The many faces of roles : the effects of role, process, and evaluation ambiguity on affective and behavioral outcomes /
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| Other Authors: | , , |
| Format: | Thesis Book |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
1991.
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | Link to OAKTrust copy |
| Abstract: | Role ambiguity is a pervasive problem in organizational settings. Unfortunately, this body of literature suffers from definitional, conceptual, and methodological problems. First of all, no consensus has been reached on how role ambiguity should be defined. Additionally, based on Kahn, Wolfe, Quinn, & Rosenthal's (1964) original definition, the construct in its present form is inadequately tapped. Regarding conceptual issues, existing models of role development either fail to define what is meant by role relevant information or fail to account for the proactive influence of individuals in the role clarification process. Lastly, regarding methodology, all but a handful of studies to date have been correlational in nature where measures of role ambiguity are assessed simultaneously with the outcome variables it proportedly causes. The present research is designed to address these issues. Specifically, role ambiguity is redefined and expanded to include task ambiguity, process ambiguity, and evaluation ambiguity. The impact of these types of ambiguity on affective and behavioral responses is examined through an experimental design and a conceptual model is developed to suggest how, through feedback seeking behavior, individuals may be proactive in the ambiguity clarification process. It is hypothesized that performance, satisfaction, tension/anxiety, motivation/commitment, and proactive feedback seeking behavior would be affected by these types of ambiguity. The results indicated, as the proposed model suggests, different types of ambiguity interact to negatively affect tension/anxiety, performance, satisfaction, and task commitment and motivation. In addition, this study indicates individuals will engage in proactive feedback seeking behavior to reduce uncertainty. The implications of this research are discussed. |
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| Item Description: | Typescript (photocopy). Vita. "Major subject: Psychology." |
| Physical Description: | xv, 288 leaves : illustrations ; 29 cm |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references. |