Task perceptions and job satisfaction: A question of causality

Abstract

Hypothesized that job satisfaction can result in differential perceptions of the task characteristics of the same job. In Exp I, 77 Master of Business Administration students were randomly assigned to role play a satisfied or dissatisfied job incumbent. Ss in the satisfied condition described the same stimulus job as more enriched than did those in the dissatisfied-role condition. In Exp II, 88 retail representatives holding the same job were surveyed using the Faces Scale, the Job Descriptive Index, and the Job Diagnostic Survey. Aspects of job satisfaction were strongly related to perceived task characteristics. An argument is made that satisfied job incumbents may describe their jobs more favorably in terms of job characteristics, rather than in terms of variations in job dimensions, leading to differences in job satisfaction. (43 ref) (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)