The social reference-group theory of job satisfaction : a comparative study of Coloured and White salesmen in South Africa

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dc.contributor.advisorOrpen, C E Men_ZA
dc.contributor.authorVos, Eline Amarensen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2016-02-01T10:01:22Z
dc.date.available2016-02-01T10:01:22Z
dc.date.issued1974en_ZA
dc.description.abstractData relevant to five separate areas of a worker's job satisfaction (satisfaction with: work, pay, promotion opportunities, co-workers and supervision) were gathered from a sample of 98 male Coloured salesmen and 95 male White salesmen, employed in different branches of a life assurance company in South Africa. Furthermore, measures were obtained of the subjects' feelings of overall job satisfaction and dissatisfaction, in order to investigate the validity of Herzberg's theory that job satisfaction and job dissatisfaction are qualitatively different and that, as a result, they should be measured separately. Next, measures were obtained of the subjects' feelings of internal versus external control in life. Separate measures were obtained on the two subscales of personal control and control ideology of Gurin's Internal-External Scale (1969). The subjects were asked to indicate in what class (upper, middle or lower) they regarded themselves to be and with what class they compared themselves. Analysis of these data included: (a) the Coloured subjects were more satisfied with their jobs than the White subjects; (b) the workers who compared themselves with a higher comparative reference-group were less satisfied with their jobs than were workers who compared themselves with their membership reference-group, or with a lower comparative reference-group. An explanation of these findings in terms of frames of reference and alternatives available to the workers is offered. (c) The Coloured subjects were less internally-orientated than the Whites and expressed less sense of personal control over their lives; (d) feelings of personal control were more highly correlated with satisfaction with intrinsic than with extrinsic job-aspects. The present study established not only the usefulness of reference-group theory as a social explanation for differences in workers' satisfaction with various job-aspects, but also served to remove cultural limitations of Gurin et aI's theory of internal-external control and to increase its generality. Finally, measures of internal-external control were related to satisfaction with intrinsic and extrinsic job-aspects, and the I-E concept was related to the social reference-group theory.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationVos, E. A. (1974). <i>The social reference-group theory of job satisfaction : a comparative study of Coloured and White salesmen in South Africa</i>. (Thesis). University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Department of Psychology. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/16635en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationVos, Eline Amarens. <i>"The social reference-group theory of job satisfaction : a comparative study of Coloured and White salesmen in South Africa."</i> Thesis., University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Department of Psychology, 1974. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/16635en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationVos, E. 1974. The social reference-group theory of job satisfaction : a comparative study of Coloured and White salesmen in South Africa. University of Cape Town.en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Vos, Eline Amarens AB - Data relevant to five separate areas of a worker's job satisfaction (satisfaction with: work, pay, promotion opportunities, co-workers and supervision) were gathered from a sample of 98 male Coloured salesmen and 95 male White salesmen, employed in different branches of a life assurance company in South Africa. Furthermore, measures were obtained of the subjects' feelings of overall job satisfaction and dissatisfaction, in order to investigate the validity of Herzberg's theory that job satisfaction and job dissatisfaction are qualitatively different and that, as a result, they should be measured separately. Next, measures were obtained of the subjects' feelings of internal versus external control in life. Separate measures were obtained on the two subscales of personal control and control ideology of Gurin's Internal-External Scale (1969). The subjects were asked to indicate in what class (upper, middle or lower) they regarded themselves to be and with what class they compared themselves. Analysis of these data included: (a) the Coloured subjects were more satisfied with their jobs than the White subjects; (b) the workers who compared themselves with a higher comparative reference-group were less satisfied with their jobs than were workers who compared themselves with their membership reference-group, or with a lower comparative reference-group. An explanation of these findings in terms of frames of reference and alternatives available to the workers is offered. (c) The Coloured subjects were less internally-orientated than the Whites and expressed less sense of personal control over their lives; (d) feelings of personal control were more highly correlated with satisfaction with intrinsic than with extrinsic job-aspects. The present study established not only the usefulness of reference-group theory as a social explanation for differences in workers' satisfaction with various job-aspects, but also served to remove cultural limitations of Gurin et aI's theory of internal-external control and to increase its generality. Finally, measures of internal-external control were related to satisfaction with intrinsic and extrinsic job-aspects, and the I-E concept was related to the social reference-group theory. DA - 1974 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 1974 T1 - The social reference-group theory of job satisfaction : a comparative study of Coloured and White salesmen in South Africa TI - The social reference-group theory of job satisfaction : a comparative study of Coloured and White salesmen in South Africa UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/16635 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/16635
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationVos EA. The social reference-group theory of job satisfaction : a comparative study of Coloured and White salesmen in South Africa. [Thesis]. University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Department of Psychology, 1974 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/16635en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Psychologyen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Humanitiesen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.subject.otherPsychologyen_ZA
dc.subject.otherJob satisfactionen_ZA
dc.subject.otherSales personnelen_ZA
dc.titleThe social reference-group theory of job satisfaction : a comparative study of Coloured and White salesmen in South Africaen_ZA
dc.typeMaster Thesis
dc.type.qualificationlevelMasters
dc.type.qualificationnameMScen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceThesisen_ZA
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