Journal of Organizational Behavior

J. Organiz. Behav. 26, 57–58 (2005)

Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI: 10.1002/job.297

Point/ Introduction: The dispositional approach

Counterpoint to job satisfaction
PAUL E. SPECTOR*
Department of Psychology, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, U.S.A.

The role of individual differences versus situations has been debated throughout the history of orga-
nizational behavior research. Disposition researchers have argued that job satisfaction is to a great
extent a product of personality, as individuals vary in their responses to the same situation. Others have
taken an opposing view, suggesting that personality is often confounded with situations, the latter of
which is the real driving force behind job satisfaction. This point/counterpoint exchange explores the
role of dispositions and situations in determining job satisfaction.
Barry Staw and Yochi Cohen-Charash take the ‘pro-disposition causes job satisfaction’ position.
Their paper traces the history of the dispositional argument, discusses and refutes criticisms of the
dispositional approach, and provides an information-processing model of how dispositions might
affect job satisfaction.
Barry Gerhart takes the opposing view, focusing mainly on two implications of the dispositional
approach. First, he argues that dispositions do not constrain the effects of situations and that both
can have important influences. He points out that some situations will produce higher satisfaction than
others, although certainly individuals in each situation may differ from one another. Second, he dis-
cusses the use of affective disposition measures for employee selection, outlining additional research
that needs to be done before organizations adopt this approach.
These two papers provide a contemporary overview of the issues concerning individual differences
versus situations in determining job satisfaction. They raise a number of intriguing questions that need
research attention concerning the interplay of individual differences and situational factors in the
workplace.

Author biography

Paul E. Spector is a professor of I/O psychology and the I/O doctoral program director at the
University of South Florida. His work has appeared in many journals, including Academy of Manage-
ment Journal, Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Management, Journal of Organizational
Behavior, Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, Journal of Vocational Behavior,

* Correspondence to: Paul E. Spector, Department of Psychology, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33620, U.S.A.
E-mail: spector@shell.cas.usf.edu

Copyright # 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Accepted 18 August 2004
58 P. E. SPECTOR

Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Personnel Psychology, and Psychological
Bulletin. At present he is an associate editor for Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, and the
Point/Counterpoint editor for Journal of Organizational Behavior, and is on the editorial boards of
Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, Organizational Research Methods, and Per-
sonnel Psychology. In 1991 the Institute for Scientific Information listed him as one of the 50 highest-
impact contemporary researchers (out of over 102 000) in psychology worldwide.

Copyright # 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. J. Organiz. Behav. 26, 57–58 (2005)
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.