ZNOTES.

ORG

UPDATED TO 2021-23 SYLLABUS

CAIE A2 LEVEL
PSYCHOLOGY
(9990)
SUMMARIZED NOTES ON THE SYLLABUS
CAIE A2 LEVEL PSYCHOLOGY (9990)

1. Motivation to work
1.1. Need theories
Hierarchy of needs (Maslow, 1970)

All needs can be arranged in a hierarchy- you move up as

you fulfil each level starting with basic physiological
needs.
Maslow’s original hierarchy of needs (1943):

ERG theory (Alderfer, 1972)

Revision of Maslow’s, simplifies into 3:

Existence needs: basic survival needs such as
physiological and safety needs.
Relatedness needs: social and self-esteem needs. The
latter is divided into:
Internal and external
Need of relatedness satisfies external self-esteem.
Growth needs: self-development and advancement
that match self-actualisation and self-esteem needs
from Maslow’s hierarchy.
Satisfies internal element of self-esteem needs.
Updated model (1970) has 8 stages: It is not a hierarchical approach and one can be motivated
Biological and physiological needs: basic survival by multiple needs at once.
needs; air, shelter, water, food, sleep, sex. However, the importance of these needs might change
throughout your life.
Safety needs: stable society with appropriate legal and
justice systems. Relatedness needs may be most important in
Love and belongingness needs: includes work, family, adolescence and early adulthood, followed by growth
friends as well as romantic relationships. needs as we establish a career and then relatedness
Esteem needs: refers to achievements: skills, status, needs again when we start a family.
independence etc. Some feel sense of esteem through
their family roles, well-paid jobs, voluntary work or Achievement motivation (McClelland, 1965)
creation of something that receives critical acclaim.
According to McClelland, different needs motivate
Cognitive needs: relates to our need for information,
different people and these differences are measurable.
knowledge and meaning.
The three types are:
Aesthetic needs: our need and appreciation of beauty.
Need for achievement (N-Ach): need to get things
Self-actualisation: reaching our personal potential and
done, achieve and be successful. These people are
becoming fulfilled.
highly motivated by challenges and appraisals
Transcendence needs: refers to our ability to help
(feedback).
others to also achieve self-actualisation.
Need for affiliation (N-Affil): need to be liked by others,
to be accepted, to put effort into developing and
maintaining social relationships. They prefer to work
with others and will be motivated by cooperative tasks.
Need for power (N-Pow): need to have influence and
control over others. They are motivated by the chance
to gain status or prestige or to be looked up to by
others.

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N-Ach can be measured by Thematic Apperception Test SMART Goal:

or TAT. Specific
These are series of ambiguous images which Measurable
individual is asked to interpret. Attainable
This theory comes under projective test: personality test Relevant
that uses ambiguous stimuli such as ink blots or the Timescale
Thematic Apperception Test. Final method of goal setting is ‘Backward Goal Setting’ in
The response is thought to reveal hidden emotions which individual works backward to determine the most
and conflicts which the individual projects onto his appropriate way of reaching this goal.
depiction of the image.
As it is subjective, it has low reliability and validity. VIE (expectancy) theory (Vroom,1964)

  This theory states that workers are rational and their

Evaluation decisions are guided by logical thought processes where
potential costs and rewards play a significant role.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs:
He believes that performance can be influenced by
It’s difficult to support the belief that needs are
factors such as knowledge, skills, experience and
arranged in a hierarchy, hence Alderfer’s approach
individual characteristics like personality, different
may be more accurate.
ambitions and goals.
Maslow’s self-actualisation has also been hard to test According to Vroom, workers can be motivated if:
as it was based on a small number of people that he
There is clear relationship between the effort and
thought were ‘self-actualised’.
performance.
However, the theories of motivation can be applied to
The favourable performance is rewarded.
workplaces as the organisation tries to implement
The reward satisfies a need.
needs such as physiological, safety, social and self- The desire to satisfy the need is strong enough to
esteem.
make the effort worthwhile.
McClelland’s theory can also be applied in the workplace
He proposed the equation:
to help understand personal characteristics and to ensure
that people are given roles that suit their particular need Motivation = expectancy instrumentality valence
for achievement.
Expectancy is perception of how effort relates to
performance and the worker’s level of confidence in their
1.2. Cognitive theories
capability of achieving the task.
It can be modified using additional resources or
Goal-setting theory (Latham and Locke, 1984)
training and supervision.
Instrumentality is perception of how much effort will be
Locke and Latham based their theory on Ryan (1970)’s
rewarded and whether workers actually believe that they
claims which stated that “human behaviour is affected by
will be awarded. It is positively affected if the
conscious purposes, plans, intentions, tasks etc”.
management ensures the reward is given as promised.
According to Locke (1980), goal setting is a key motivator
Valence is perception of strength/size of the reward as
for people to work hard and improve their performance.
well as the extent to which this reward is needed or
Specific goals are more effective than vague goals as they
wanted.
are challenging and will compel workers to work harder.
5 key principles for goal setting theory (4C F):
Equity Theory (Adams, 1963)
Clarity: goals should be clear, specific, unambiguous
and measurable.
Application of social psychology where Social Exchange
Challenge: should be relevant and linked to rewards.
Theory predicts that people do a cost-benefit analysis
Complexity: should be achievable within a specific before doing a task.
time period. It states that workers want fair treatment and expect pay,
Commitment: must be understood and accepted.
status and recognition to equate to the effort put in.
Feedback: must involve feedback on task progress and
However, if we perceive others as treated better, the
achievement.
perceived inequality will lead to demotivation.
Feedback allows to identify weaknesses and find Moreover, workers can bring certain inputs (I) to job like
more efficient, easier and quicker ways of skills, qualifications, energy, enthusiasm and effort.
achieving the goal.
It may be perceived input (Ip) or actual (Ia).
Feedback should be positive and constructive,
In turn, workers expect outcomes (O) from their job like
focusing on the strategies used.
pay, recognition, involvement and other benefits.
It should also involve reflection by the individual It may be perceived outcome (Op) or actual (Oa).
themselves rather than feedback by an authority.

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The key proposal of the theory is that workers compare Profit sharing: a percentage of the profit is shared by
themselves to others to check equity (fairness) of their all the workers. It gives a sense of belonging and
positions. increases motivation.
Inequity however can lead to low motivation and has two There are different views if monetary rewards are
types: successful in improving productivity i.e:
Underpayment: when you are not paid as much as you A paper by de Waal and Jansen (2011) summarizes a
deserved or as someone else in the same post. number of research findings.
To bring it to equity, you might increase the They cited studies demonstrating that over half the
outcomes of your job eg ask for a raise, or you growth in productivity in Chinese State industries
might decrease your input. could be attributed to the use of bonuses (Yao,
Alternatively, you can change your cognition by 1997) and studies demonstrating the positive
concluding that the comparison made was effects of performance-related pay (Belfield &
inappropriate and should instead compare Marsden, 2005).
yourself with someone else. Or, distort the way the However, de Waal and Jensen also include
inputs and outcomes are perceived. contradictory evidence as they cite studies which
Overpayment: when you are being paid more than you demonstrate that in organisations with very high
deserve or in comparison to someone else in the same inequalities there is also very high turnover of staff
post. which was also true in another study.
You may increase input by working harder will be This suggests that any gains in productivity shown
unlikely to decrease your outcomes such as a pay cut. by the high performers are outweighed by the
Alternatively, the same cognitive reasoning and costs to the low performers.
distortion can be used as underpayment. There were also other studies where there was no
Evaluation relationship between the size of bonus payments
All three theories support the individual explanation and performance.
The theories have high ecological validity but will be Research in many organisations in the UK and Holland
difficult to generalise to all organisations due to many found no relationship between bonus payments and
different variables involved in each. performance.
Application to the workplace:
Goal setting theory: helps understand which specific Non-monetary rewards
goals and feedback are the most effective for the job
Expectancy theory: the equation proposed by Vroom Includes praise, respect, recognition, empowerment and a
shows us the factors that influence performance, sense of belonging.
including effort and rewards Reward and recognition are different.
Equity theory: demonstrates the importance and Rewards are promised since the start, this affects your
impact of the way individuals compare extrinsic motivation as you work for salary.
themselves.Start by typing something... (remove this Recognition is not promised from the start but rather
text) when a worker is recognised for their contributions or
achievements. E.g.: letter of thanks from employer for
a job well done, ‘employee of the month’ etc.
1.3. Motivators at work Achievement of a difficult task or completion of a task can
lead to feeling of empowerment.
Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation Rose (1998) estimates that around 75% of organisations
in the UK had some form of non-monetary recognition
Intrinsic (internal): motivation that comes from within by
scheme which was mostly in organisations with customer
the actual performance of the task rather than the
contact.
consequences of it.
Such schemes can highlight desired behaviours and
It includes factors like enjoyment, sense of
through recognition, create role models for other to
satisfaction, feeling of contribution, achievements etc.
imitate and they are often low-cost as well.
Extrinsic (external): motivation from consequences of the
Evidence also suggests that staff turnover can be
task eg money, promotion and bonuses.
positively affected.
Evaluation
Reward systems
This might help you find what motivates you and what
Can include pay, bonuses, profit sharing and job you want to aim for.
performance-related pay. It will also be helpful to organisations as they would
Pay can be linked to performance- the harder you find out what motivates their workers.
work or faster you complete tasks, the higher pay you It can be considered a behaviourist approach to
will receive. motivation as it considers the effect of certain
Bonuses: additions to salaries.

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CAIE A2 LEVEL PSYCHOLOGY (9990)

outcomes (reinforcements) on behaviour rather than that employees may take new roles, learn new skills, align
focusing on cognitive aspects. with new values or even leave the workforce.
Lack of empirical (observational) evidence but still all Adaptive leadership allows for disorientation, conflict and
these ideas can be tested experimentally to find challenge to create a new organisation that can survive.
effectiveness of different rewards.
Individual vs Situational  Traditional leadership Adaptive leadership
There are individual differences; what motivates one Is about authority and issuing Is about helping others find
person won’t motivate the other. direction to others their inner authority
Someone working in a highly creative environment is Is about maintaining Is about challenging norms
more likely to be motivated by non-monetary rewards organisational norms and and traditions; exploring new
compared to a competitive business environment. traditions ways of working
Pushes boundaries in
Makes use of skills and
2. Leadership and competencies available
attempts to extend skills and
competencies
management Is useful in times of certainty
Is useful in times of
uncertainty
Is about new solutions or
2.1. Traditional and modern theories of Is about solutions or
directions that have not been
directions based on past
leadership experiences
explored, having unknown
outcomes
Universalist and behavioural theories
Key principles of adaptive leadership:
Universalist theory: Get on the balcony: seeing the entire picture, viewing
Great man theory: argues that leaders are born with the organisation and how it works as though observing
leadership qualities, not made. from above.
Behavioural theory: looks at specific behaviours rather Identify the adaptive change: determining the nature
than personal qualities. These behaviours are divided into and extent of adaptive change - be it organisational
two distinct categories: structure, values, working practices or relationships.
At Ohio State University: Initiating structure and Regulate stress: managing stress and pressure from
Consideration adaptive change such that it is enough to motivate
At University of Michigan: Task-oriented behaviours people to change but not so much that it overwhelms
and relationship-oriented behaviours them. The adaptive leader must tolerate uncertainty
and frustration whilst communicating confidence.
**Initiating **Consideration/**relationship- Maintain disciplined attention: being open to
structure/**task oriented oriented contrasting perspectives and confronting issues
Expressing concern the feelings directly.
Allocating tasks to people
for and well-being of workers Give the work back to the people: stepping back from
Creating groups and the traditional role of telling, and instead allowing
 
defining goals employees to use their special knowledge and
Setting deadlines/targets Establishment of a rapport with recognise that they are best suited to identify solution
and ensuring they are met workers  to problems.
Protect voices of leadership from below: giving voice
Spend time examining and
Monitoring and supervising to all people to learn of imminent challenge; silencing
understand interpersonal skills
progress them can be fatal to the organisation.
between workers.
Three levels of leadership (Scouller, 2011)
Adaptive leadership (Heifetz, 1997)

The need for change or adaptation when traditional forms

of leadership are ineffective.
Heifetz et all define leadership as ‘the art of mobilising
people to tackle tough issues, adapt and thrive’.
Rather than leading by providing solutions, having the
management solve problems, and maintaining
organisational norms – an adaptive leader must shift the
responsibility for change to the entire work force, such

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2.2. Leadership style

Effectiveness: contingency theory (Fiedler, 1967)

Different leadership styles will be effective in different

situations.
Least preferred co-worker scale (LPC):
16 item questionnaire asking leaders about the
person they work least well with.
As everyone’s LPC is equally unpleasant, the scores
indicate more about the test taker rather than their
least preferred co-worker.
Low LPC score: task oriented (harsh ratings)
High LPC score: relationship-oriented (positive ratings)

Public leadership: behaviour required to influence groups

of people
Private leadership: behaviours involved in influencing
individuals.
Personal leadership: the inner level concerning leadership
qualities shown by the individual, including: skills, beliefs,
emotions, subconscious behaviour and presence.
Leaders need to grow their leadership presence and
know-how (procedural knowledge) by cultivating the
right attitude towards others, working on
psychological self-mastery, self-awareness, technical
competence, and connecting with those around them.
Scouller argues that the personal leadership is the
most powerful of the three levels – the inner core and Situational leadership (Hersey and Blanchard, 1988)
source of a leader’s outer effectiveness.
There’s no single effective leadership style - leaders may
Evaluation have their preferred styles but they must adapt their style
to suit the situation.
Nature vs nurture debate:
The situational leadership model is dependent on
Nature: The Great person Theory states leaders are
leadership style and the individual/group’s maturity level.
born and not made.
An effective leadership style must be relevant to the task,
Nurture: Scouller believes that leadership presence
and adapt to the maturity level of the group they’re
can be developed.
leading.
Heifetz et al suggest leaders needs to adapt and
Maturity: capacity to set high but attainable goals,
change and that leadership skills can be learned.
willingness and ability to take responsibility, relevant
Individual vs situational debate: 
education and/or experience of an individual/group for
Situational: 3Ps model and Adaptive leadership show
the task.
that different skills will be required for different
situations e.g. trying to persuade an individual rather
than a group. Heifetz et al argue strongly for adaptive
leadership in uncertain situations.
Individual: some individuals may be better qualified to
provide adaptive leadership, and the extent to which
personal leadership is developed differs per person.
Research methods:
Research conducted by Ohio state university and
university of Michigan data collection from numerous
organisations and individuals, making their findings
generalisable.
Heifetz et al and Scouller present theoretical models
of leadership.

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Styles of leader behaviour (Muczyk and Reimann,

1987)

Muczyk and Reimann argue that democratic leadership is

not always the most effective leadership style and may
not work at all in some situations.
The democratic style will only be effective if the followers
are both willing and able to participate in the decision
making process.
If they are not, the leader cannot be democratic without
also being directive.
This is because despite having shared decision
making (participation), the implementation of the
decision still needs to be directed to the people
(directive).
This therefore produces 4 types of leadership behaviours
–effective in certain situations–, which are:

Types of leadership style:

Telling (directive leadership) (S1): largely directing; the
leader will define the roles for each member, whilst
explaining/telling them how, why, when and where to Evaluation
do the task.
Selling (S2): directive but involves 2-way Individual vs Situational debate
communication, along with relationship skills so that Fiedler believes that different leadership styles will be
members ‘buy into’ or feel part of the process. effective in different situations
Participating (democratic leadership) (S3): leader Hershey and Blanchard believe that the leader must
proves less direction, however there’s shared decision adapt to different situations and the extent to which
making, along with high relationship skills. they are able to do this determines the success rate of
Delegating (S4): leader is involved in the decision- the organisation.
making process but responsibility is delegated to the Muczyk and Reimann highlight the applications and
group – leader is monitoring rather than directing. usefulness of styles of leader behaviour. They note
Levels of maturity: that decision-making will be ineffective if it is not
M1: individual/group lacks specific skills required, is implemented.
unable and unwilling to do or take responsibility for Overall, for leaders to be effective, they need to adapt
the task. to different situations and groups.
M2: unable to take responsibility for the task, but are LPC scale
willing to work at it. They are enthusiastic, but need Ratings tell little about an individual’s leadership style
more training and support. Prone to social desirability bias
M3: experienced and able to do the task but lack Difficult to construct unbiased test
confidence or willingness to take on responsibility. Tests may reveal more about the assumptions of the
M4: experienced and comfortable in their ability to do test maker
the task, along with taking responsibility for it. Relatively easy to administer and mark
Produces quantitative data that is easily analysed
  M1 M2 M3 M4 Objective way to measure personality characteristic
ABLE? No No Yes Yes
WILLING TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY? No Yes No Yes 2.3. Leaders and followers
ENTHUSIASTIC? No Yes No Yes

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Leader-member exchange model (Dansereau, 1994) Require external motivation and constant
and individualised leadership model (Dansereau, supervision from the leader
The yes-people:
1995)
Committed to the leader and their goals.
Leadership exchange model: leaders can treat their Conformists who do not question the
followers either with trust or in more formal ways. \n The decisions/actions of the leader.
relation can be developed through 3 stages: Defend the leader when faced with opposition.
Role-taking: The pragmatist:
Individuals become team members and meet their They will not stand behind controversial/unique
leader. ideas until the majority of the group does.
Leaders make expectations clear They remain in the background of the group.
Team members make skills and abilities evident to The star followers:
the leader so that they can determine how he/she Positive, active and independent thinkers.
can contribute Don’t blindly accept the decisions/actions of the
leader until they have evaluated them
Role-making:
Team members become integrated into the team Succeed without the presence of the leader
and begin work, giving the opportunity to further
prove skills and team-work abilities. Measuring leadership: Leadership Practices
Leader then decides in-group and out-group Inventory (Kouzes and Posner, 1987)
members.
Role routinisation: Kouzes and Posner argue that leadership is a
In-group members and leader engage in ‘mutual measurable, learnable and teachable set of behaviours.
and high quality leader-subordinate exchanges’, Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI): measures the extent
further developing their relation to which an individual engages in each of the following 5
This also lead to improvement within groups: out- practices (with 6 behavioural statements each) of
group members communicated well with in-group exemplary leadership.
members in attempts to become closer to the 1. Modelling desired behaviour: e.g ‘sets a personal
leader and a move into the in-group (Erdogan et al example of what he/she expects of others’
(2015)) 2. Inspire a shared vision: e.g ‘describes a compelling
image of what our future looks like’
Individual leadership model: each follower should be
understood as independent and each leader as unique. 3. Challenge the process: e.g ‘experiments and takes
This involves each person’s investment and return to risks despite chances of failure’
the other. 4. Enable others to act: e.g ‘treats others with dignity
and respect’
Followership: qualities of and types (Kelley, 1988) 5. Encourage the heart: e.g ‘praises people for a job
well done’
Kelley believes that the failure of a group is not entirely on LPI consists of self and observer ratings of the
to a leader, but also on how well followers can follow. frequency at which these behaviours are
Followership: the way an individual actively follows a demonstrated
leader. It can thus be used for personal development.
The 4 main qualities of effective followers are:
Evaluation
Self-management: the ability to think critically, be in
control of one’s action and to work independently, Kouzes and Posner
especially when the leader delegates tasks. Support nurture/situational side of nature-nurture
Commitment: refers to an individual being committed debate as they believe leadership can be learned, and
to the vision/goal of a group/organisation. This helps leaders develop based on their situation.
keep one’s -and other team member’s- morale and Kelly doesn’t explicitly support either nurture nor nature
energy levels high. as followers can be born with or develop certain qualities.
Competence: the skills and attitudes necessary to Both Kelly and Danserau emphasise on the importance of
complete the goal. Competent individuals continue leader-follower relationship to an organisation.
expanding their knowledge.
Courage: ability to be true to beliefs and upholding
ethical standards, especially amidst dishonest/corrupt 3. Group behaviour in
leaders.
5 types of followers: organisations
The sheep:
Passive and lack commitment
3.1. Group development and roles

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CAIE A2 LEVEL PSYCHOLOGY (9990)

Group development (Tuckman, 1965) Innovative, enthusiastic and curious

Tuckman proposes that all groups go through the following 5 Explore available options, develop contacts and
stages during their formation: negotiate for resources on the team’s behalf
Work with external stakeholders to help team
achieve objectives
They are extraverted, and people generally
respond positively to them
Weakness: may lose enthusiasm quickly
Thought-oriented roles:
Plants: present new ideas and approaches
Creative, imaginative and can solve problems
Introverted, prefer to work on their own
Weaknesses:
Thrive on praise, struggle to take criticism
Sometimes impractical and poor
Team roles (Belbin, 1981) communicators
Belbin proposes that an ideal team consists of people Monitor evaluators: analyse the options
who are prepared to take on different roles: Good at analysing and evaluating ideas proposed
Shewed, objective and strategic; carefully weigh
Action oriented roles:
pros and cons before making decisions
Shapers: challenge the team to improve
Weakness: may seem detached or unemotional
Dynamic, extroverted and enjoy stimulating others
Specialists: provide specialised skills
Question established views and find the best
Dedicated, self-motivated and provide a rare set of
approach for solving problems
knowledge and skills
See obstacles as exciting challenges and thrive on
Weakness: may focus on technicalities at the
pressure
expense of the bigger picture, slowing the process
Weakness: may be argumentative and upset
colleagues Measuring team roles: Belbin team inventory
Implementers: put ideas into actions
Turn the team’s ideas and concepts into practical A paid self-report test for assessing team roles that
actions and plans produces a detailed report of your skills and abilities in
Work systematically, efficiently and is organised relation to Belbin’s team roles e.g.
Weakness: can be inflexible and resistant to Advice on which role you must be most comfortable in
change Roles you may be best/least suited
Complete-finishers: ensure thorough, timely Note: the inventory is split into 8 sections, where a total of
completion 10 points need to be allocated per section e.g.
Ensure there’s been no mistakes and pays
attention to the smallest of details  
Strict with deadlines and makes sure job is
completed on time
Weakness: perfectionists who may worry
unnecessarily and find it difficult to delegate
People-oriented roles:
Coordinators: act as chair person
Guide the team to objectives and delegate tasks
effectively
Excellent listeners, calm and good natured
Quickly recognise the value of each member
Weakness: may delegate too much personal
responsibility and may be manipulative
Team workers: encourage cooperation
Prioritise team cohesion, and help members get
along
Provide support and ensure effective team work
Evaluation
Are negotiators, flexible, diplomatic and perceptive
Weakness: indecision and difficulty committing to a Tuckman’s model:
position Advantages:
Resource investigators: explore outside opportunities

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Provides guidance and understanding on how Follow up with the evaluation of the results
groups form and allows organisations to see what A decision support system (DDS) is a computer based
they go through is part of normal developmental system that supports decision making.
process
Disadvantages: Group think (Janis, 1971) and strategies to avoid
Originally proposed as an explanation for small groupthink
groups \ may not be useful for understanding
larger groups A psychological phenomenon within a group wherein the
Timescale for moving from one stage to another desire for harmony in the group results in an irrational
not provided decision making outcome.
Group formation is cyclical, not linear Symptoms of group think (Janis 1971):
Does not consider the differing team roles Illusions of invulnerability: members of the group
members might have to adopt believe that they can do no wrong and can never be in
Belbin’s theory: any sort of trouble. This leads to optimistic thinking
Advantages: about outcomes and encourages risky behaviours.
Recognises need for diversity, characteristics and Unquestioned beliefs
skill-sets within groups Rationalising: the group members ignore warning
Assesses preferred roles of members signs and assume everything will be okay.
Encourages all members to appreciate Stereotyping: if anyone tries to raise concern or
characteristics and strengths of others questions about the risky decision, they will be ignored
Members in small groups will take more than one and labelled as part of the 'outgroup.'
role (so not very reductionist) Self-censorship: members are less likely to listen to
Disadvantages: their own doubts as it appears that no one else has
Many management teams have too many any doubts, thus everyone is convinced there’s nothing
implementers and shapers, and not enough plants to worry about. It is similar to ‘pluralistic ignorance’
and team workers \ plans may lack creativity and seen in bystanders – since no one is responding,
some members alienated. there’s no real emergency.
Belbin’s inventory: Mind guards: even if we are worried, we hide our
Advantages: worry. If everyone does this, it can lead to risky
Has real life application as it can be used to behaviours.
identify the person best suited for a particular task Direct pressure to conform to those that disagree –
based on his skills/role. This will increase work they are made to appear as though they are being
satisfaction and productivity. disloyal and traitorous by asking questions.
Can identify hiring needs of an organisation Benefits of group think: in large groups, decisions, tasks
Disadvantages: and projects are completed quickly and efficiently.
As it is a self-report, there is risk of social Causes:
desirability reducing validity. When group members are similar to one another
Presence of an extremely charismatic leader
3.2. Decision-making High levels of stress
Morally challenging situations
Strategies to reduce the risk of group think:
The decision-making process (Wedley and Field,
Give members the opportunity to express themselves
1984)
Break up members into smaller independent groups
The leader should not state their views at the start of a
Wedley and Field propose that managers should be
discussion
encouraged to pre-plan the decision making process as
Have someone take the role of the ‘devil’s advocate’
once started, it is difficult to stop.
Pre-planning includes: type of leadership to use,
Cognitive limitations and errors (Forsyth, 2006)
whether to involve others, how to gather information,
who to contact etc.
Sins of Commission: misuse of information in the decision
Stages of (rational problem solving) decision making: making process. This may involve:
Identify the problem/opportunity
Belief perseverance: using information that is known
Formulate your objective(s)
to be inaccurate
Familiarise yourself with the problem
Sunk cost fallacy: members may remain committed to
Generate alternative solutions
a flawed plan due to the time/money already invested
Evaluate the alternatives in it
Choose the best alternative
Extra evidentiary bias: choosing to use information
Implement the alternative
despite being told to ignore it

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Hindsight bias: falsely overestimating the importance Accommodation: when one individual makes a sacrifice to
of past knowledge/experience end the conflict.
Sins of Omission: overlooking key information. Compromise: compromises are effective in ending
Base rate bias: overlooking basic relevant info conflicts when both sides give up something.
Attribution errors are made when members make Collaboration: working together to finish the conflict
decisions based on inaccurate assessments of an Avoidance: suppressing/withdrawing from the conflict
individual’s behaviour entirely. This doesn’t end the conflict but creates a cool off
Sins of Imprecision: relying too heavily on heuristics period.
(shortcuts) that oversimplify complex decisions. Subordinate goal: groups/individuals are working towards
Availability heuristic: over reliance on information a goal rather than engaging in conflict
that’s readily available
Conjunctiva bias: failure to consider relationships
between events 4. Organisational work
Representativeness heuristic: heavy reliance on
decision making factors that appear meaningful but conditions
are actually misleading.
4.1. Physical and psychological work
3.3. Group conflict
conditions
Levels and causes of group conflict: organisational
Physical: The Hawthorne Studies (Wickstrom and
to interpersonal
Bendix, 2000)
Levels:
Refers to the idea that individuals modify their behaviour
Intra-group conflict
in response to their awareness of being observed.
Inter-group conflict
Originally conducted in 1924 in USA.
Inter-individual conflict (within a group)
The managers studied the effects on productivity due to
Causes:
changes in light and work structure (eg. working hours
Organisational/situational factors: conflict over status,
and break times).
salary, disagreements, resources, space and such.
First study: effect of light on productivity examined.
Interpersonal factors: personality clash and such.
Experimental group was exposed to decreasing levels
of light while the control group was exposed to a
Positive and negative effects of conflict
constant level of light.
Positive effects: Results: Both groups increased their performance on
Produces change, especially in small organisation their tasks; only when the light was very bright as
where change can be more easily implemented. moonlight/dim that the experimental group showed
Resolution of conflict may strengthen decrease in productivity.
unity/commitment Conclusion: light level didn’t significantly affect the
Decisions are fully explored, thus preventing risky productivity as long as it was sufficient for the job to
decision making and group think be done.
Produce more creative/innovative suggestions Workers received special privileges for taking part in the
Forms healthy competition for eg highest sales which experiments.
can have a positive impact on revenue Other experiments were conducted with different
Negative effects: variables. Each had drawn the conclusion that the
Distracts workers, reduces overall productivity and variables didn’t significantly affect the productivity.
wastes time Conclusions:
Goals become distorted as focus is towards the
conflict Improved relationships between workers and the
Toll on psychological and physical health, increasing management would improve productivity.
absenteeism and turnover and reducing satisfaction Kahn (1975)
If made public, it could reduce the reputation of the Workers in one of the studies increasingly took
organisation opportunities to alter their work roles.
Kahn described this as the transfer of power, as
Managing group conflict (Thomas, 1976) instead of being supervised, they were consulted
about each stage of the experiment.
Competition: individuals may persist in conflict until there Greenwood (1983) interviewed the participants of the
is a winner. original study 50 years later and concluded that they had

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worked harder in the test rooms to avoid being sent back Stigmatisation
to ordinary manufacturing rooms as the supervision was Severe trauma
too ‘harsh’. Causes of bullying include:
Notes: Individual or personality factors of the victim and bully
These studies were conducted during economic Psycho-social or situational factors
depression hence the threat of losing one’s job would Bjorkqvist et al., 1994 surveyed employees in a Finnish
explain increased work levels. university and identified three main reasons of bullying:
Original experiment also lacked thoroughness with Competition concerning status and job position
many uncontrolled variables and changes of Envy
participants. Aggressor being uncertain about their own abilities
Workers were being paid according to an incentive High proportion of the sample said that the
pay system based on outcome of the experimental personality of the victim was a significant factor.
group rather than the workforce as a whole and this is Evidence proves that bullied workers are different than
likely to have improved productivity. their non-bullied colleagues.
Wickstrom and Bendix advised against referring to the Victims are more sensitive, suspicious and angry, tend
Hawthorne effect in regards to intervention studies as it to have lower self-esteem and more anxious in social
will add more confusion than clarity. settings.
However, conclusions should be carefully drawn as no
Bullying at work (Einarsen, 1999) longitudinal study has been conducted to investigate
this.
According to Einarsen, bullying is ‘hostile and aggressive Situational factors of bullying:
behaviour, either physical or non-physical, directed at one Deficiencies in work design
or more colleagues or subordinates.’ Deficiencies in leadership behaviour
He emphasizes on the need to understand the Socially exposed position of the victim
different types of bullying. Low morale in the department
Zapf (cited in Einarsen, 1999) suggested there are five According to Einarsen, there are 2 types of Bullying:
types of bullying behaviour: Predatory bullying/institutional harassment
When the victim has done nothing to trigger the
bullying, but is ‘accidentally’ in a situation where a
predator is showing power over others.
Scapegoating
When people are stressed or frustrated and want to
release the tension. This is an explanation of
prejudice.
Quite often, bullying is either not responded to properly or
there aren’t proper policies and procedures in action.

Open plan offices (Oldam and Brass, 1979)

A field study was conducted which showed that employee

satisfaction ratings fell after the working environment was
changed to an open plan.
Research was conducted in a large newspaper office in
the USA.
At the start, all employees worked in a conventional ‘multi-
cellular’ office.
Each department was in a separate office and each
One of the key factors in workplace bullying is power. workstation was partitioned.
According to Einarsen, managers and supervisors are Employees had their own space and they had to travel
thought as bullies in most cases and bullying by down corridors and around partitions to communicate.
superiority is more psychologically distressing compared
to a co-worker.
Note: important to consider whether peer-bullying and
leadership are the same or different enough to warrant
separate examination.
Four stages of bullying include:
Aggressive behaviour
Bullying

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Hypothesis

It was predicted that there would be an increase in

supervisor and co-worker feedback, friendship
opportunities, intra-departmental and inter-departmental
interactions in an open pan office.

Sample

All 140 full time employees were invited to participate, out

of which 128 participated in some way and 76 participated
in all stages.
5 workers from the pressroom were the control group
who participated in all stages.
Reasons management wanted to shift offices:
Data Collection
Current office was not near a railway, hence, papers
had to be moved by trucks to a railway station costing Data was collected using questionnaires which was given
more and taking up more time. out to groups each ranging from 2 to 12 people.
There were a lot of practical problems like lack of air T1: first set of data was collected about 8 weeks before
conditioning, difficult to heat and limited storage moving to the new office
space. T2: data collected 9 weeks after the move
Current layout limited good communication between T3: data collected 18 weeks after move
individuals and departments. Open plan would The questionnaire contained:
alleviate this problem and create a positive working Work satisfaction
environment. Interpersonal satisfaction
The new open plan office: Internal work motivation
Near a railway line as a typical open plan design.
There were no internal walls and no cabinets or Procedure
partitions.
Participants were told that this was a study to assess
There were no private offices anywhere except for 2
employee’s reaction to their new office and their work.
meeting rooms.
Participants had to write their names so the responses
All members of a department were still grouped
could be followed through the stages of the study and it
together.
was kept confidential.
Staff working in the pressroom stayed in the same
Management and staff were also questioned informally
work space, forming a naturally occurring control
for feedback.
group.
Results

A decrease in internal motivation and satisfaction with

work and colleagues in new office plan.
Control group showed no such changes.
Workers felt difficult to concentrate and complete a task,
to develop friendships and to maintain privacy.
Supervisor also commented that they would have to move
to private meeting room to give feedback to a worker.
Conclusion
The findings indicated that open plan offices was the
cause of decreased satisfaction and motivation.

Evaluation
Issues and debates
Informed consent was present throughout all stages of Individual-situational debate: clearly, the effect of
this process and everyone was in agreement to the different working conditions/situation such as office layout
change. or bullying causes changes in the individual.
Note: the office was the only changes made, there were no Application:- important to organisational psychologists for
more effective work environment.
changes made to the working conditions, contracts, salaries
or duties. Research methods
EXPERIMENT

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Hawthorne studies and study of open plan offices were a small increase in relative death risk for shift
both experimental studies. workers.
Hawthorne was a field experiment meaning there is high The specific disorders and conditions include:
ecological validity although there will be low levels of Gastrointestinal disease:
control. More common in shift workers than day workers.
The study of open plan offices was a natural experiment Mostly constipation and diarrhoea experienced by
also having high levels of ecological validity but hardly any night shift workers.
controls. Peptic ulcers are common for regular shift workers
Control group had only 5 individuals making like drivers, factory workers etc.
comparisons difficult. Risk of duodenal ulcers are doubled in shift
Data was only collected on worker motivation and workers.
satisfaction however scores on productivity and Cardiovascular disease:
efficiency may have been significant to the study. Physical working conditions like chemicals, noise
In addition, a longer study may have had more positive and vibrations along with psycho-social factors
results. such as stress and work schedules can contribute
to cardiovascular diseases.
4.2. Temporal conditions of work Multiple studies support relationship between shift
work and cardiovascular disease.
environments Cancer:
Increased risk of breast cancer in women who
Shift work (Pheasant, 1991) work night shifts.
Study conducted with nurses, flight attendants and
Many people work in ‘shifts’, meaning their working radio and telegraph operators.
pattern does not involve the same work pattern every However, exposure to other carcinogens cannot
week. be controlled.
Types of shifts: No conclusive evidence on increased risk of cancer
Day shift: typically between 6am-2pm. due to shift work.
Afternoon/twilight shift: typically between 2pm- 10pm. Diabetes and other metabolic disturbances:
Night shift: typically between 10pm-6am. Certain substances have higher concentration
Shift work should be managed efficiently to avoid negative during night work like potassium, uric acid, glucose
effects. and cholesterol which can increase metabolic
Pheasant identified two main approaches: disturbances.
Rapid rotation shifts: frequent shift changes. Some studies show higher BMIs and risk of
Metropolitan rotas: pattern of 2 day shifts + 2 diabetes in those working shift work.
afternoon shifts + 2 night shifts + 2 days off. As this Pregnancy:
is an 8-day pattern, it moves one day ahead each Existing relationship between shift work and low
week. birth weight as well as shift work and premature
Continental rotas pattern of 2 day shifts + 2 birth.
afternoon shifts + 3 night shifts + 2 days off Increased risk of miscarriage among shift workers.
followed by 2 day shifts + 3 afternoon shifts + 2 Exacerbation of existing disorders:
night shifts + 3 days off. Biological processes can be interrupted by shift
Slow rotation shifts: infrequent changes e.g: day shifts work indicating that taking medicines can be more
for multiple weeks then night shifts for multiple weeks. complex during shift work.
This allows circadian rhythms (physical, mental, Taking same dose at same time can cause
and behavioural changes that follow a daily cycle) different effects due to differences in internal body
to adapt to one shift without feeling forced or clock.
causing health problems. Sleep deprivation can also affect existing disorders
such as frequency of seizures experienced by
The effects of shift work on health (Knutsson, 2003) epileptics and frequency of asthma attacks.

Knutsson reviewed the effects of shift work highlighting Shift work and accidents (Gold et al., 1992)
the relationship between working at night or a shift work
pattern and specific medical disorders. Gold et al. conducted a self-administered questionnaire in
According to him, shift work doesn’t affect longevity. Massachusetts regarding shift work, sleep and accidents
Two studies directly compared mortality rates between in 1986.
day and night workers.
The study conducted in UK showed no significant Sample
difference and the one conducted in Denmark showed
878 nurses

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CAIE A2 LEVEL PSYCHOLOGY (9990)

Day and evening shift work was grouped together as it These principles of work schedule will improve health and
doesn’t show to disrupt circadian rhythms. safety for nurses and patients
Other groups were night shift workers and ‘rotators’ (who
change patterns frequently). Evaluation
Issues and debates
Procedure
Nature versus nurture debate- shift work might interfere
Questions asked: with a person’s natural circadian (daily) rhythm and affect
Whether they worked variable shifts or same shift them negatively.
(asked about current week, previous 2 weeks and All researches are very useful applications. Workers will
following week on the number of day, evening or night be informed about these risks and can work accordingly
shifts worked) to minimise risks.
Sleep and wake times for all shifts and for days off
Quality of sleep Research methods
Use of alcohol
The study by Knutsson was a correlation which doesn’t
Use of prescription or non-prescription medication
imply causation; hence, an experiment would lead to
Sleeping aids
more valid results but would raise ethical issues
Times they had ‘nodded off’ (fallen asleep) at work (in
The study by Gold relies heavily on self-reports and can
the past week)
be described as quasi-experimental as he was able to
Times they had ‘nodded off’ while driving to and from
compare two naturally occurring groups, thus creating an
work (in the past year)
independent variable.
Accidents, errors and ‘near-miss’ accidents in the past
He was not able to randomly allocate participants to
year: includes driving accidents, medication errors, job
these different groups meaning that there may be
procedural errors and work-related personal injuries
many differences between them explaining the
that could be attributed to sleepiness.
results.
Results However, the research findings are supported by
laboratory experiments into short-term sleep
Out of 878 questionnaires, 687 returned. Mean age of deprivation and cognitive errors.
sample was 33.9 years. There might be reporting bias and a longitudinal study
Rotators and night shift workers had fewer hours of sleep might be more effective as it will track errors and
than day/evening workers accidents that can be correlated with shift work
92% of day/evening nurses,6.3% night nurses obtained patterns.
regular anchor sleep. (4 or more hours of sleep during the
same clock hours every night). 4.3. Health and safety
Anchor sleep disruption was experienced by 49% of
day/evening workers, 94% of rotators and 2.9% of night
Accidents at work: errors and accidents in operator-
nurses.
Night nurses were 1.8 times more likely to report poor
machine systems (Nagel, 1988)
quality sleep than day/evening nurses and rotators were
Background
2.8 times more likely to report poor quality sleep than
day/evening workers. Night nurses and rotators were A popular case of human error happened at the Three
twice as likely to use medications to help them sleep. Mile Island power plant in the USA in 1979.
Nodding off on the night shift occurred at least once a An employee left an alternate feedwater pipe switched
week in 35% of rotators, 32% of night nurses and 20% of off, leaving the reactor to overheat.
day evening workers who worked the occasional night It took 2 hours and 18 minutes to find the fault as over
shift, in contrast, only 2.7% of day/evening nurses and 1600 gauges had to be examined to find the fault.
2.8% of rotators reported any incidences of nodding off on However, other than human error, there were several
day or evening shifts. errors in the system itself eg.  a colour sometimes
When compared to day/evening nurses, rotators were 3.9 represented safety whereas in another part it meant
times as likely and night nurses 3.6 times as likely to nod danger.
off while driving to and from work in the previous year. Since then, machines have been made more user friendly,
Rotators reported twice as many accidents as operators take regular breaks and systems have been
day/evening nurses including factors like length of time tried and tested as emergency procedures.
working, age and use of alcohol.
Results are consistent with laboratory demonstrations of Reducing accidents at work (Fox et. al, 1987)
the effects of sleep deprivation and the disruption of
circadian rhythms considering increased cognitive errors. Investigated the use of token system to reward workers
for not having accidents or injuries for a specified amount

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CAIE A2 LEVEL PSYCHOLOGY (9990)

of time. There were significant decreases in the number of days

The study was conducted at two open pit mines using the lost in both mines in the first year.
same mining procedures and their associated product Costs of accidents and injuries in both the mines declined
processing plants in USA. by approximately 90%.
The two mines used the same mining procedures and
were of similar sizes. Conclusion
Prior to the study, the number of absences from work due
Days lost from work, accidents and injuries decreased
to injuries was significantly higher than the national
and no deaths or permanent disabilities occurred at
average.
either mine during the token economy.
Sample Anecdotal evidence suggests that these stamps were
greatly appreciated by all workers regardless of being
Participants are the employees in the two mines including sceptical in the beginning.
office and clerical workers, engineers, managers,
custodial, maintenance and production workers. Safety promotion campaigns (Cowpe, 1989)
Employees in first mine were ultimately 214 Employees in
second mine were 501 in 1983. At time of research, chip-pan fires were a major cause of
domestic fires in the UK and had heavy associated costs.
Procedure
Aim
Workers were divided into four groups based on the
numbers of working days lost due to injury: To test the effectiveness of the campaigns shown on tv
G1- workers in least hazardous jobs (office workers) which was measured using fire brigade statistics (quasi-
G2- foremen, shift supervisors, technicians, engineers experiment).
and surveyors Two 60 sec advertisements were produced showing
G3- mechanics, labourers, maintenance workers and cause of fire (overfilling and leaving unattended) and
operators of bulldozers, etc actions to contain them.
G4- workers in most hazardous jobs (electricians,
Procedure
scraper operators and fuel and lobe workers)
Workers were given ‘trading stamps’ along with their pay Two strategies were considered for Cowpe’s advertising
if: campaign.
They didn’t suffer lost time injuries or injury that Prevention strategy: involved an advert showing how
required doctors’ attention during the month. to avoid chip-pan fires. E.g: don’t overfill the pan with
They prevented damage to property oil, don’t leave the pan unattended.
If they prevented another person from injury Containment strategy: people would be educated
If their entire group prevented injuries (group reward) about how to deal with fires.
As the difficulty of the job increased, so did the The prevention strategy was rejected as it would be
number of trading stamps. unsuccessful and ignored (‘this won’t happen to me’)
No stamps due to: whereas the containment strategy would raise awareness
Days lost due to injury. E.g day or two’s work resulted and be effective.
in no stamps for a month.
As the number of days lost increased, so did the Results
duration of no stamps for a maximum of 6 months.
Damage to property (loss of stamps for a max of 12 There was an overall 12% drop in fires along with higher
months) levels of awareness and recall of the adverts for extended
Failing to report an injury (loss of stamps for 1 month). periods.
The group would lose group rewards for as many
Conclusion
months as the individual lost his individual awards.
Stamps could be ‘spent’ at local stores and could be Adverts were effectiveness in reducing in chip-pan fires
exchanged for anything from a huge range of however the effectiveness of either strategy in the advert
merchandise. was unknown.
The miners had to record some data including the Cowpe suggested that the adverts increased knowledge
frequency of accidents and total numbers of days lost and confidence but the combination of the two strategies
(severity). helped reduce fires, save money and save lives.
In addition, direct costs of injuries and accidents were also
recorded along with the cost of trading stamps to Evaluation
calculate a cost to benefit ratio.
Fox et al
Results

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CAIE A2 LEVEL PSYCHOLOGY (9990)

Application of token system is simple behaviourist Job security

which offers consistent and predictable rewards to Salary
desired behaviour (safety training). Working conditions
Its very useful as the number of accidents reduced Benefits: paid holidays, insurance
and the worker safety increased although it is argued Motivating factors: factors that produce satisfaction but
that this approach is over-controlling and unethical. their absence does not lead to dissatisfaction eg:
The study shows that the way the working Challenging and rewarding work
environment (situation) is created can have significant Responsibility and autonomy
effects on the behaviour of workers. Recognition and sense of accomplishment
Cowpe
As the study used an experimental approach, the
cause and effect were easily measured but it was
difficult to control extraneous variables.
There was high ecological validity as the participants
were members of the general public who watched tv
adverts. However, it’s impossible to tell who was
affected and whether the advert specifically helped
prevent a fire.
Over using media campaigns reduce effect and
awareness as people become desensitised to the
Two factor theory produces 4 possible combinations:
message
Hygiene Motivating
Description
5. Satisfaction at work factors factors
Highly motivated with few
High High
complaints
5.1. Theories of Job satisfaction Few complaints but not
High Low highly motivated. Job is
Two-factor theory (Herzberg, 1959) viewed as a pay-packet

Two-factor theory states that job satisfaction and Motivated with lots of
dissatisfaction work independently of each other – each complaints. Job is exciting
entity is separate, consisting of separate job Low High  and challenging but salaries
characteristics. and working conditions are
Herzberg states that workers are not satisfied with jobs poor
that simply meet lower-level needs. Not motivated and have
Low Low
Gratification of higher-level needs are sought, which are many complaints
met by the nature of their work rather than just the salary.
Job characteristic theory (Hackman and Oldham,
Sample
1976)
200 engineers and accountants in Pittsburg area were
chosen for interviews. A theory that includes the following set of characteristics
which lead to appealing and motivating jobs:
Procedure Skill variety: jobs should require a variety of skill set
and utilise the pre-existing skills of the worker
Participants were asked to give a detailed description of Task identity: jobs should require completion of entire
periods in which they were ‘exceedingly happy’ and work and involve workers holistically rather than in a
‘exceedingly unhappy’ with their jobs.
disjointed element.
Task significance: jobs should have significance and
Results
impact on other people
Factors of the job that caused gratifying characteristics Autonomy: jobs should allow workers to have some
such as a sense of achievement lead to satisfaction autonomy and flexibility in planning, scheduling and
However, if these gratifying characteristics were absent, it doing their work etc.
did not lead to dissatisfaction. Feedback: the job itself should give information on
Dissatisfaction is caused by different factors such as how well the worker is performing
working conditions, technical problems and salaries.
Hygiene factors: factors that don’t contribute to
satisfaction but their absence causes dissatisfaction eg:

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CAIE A2 LEVEL PSYCHOLOGY (9990)

Salary
Promotion prospects
Experience of supervision
Experience of co-workers
Advantages:
Answered using simple language: yes, no or can’t
decide
Results are compared with standardised norms based
on regularly updated data from large samples
Scores between similar individuals can be compared
with normative/baseline scores to establish whether a
person is more/less satisfied.
It measures specific, objective areas of job satisfaction
rather than in general terms
Easy to read and doesn’t use complex language,
Techniques of job design making it easy to use within large variety of people

Job enrichment: involves giving workers a greater variety

of tasks to perform increasing skill set and responsibility.
This gives workers a greater sense of control over their
job and makes their job interesting.
Job rotation: having regular changes in tasks within
normal role eg workers in a kitchen can rotate around all
the different preparation areas.
Horizontal job enlargement: giving workers more tasks to
do but usually at the same level of skills and responsibility.
Vertical job enlargement: addition of further decision
making responsibilities and/higher level, challenging tasks
without formal promotion. This increases competence
and sense of empowerment. Allowing teams to manage
themselves is an example.

Evaluation
Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (Weiss et al.,
Two factory theory (Herzberg):
Application to real life: Herzberg clearly differentiated
1967)
between factors that create satisfaction and those
Measures a range of aspects around the job including:
that create dissatisfaction. Organisations can use this
Company policies
information to improve satisfaction at work.
Scope for advancement
Generalisability was high due to a large sample of 200
Security
people.
Independence
Job characteristics theory (Hackman and Oldham’s):
Recognition
Application to real life: by identifying critical job
Responsibility
characteristics that affect motivation, satisfaction and
Variety and working conditions
work performance, organisations can design jobs
It originally used the following 5 response choices:
around these characteristics.
Very satisfied
Several studies demonstrate that core characteristics
Satisfied
do correlate with motivation and satisfaction.
N (neither satisfied nor dissatisfied)
Individual and situational debate: relatively small
Dissatisfied
changes to job characteristics (situation) can impact
Very dissatisfied
individuals and attitudes.
However, results obtained tended to be ‘skewed’ and
generally alternated between ‘satisfied’ and ‘very
5.2. Measuring job satisfaction satisfied’
Thus, a later version was created with the following
Job Descriptive Index (Smith et al., 1969) responses:
Not satisfied
Measures 5 aspects of job satisfaction: Somewhat satisfied
Experience of the work Satisfied

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Very satisfied same occupation, sex, age, etc

Extremely satisfied Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire:
Results from this version tended to be more varied Well validated however offering respondents only
and had more symmetrical distribution around slightly different responses to choose from can have
‘satisfied’, the central point. significant effects on the answers
This reduces reliability and validity of the test
Quality of working life (QWL) questionnaire (Walton, QWL is useful and has helped initiate policies regarding
1974) bullying, compassionate leave and working flexibly
allowing social activities that promote the quality of work
Quality of working life involves a range of factors such as life.
job security, reward system, pay, opportunities for growth,
etc 5.3. Attitudes to work
Walton developed a typology which can be used to assess
the QWL and it consists of eight key components: Workplace sabotage (Giacalone and Rosenfeld,
Fair and adequate payment, which can be measured
by:
1987)
Asking questions to find whether pay received is
Behaviours that plan to break rules and try to stop work in
enough and whether it is equivalent to that
the workplace; it is usually a result of dissatisfaction and
received by other workers
powerlessness.
Rating their agreement to statements such as ‘I am
satisfied with the amount I earn’ Sample
Safe and healthy working conditions: multiple factors
such as appropriate clothing and safety procedures 38 unionised electrical factory workers
must be in place to increase QWL.
Procedure
Providing opportunities to use and develop skills:
autonomy, independence and skill development will Workers were asked to rate a set of reasons and methods
increase QWL. that would justify work sabotage on a scale of 1 (not at all
Opportunity for career growth and security: job justifiable) to 7 (totally justifiable)
security and growth will increase QWL. Fixed term or The 4 major general method categories were:
zero hour contracts (no guaranteed working hours) Slowdowns
will drop QWL. Destructiveness
Positive social relationships: this will increase Dishonesty
productivity, satisfaction and decrease stress, Causing chaos
absenteeism and turn over – increasing QWL.
The reasons for sabotage were:
The total life space: the extent to which employees Self defence
could maintain their work-life balance. Revenge
Constitutionalism (policies and procedures): such as An eye for an eye
those to limit bullying, harassment, etc and the extent Protect oneself from boss/company
to which employees agree with the organisational Protect one’s job
procedures, cultures etc. The foreman/company deserved it
Social relevance: the extent to which the work you –or The foreman/company hurt me previously
the organisation- does is relevant to society. No one was hurt by the action
Release of frustrations
Evaluation
Just for fun
All three: A median split was performed on the reasons creating
Psychometric form of testing that have demand two groups- high-reason acceptors and low-reason
characteristics and social desirability bias acceptors.
Widely used and the results can be applied to improve
Results
aspects of working environment, satisfaction,
motivation and productivity. High-reason acceptors justified production slowdowns
Job Description Index: more than low-reason acceptors.
Most thoroughly tested and carefully validated based High-reason acceptors also justified destruction of
on standardised norms machinery, premises or products more than low-reason
This means that scores can be compared to a huge acceptors.
sample of participants from different occupations High-reason acceptors justified causing chaos more than
Thus, scores can be used to identify whether the low-reason acceptors.
individual is more or less satisfied than others of the

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CAIE A2 LEVEL PSYCHOLOGY (9990)

However, high reason acceptors did not justify dishonesty 1. Known as the ‘corporate citizens’ of the
more than low reason acceptors. organisation.
2. Their work is not personally important to them,
Conclusion but they  identify with the organisation and
their goals.
Regardless of acceptance justifying multiple forms of
3. They put a lot of effort into group maintenance
sabotage, it doesn’t justify dishonesty as it is different
tasks but not on individual tasks.
than others.
4. Their absence can have a significant impact on
Work slowdowns, destruction and causing chaos may be
others.
aimed to hurt the company, but they don’t promote
4. Low job involvement and low organisational
monetary gains for employees.
commitment.
Dishonesty threatens self-esteem in a way that the other
1. Known as the ‘apathetic employees’ as they are
forms of sabotage do not.
the least valuable people in the organisation.
2. Work is not viewed as being important to their
Absenteeism (Blau and Boal, 1987)
self-image and so they do not put a great deal
Voluntary absenteeism: when the worker choses not to of effort into individual tasks.
attend work due to dissatisfaction 3. As the organisation is not strongly identified
Involuntary absenteeism: absence usually due to illness with, they do not contribute to group
The paper by Blau and Boal uses the concepts of job maintenance.
involvement and organisational commitment to predict an
individual’s turnover and absenteeism. Measuring organisational commitment
Both can be either high or low allowing 4 possible
According to Mowday et al., 1979, organisational
situations:
commitment is defined as ‘the relative strength of an
1. High job involvement and high organisational individual’s identification with and involvement in an
commitment. organisation’.
1. ‘Stars’ of the organisation. Some people believe there are three forms; the desire to
2. Their work is important to their self- remain within the organisation, belief in and acceptance
esteem.These individuals exert a lot of effort of the organisations values, and willingness to exert effort
and time in their jobs. on behalf of the organisation.
3. They are highly involved with group activities Other people like Allen and Meyer (1990) identify three
that help maintain the organisation. types of organisational commitment:
4. They represent the most valued members of Continuance commitment: where workers remain in
the organisation and are likely to move up in their post (or organisation) as the costs and risks of
the firm. leaving might be too high. E.g: they need the salary or
5. This group is likely to show the least level of don’t have better alternatives.
turnover and absenteeism and their loss is Affective commitment: workers might remain because
detrimental they have an emotional attachment to the
2. High job involvement and low organisational organisation; might be because they firmly agree with
commitment. its goals and overall beliefs.
1. ‘Lone wolves’ of the organisation. Normative commitment: workers stay because of
2. Although their work is important to them, they pressure from others or a feeling of obligation.
don’t identify with the organisations or its goals
Study by Mowday et al. (1979)
3. They will often show high levels of effort for
Aim
individual tasks but not for group tasks.
4. They are highly sensitive to working conditions The study was designed to assess the reliability and
and pay. validity of the Organizational Commitment Questionnaire
5. They are ready to take better opportunities. (OCQ) as well as its ability to discriminate.
6. Despite their high levels of individual efforts, The OCQ is a 15 item scale used to measure
they do not integrate themselves within the organisational commitment. It consists of items such
organisation, which could create problems as:
during group tasks. I feel very little loyalty to this organisation
7. Their absenteeism is likely due to career I am willing to put in a great deal of effort beyond
enhancing opportunities or attending to a that normally expected in order to help this
personal goal. organisation be successful
3. Low job involvement and high organisational I really care about the fate of this organisation
commitment.
Sample

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The scale was administered to 2563 people who worked They end by identifying several areas for further
in a large variety of jobs in nine different organisations in research, including the need to consider the relationship
a number of separate studies. between behavioural and attitudinal commitment and
The jobs and organisations included public employees some of the other factors (occupation, age, sex, etc.) that
such as those working in a range of hospital, social may influence organisational commitment.
services etc.
Evaluation
Results
Giacalone and Rosenfeld conducted a survey on
Mean scores ranged from a low 4 to a high 6.1, workplace sabotage that may have caused social
suggesting the scale produces an acceptable level of desirability bias.
discrimination. This study used a quasi-experimental approach when
No items stood out as producing odd results or being less comparing the high-reason acceptors with the low-reason
related to the overall score than other items. acceptors which gave useful results.
Test-retest scores were good, suggesting high reliability. One of the useful results was that both groups saw
Correlations between the OCQ and other scales were high ‘dishonesty’ as qualitatively different from all other forms
suggesting good validity. of sabotage which might allow employers to react to
Validity was also measured by correlating the OCQ with dishonesty differently from other forms of sabotage.
he individuals’ intention to stay in the organisation. Someone who commits an act of sabotage may be
This single item measure was collected in five of the sending a message to their employees about their
studies and all five revealed significant correlations. working conditions or their quality of work life proving that
Evidence was also found to support the discriminant this study shows how the workplace environment
validity of the scale. (situation) can impact on the individual’s behaviour.
Predictive validity was also checked by seeing if scores on The study by Blau was useful in bringing job involvement
OCQ would accurately predict how long an employee and organisational commitment, allowing organisations to
would stay/leave the organisation (low scores meant predict potential staff turnover so they can take measures
more likely to leave) accordingly.
Significant relationships were also found between low Mowday’s measurement of organisational commitment
organisational commitment and absenteeism and to a was done by self-reports as the person however, it can be
lesser extent between commitment and performance. biased (or responding to demand characteristics)
reducing validity and reliability.
Conclusion Interestingly, a study by Goffin and Gellatly suggested that
self-reported measures of commitment showed a weak
Although the above seems to support the OCQ, it is
correlation with reports of commitment observed by
possible that individuals may change answers if they feel
others.
that the results may be used against them.
It is therefore suggested that the shorter 9 item
questionnaire would be a better alternative than the 15-
item questionnaire.

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CAIE A2 LEVEL
Psychology (9990)

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