State or trait: effects of state optimism on job-related outcomes
Corresponding Author
Donald H. Kluemper
Rucks Department of Management, E. J. Ourso School of Business, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S.A.
Rucks Department of Management, E. J. Ourso School of Business, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, U.S.A.Search for more papers by this authorLaura M. Little
Department of Management, Terry College of Business, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, U.S.A.
Search for more papers by this authorTimothy DeGroot
Department of Management, Dillard College of Business Administration, Midwestern State University, Wichita Falls, TX, U.S.A.
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Donald H. Kluemper
Rucks Department of Management, E. J. Ourso School of Business, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S.A.
Rucks Department of Management, E. J. Ourso School of Business, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, U.S.A.Search for more papers by this authorLaura M. Little
Department of Management, Terry College of Business, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, U.S.A.
Search for more papers by this authorTimothy DeGroot
Department of Management, Dillard College of Business Administration, Midwestern State University, Wichita Falls, TX, U.S.A.
Search for more papers by this authorAbstract
State optimism was hypothesized to be significantly related to six organizationally relevant outcomes above and beyond the effect of trait optimism. Moreover, state optimism was hypothesized to have effects on these six outcomes beyond the effects of positive and negative affect. Conversely, trait optimism was expected to be unrelated to the six outcome variables when controlling for state optimism as well as when controlling for affect. These hypotheses were tested with two samples. First, 772 undergraduate students were assessed to determine the impact of state versus trait optimism on task performance in the form of course grade. From this sample, the 261 students working at least 20 hours per week were similarly assessed with regard to work related distress, burnout, affective commitment, and job satisfaction. Then, a field sample of 106 employees assessed distress, burnout, affective commitment, job satisfaction, and supervisor rated task and contextual job performance. Results indicate state optimism (but not trait optimism) is a potentially powerful indicator of important organizational outcomes, even after controlling for the effects of positive and negative affect. Implications of these findings and directions for future research are discussed. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
References
- Allen, N. J., & Meyer, J. P. (1990). The measurement and antecedents of affective, continuance and normative commitment to the organization. Journal of Occupational Psychology, 63, 1–18.
- Allen, N. J., & Meyer, J. P. (1996). Affective, continuance, and normative commitment to the organization: An examination of construct validity. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 49, 252–276.
- Al-Mashaan, O. (2003). Associations among job satisfaction, optimism, pessimism, and psychosomatic symptoms for employees in the government sector in Kuwait. Psychological Reports, 93, 17–25.
- Aspinwall, L., & Taylor, S. (1992). Modeling cognitive adaptations: A longitudinal investigation of the impact of individual differences and coping on college adjustment and performance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 63, 989–1003.
- Begle, T., Lee, C., & Czajka, J. (2000). The relationship between Type A behavior and optimism with job performance and blood pressure. Journal of Business and Psychology, 15, 215–227.
- Benkoff, B. (1997). Disentangling organizational commitment: The dangers of the OCQ for research policy. Personnel Review, 26, 114–136.
- Billings, D., Folkman, S., Acree, M., & Moskowitz, J. (2000). Coping and physical health during caregiving: The roles of positive and negative affect. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 79, 131–142.
- Borman, W., & Motowidlo, S. (1993). Expanding the criterion domain to include elements of contextual performance. In N. Schmitt, & W. Borman (Eds.), Personnel selection. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Frontiers Series.
- Brief, A., & Motowidlo, S. (1986). Prosocial organizational behaviors. Academy of Management Review, 11, 710–725.
- Buchanan, G. M., & Seligman, M. E. P. (1995). Explanatory style. Hillsdale, NJ, England: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
- Cameron, K., & Caza, A. (2004). Contributions to the discipline of positive organizational scholarship. American Behavioral Scientist, 47, 731–739.
- Cameron, K., Dutton, J., & Quinn, R. (2003). Positive organizational scholarship: Foundations of a new discipline. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler.
- Carver, C., & Scheier, M. (1981). Attention and self-regulation: A control theory approach to human behavior. New York: Springer-Verlag.
10.1007/978-1-4612-5887-2 Google Scholar
- Carver, C., & Scheier, M. (2002). Optimism. In C. R. Snyder, & S. Lopez (Eds.), Handbook of positive psychology (pp. 231–242.) Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
- Chemers, M., Watson, C., & May, S. (2000). Dispositional affect and leaderskop effectiveness. A comparison of self-esteem, optimism, and efficacy. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 26, 267–277.
- Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences ( 2nd ed.). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
10.1046/j.1526-4610.2001.111006343.x Google Scholar
- Cohen, S., Doyle, W. J., Skoner, D. P., Fireman, P., Gwaltney, J. M., & Newsom, J. T. (1995). State and trait negative affect as predictors of objective and subjective symptoms of respiratory viral infections. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 68, 159–169.
- Coleman, V., & Borman, W. (2000). Investigating the underlying structure of the citizenship performance domain. Human Resource Management Review, 10, 25–44.
10.1016/S1053-4822(99)00037-6 Google Scholar
- Dember, W., & Brooks, J. (1989). A new instrument for measuring optimism and pessimism: Test-retest reliability and relations with happiness and religious commitment. Bulleting of the Psychonomic Society, 27, 365–366.
- Derogatis, L. R., & Cleary, P. A. (1977). Factorial invariance across gender for the primary symptom dimensions of the SCL-90. British Journal of Social & Clinical Psychology, 16, 347–356.
- Erez, A., & Isen, A. M. (2002). The influence of positive affect on the components of expectancy motivation. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87, 1055–1067.
- Erickson, R. J., & Ritter, C. (2001). Emotional labor, burnout, and inauthenticity: Does gender matter? Social Psychology Quarterly, 64, 146–163.
- Field, N. (2004). Optimism, coping, social support and romantic relationship satisfaction: A mediational analysis. Dissertation Abstracts International, 64(7-B), 3581.
- Ganster, D. C., & Schaubroeck, J. (1991). Work stress and employee health. Journal of Management, 17, 235–271.
- George, J. (1991). State or trait: Effects of positive mood on prosocial behaviors at work. Journal of Applied Psychology, 76, 299–307.
- George, J., & Brief, A. (1992). Feeling good-doing good: A conceptual analysis of the mood at work-organizational spontaneity relationship. Psychological Bulletin, 112, 310–329.
- Graham, J. (1986). Organizational citizenship behavior informed by political theory. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Academy of Management, Chigago, IL.
- Hackman, J. R., & Oldham, G. R. (1975). Job diagnostic survey, reliability & validity for job reassignment & job change effects evaluation. Journal of Applied Psychology, 60, 159–170.
- Hoekman, K., McCormick, J., & Barnett, K. (2005). The important role of optimism in a motivational investigation of the education of gifted adolescents. Gifted Child Quarterly, 49, 99–110.
- Ivancevich, J. M., & Matteson, M. (1980). Stress and work: A managerial perspective. Glenview: IL: Scott-Foresman.
- Lee, C., Ashford, S., & Jamieson, L. (1993). The effects of type A behavior dimensions and optimism on coping strategy, health, and performance. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 14, 143–157.
- Leung, B., Moneta, G., & McBride-Chang, C. (2005). Think positively and feel positively: Optimism and life satisfaction in late life. International Journal of Aging & Human Development, 16, 335–365.
- Little, L. M., Gooty, J., & Nelson, D. L. (2007). Measurement of positive organizational behavior constructs. In D. L. Nelson & C. L. Cooper (Eds.), Positive organizational behavior: Accentuating the positive at work. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
- Locke, E. A. (1976). The nature and causes of job satisfaction. In M. D. Dunette (Ed.), Handbook of Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Chichester, UK: John Wiley.
- Luthans, F. (2002a). The need for and meaning of positive organizational behavior. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 23, 695–706.
- Luthans, F. (2002b). Positive organizational behavior: Developing and managing psychological strengths. Academy of Management Executive, 16, 57–75.
- Luthans, F. (2003). Positive organizational behavior (POB): Implications for leadership and HR development and motivation. In R. M. Steers, L. W. Porter, & G. A. Begley (Eds.), Motivation and leadership at work (pp. 187–195.) New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
- Luthans, F., & Jensen, S. M. (2002). Hope: A new positive strength for human resource development. Human Resource Development Review, 1, 304–322.
10.1177/1534484302013003 Google Scholar
- Luthans, F., & Youssef, C. (2007). Emerging positive organizational behavior. Journal of Management, 33, 321–349.
- Maslach, C., & Jackson, S. E. (1981). The measurement of experienced burnout. Journal of Occupational Behaviour, 2, 99–113.
- Montgomery, R., Haemmerlie, F., & Ray, D. (2003). Psychological correlates of optimism in college students. Psychological Reports, 92, 545–547.
- Mowday, R. T., Porter, L. W., & Steers, R. M. (1982). Employee-organization linkages: The psychology of commitment, absenteeism, and turnover. New York: Academic Press.
- D. Nelson & C. L. Cooper (Eds.). (2007). Positive organizational behavior: Accentuating the positive at work. Thousand Oaks, CS: Sage.
- Nes, L., & Segerstrom, S. (2006). Dispositional optimism and coping: A meta-analytic review. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 10, 235–251.
- Organ, D. (1977). A reappraisal and reinterpretation of the satisfaction-cause-performance hypothesis. Academy of Management Review, 2, 46–53.
10.2307/257604 Google Scholar
- Organ, D. (1988). Organizational citizenship behavior: The good soldier syndrome. Lenington, MA: Lexington Books.
- Parasuraman, S., & Allutto, J. A. (1984). Sources and outcomes of stress in organizational settings: Toward development of a structural model. Academy of Management Journal, 27, 330–350.
- Peterson, C. (2000). The future of optimism. American Psychologist, 55, 44–55.
- Salovey, P., Rothman, A., Detweiler, J., & Steward, W. (2000). Emotional states and physical health. American Psychologist, 55, 110–121.
- Scheier, M., & Carver, C. (1987). Dispositional optimism and physical well-being: The influence of generalized outcome expectancies on health. Journal of Personality, 55, 169–210.
- Scheier, M., Matthewe, K., Owens, J., Magovern, G., Lefebvre, R., Abbott, R., et al. (1989). Dispositional optimism and recovery from coronary artery bypass surgery: The beneficial effects on physical and psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57, 1024–1040.
- Scheier, M., & Carver, C. (1985). Optimism, coping, and health: Assessment and implications of generalized outcome expectancies. Health Psychology, 4, 219–247.
- Scheier, M., & Carver, C. (1992). Effects of optimism on psychological and physical well-being: Theoretical overview and empirical update. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 16, 201–228.
- Scheier, M., Carver, C., & Bridges, M. (1994). Distinguishing optimism from neuroticism (and trait anxiety, self-mastery, and self-esteem): A reevaluation of the life orientation test. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67, 1063–1078.
- Seligman, M. (1998). Learned optimism. New York: Pocket Books.
- Sethi, S., & Seligman, M. (1993). Optimism and fundamentalism. Psychological Science, 4, 256–259.
- Shirom, A. (1989). Burnout in work organizations. In L. Cooper, & I. T. Robertson (Eds.), International review of industrial and organizational psychology. Chichester, UK: John Wiley.
- Smith, C., Organ, D., & Near, J. (1983). Organizational citizenship behavior: Its nature and antecedents. Journal of Applied Psychology, 68, 653–663.
- Somers, M. J. (1995). Organizational commitment, turnover, and absenteeism: An examination of direct and interaction effects. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 16, 49–58.
- Spector, P. E. (2006). Method variance in organizational research: Truth or urban legend. Organizational Research Methods, 9, 221–232.
- Tiger, L. (1979). Optimism: The biology of hope. New York: Simon & Schuster.
- Trunzo, J. J., & Pinto, B. M. (2003). Social support as a mediator of optimism and distress in breast cancer survivors. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 71, 805–811.
- Watson, D., Clark, L. A., & Tellegen, A. (1988). Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: The PANAS scales. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54, 1063–1070.
- Weisse, C. S. (1992). Depression and immunocompetence: A review of the literature. Psychological Bulletin, 111, 475–489.
- Werenfels, P. (2006). Effects of optimism on goal-setting performance. Dissertation Abstracts International, 66(7-B), 3988.
- Wright, T. A. (1997). Time revisited in organizational behavior. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 18, 201–204.
- Wright, T. A. (2003). Positive organizational behavior: An idea whose time has truly come. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 24, 437–442.
- Wright, T. A. (2007). A look at two methodological challenges for scholars interested in positive organizational behavior. In D. L. Nelson & C. L. Cooper (Eds.), Positive Organizational behavior: Accentuating the positive at work. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
10.4135/9781446212752.n13 Google Scholar
- Wright, T. A., Cropanzano, R., & Meyer, D. G. (2004). State and trait correlates of job performance: A tale of two perspectives. Journal of Business and Psychology, 18, 365–383.
- Wunderley, L., Reddy, W., & Dember, W. (1998). Optimism and pessimism in business leaders. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 28, 751–760.