB)

Answer 6

Voluntary behaviors that harm the well-being of the organization (e.g., incivility, aggression, theft)

Question 7

Job Satisfaction

Answer 7

• how content one is with their job (or individual facets of their job)
• Positively related to job performance
• Negatively related to absenteeism and turnover
• affective and cognitive assessment

Question 8

Facets of job satisfaction

Answer 8

Nature of the work itself, Compensation, Career Opportunities, Recognition, Benefits, Working Conditions, Supervision, Coworkers, Organizational Policies…

• satisfaction with the Nature of the work itself has the Strongest relationship with job performance

Question 9

What determines job satisfaction?

Answer 9

• A large percentage of overall job satisfaction variance is attributable to genes (~30%)
• Job satisfaction depends on disposition and the situation

Question 10

Disposition

Answer 10

an individual’s personality traits and their influence on job satisfaction. Some people may be predisposed to feel more or less satisfied with their jobs due to personality factors.
- tends to remain stable over time, even when switching jobs.

Question 11

Discrepancy Theory

Answer 11

Job satisfaction results from the gap between the job outcomes people want and the outcomes they perceive they receive.

Question 12

3 types of Fairness (aka Organizational Justice)

Answer 12

1. Distributive Fairness (fairness in outcomes; see equity theory)
2. Procedural Fairness (fairness in the process used to determine outcomes)
3. Interactional Fairness (fairness of interpersonal treatment)
   Interpersonal justice (treatment with respect and dignity when receiving outcomes)
   Informational justice (adequacy and appropriateness of explanation when receiving outcomes)

Question 13

Some Responses to Inequity

Answer 13

• Change Inputs (e.g., social loaf – slack off)
• Change Outcomes (e.g., ask for a raise)
• Adjust Perceptions of Self (e.g., see our own inputs as less valuable)
• Adjust Perceptions of Others (e.g., see their inputs as more valuable)
• Compare to someone else (e.g., someone more similar to ourself)
• Quit