The Role of Affect as a Mediator Variable: An Application to Organizational Psychology

Author(s): Timothy J. Huelsman, David C. Munz, R. Michael Furr

DOI: https://doi.org/10.65030/idr.01015

Abstract: Though the study of affect has increased across psychology, individual differences in affect have not been fully investigated as mediators in the organizational context. In the present study, employees' (N= 612) affect was tested as a mediator of relationships between job characteristics and job satisfaction. Participants completed surveys of positive and negative affect, and were randomly assigned to a state or trait version of the affect questionnaire and positively or negatively worded version of the job questionnaire. A complex combination of mediational roles for affect was revealed involving differences between positive and negative affect, between state and trait affect, and between positively and negatively worded items on study questionnaires. Results are discussed relative to Forgas' (1995) Affect Infusion Model.

Keywords: Affect; Job characteristics; Job satisfaction; Positive affect; Negative affect; Mediation; Organizational psychology

Pages: 173-188

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