Understanding job satisfaction in the causal attitude network (CAN) model.

Abstract

Job satisfaction researchers typically assume a tripartite model, suggesting evaluations of the job are explained by latent cognitive and affective factors. However, in the attitudes literature, connectionist theorists view attitudes as emergent structures resulting from the mutually reinforcing causal force of interacting cognitive evaluations. Recently, the causal attitudes network (CAN; Dalege et al., 2016) model was proposed as an integration of both these perspectives with network theory. Here, we describe the CAN model and its implications for understanding job satisfaction. We extend the existing literature by drawing from both attitude and network theory. Using multiple data sets and measures of job satisfaction, we test these ideas empirically. First, drawing on the functional approach to attitudes, we show the instrumental-symbolic distinction in attitude objects is evident in job satisfaction networks. Specifically, networks for more instrumental features (e.g., pay) show stable, high connectivity and form a single cluster, whereas networks regarding symbolic features (e.g., supervisor) increase in connectivity with exposure (i.e., job tenure) and form clusters based on valence and cognitive-affective distinction. We show these distinctions result in "small-world" networks for symbolic features wherein affective reactions are more central than cognitive reactions, consistent with the affective primacy hypothesis. We show the practical advantage of CAN by demonstrating in longitudinal data that items with high centrality are more likely to affect change throughout the attitude network, and that network models are better able to predict future voluntary turnover compared with structural equation models. Implications of this exciting new model for research and practice are discussed.

New short scale to measure workers’ attitudes toward the implementation of cooperative robots in industrial work settings: Instrument development and exploration of attitude structure

“…Based on connectionist ideas, Dalege et al (2016) proposed a formalized measurement model of attitudes using empirical network modeling, which has been applied to political attitudes (Dalege, Borsboom, van Harreveld, Waldorp, & van der Maas, 2017) or job attitudes (Carter et al, 2019). In the Causal Attitude Network (CAN) model by Dalege et al (2016), attitudes are conceptualized as networks of interacting evaluative reactions, in which these reactions are cognitive (e.g., beliefs about an attitude object), affective or behavioral in nature.…”

“…Edges can be described as excitatory or inhibitory and can vary in weights. The attitude construct is thus formed by these (bidirectional) interactions between nodes constituting a network (Carter et al, 2019;Dalege et al, 2016;Guyon, Falissard, & Kop, 2017).…”

“…While a simple attitude that is generally positive or negative might result from a tightly connected network, complex attitudes can be held if a network converges into different clusters with these clusters being connected through short-cuts (Carter et al, 2019;Dalege et al, 2017). That is, while some groups of nodes are highly connected within these groups, only a few edges connecting nodes from different groups exist.…”

“…Changes in evaluations also depend on network configurations (Dalege et al, 2016). The change in tightly connected, single-clustered networks is more difficult than loosely connected and multi-cluster networks (Carter et al, 2019). In attitudes with a small-world structure it is unlikely that the change in a single node would result in a change of the entire network.…”

“…Changing a single node will thus most likely only affect closely connected nodes. Other nodes not belonging to the cluster and thus also having fewer bridges to the node in question will be largely unaffected by the change (Carter et al, 2019;Dalege et al, 2016). Because of variation in connectivity and their position in the network, nodes differ in their relative importance in attitude change.…”