Chapter 2 The Implications of Attraction Research for Organizational Issues

Issues, Theory, and Research in Industrial/ Organizational Psychology - K . Kelley (Editor) 0 1992 Elsevier Science Publishers B.V. All rights reserved.

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CHAPTER 2 THE IMPLICATIONS OF ATTRACTION RESEARCH FOR ORGANIZATIONAL ISSUES

Donn Byrne and Joel H. Neuman

...in many decisions affect plays a more important role than we are willing to admit. We sometimes delude ourselves that we proceed in a rational manner and weigh all the pros and cons of the various alternatives. But this is probably seldom the actual case. Quite often 'I decided in favor of X' is no more than ' I liked X.' Most of the time, information collected about alternatives serves us less for making a decision than for justifying it afterward... We buy the cars we 'like,' choose the jobs and houses that we find ' attractive, ' and then justify those choices by various reasons that might appear convincing to others who never fail to ask us, 'Why this car?' or 'Why this house?' We need not convince ourselves. We know what we like. (Zajonc, 1980, p.155) Zajonc's analysis could easily be extended to include why this wife? Why this husband? Why this career? Why this job candidate? One could also add countless other whys. In some situations emotional decisions seem very appropriate and not in need of justification. In purchasing a work of art, selecting a wardrobe, decorating a house, or choosing a friend, affective responses are ordinarily considered sensible and even desirable. People are not, however, generally inclined to admit that emotional forces determine behavior in the "dollars-and-cents" world of business. Most people would agree that an individual's decision about an academic major, career and, eventually, occupation are critically important decisions. So, too, are the decisions that managers continually face: personnel selection, performance appraisals, worker compensation, task and

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plant design, and incentive programs, to name just a few. Poor decisions can result in substantial costs to individuals and to organizations. For this reason, decision making in these areas is presumably a rational process, devoid of emotionality. It is true that these are extremely important issues, but 'it-is probably not true that they are resolved with emotionless dispassion.

THE ROLE OF AFFECT IN INTERPERSONAL ATTRACTION We believe, as does Zajonc (1980), that "affect plays a more important role than we are willing to admit."

me Reinforcement-affect Model of Attraction One formulation of the attraction process stresses the role of affect as the primary determinant of evaluative responses (Byme, 1971; Byme & Clore, 1970; Clore & Byme, 1974).

Associated AfSect. The reinforcement-affect model of interpersonal attraction is based on a classical conditioning paradigm in which affect plays a czntral role: stimuli that evoke positive affect are liked while stimuli that evoke negative affect are disliked. Attraction to another person is based on the extent to which that person elicits positive affect or is merely associated with another stimulus that elicits positive affect. As an example, the effect of associated affect on interpersonal attraction was demonstrated by Griffitt (1970) in an experiment where subjects were required to evaluate a target stranger. Griffitt exposed one group of experimental subjects to unpleasant combinations of temperature and humidity while another group of subjects was exposed to pleasant levels of these environmental variables. Subjects i n the "pleasant" condition evaluated target strangers more positively than subjects in the "unpleasant" condition. In this instance, affect induced by temperature and humidity was associated with the target stranger and influenced the evaluation of the target accordingly. In another study, Gouaux (1971) induced both positive and negative affect by means of the Velten (1967) procedure. With this technique, the appropriate affective state is induced by having subjects read 60 self-referent statements which become increasingly more positive or negative, depending on the desired mood state the experimenter wishes to induce. Following mood-induction, subjects were then asked to evaluate a target stranger. As predicted, positive affect resulted in relatively positive

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evaluations of a target stranger and negative affect in relatively negative evaluations.

Attitude Similarity. Another procedure which induces affect involves exposing subjects to "simple" attitude statements. In one popular technique, known as the bogus stranger paradigm (Byrne, 1961), subjects are asked to complete an attitude questionnaire and indicate to what extent they agree or disagree with several attitude statements. At a later time (often several weeks later), subjects are presented with an attitude questionnaire purportedly filled out by a stranger unknown to the subject. Subjects are told that the study in which they are participating is designed to investigate interpersonal judgment. Participants are then asked to review the stranger's questionnaire and indicate how much they like that person and to what extent they would like working with him or her. In reality, no actual stranger exists. The "stranger's" questionnaire is created by the experimenter based on the subject's attitudes that were obtained at the beginning of the study. In this way, the experimenter is able to manipulate the amount of similarity or dissimilarity between the subject and the bogus stranger. Extensive research using this paradigm has demonstrated that as the proportion of similar attitudes increases, attraction toward a target person increases in a linear function (Byrne & Nelson, 1965). This relationship is mediated by an implicit affective response. Specifically, similar attitude statements elicit positive affect which, in turn, elicits positive evaluative responses. Support for this hypothesis was supplied in an experiment designed by Byrne and Clore (1970) in which subjects completed a semantic differential scale as part of a typical attraction study. Similar attitude statements elicited responses indicating positive affect, and dissimilar statements elicited responses indicative of negative affect. Dissimilar attitude statements also result in physiological arousal, as measured by changes in skin conductance (Clore & Gormly, 1969). The power of associated affect is not restricted to our evaluations of others but also to the evaluation of other discriminable stimulus objects in the situation. For example, within the context of a typical attraction experiment, Meadow (1971) demonstrated that perceived attitude similarity resulted in subjects rating the experiment as being more enjoyable than those in the dissimilar condition, and perceiving that time passed more quickly -- showing once more that "time flies when you're having fun." f i e Attraction Response Dimension. Although much of the research on attraction has focused on interpersonal relationships, we must not lose sight of the fact that we are referring to a much more general

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evaluative process. This model can be applied to any situation involving likes and dislikes leading to approach versus avoidance behavior. Rather than being restricted to interpersonal relationships, the same conceptualization applies equally well in evaluations of all manner of stimuli. The attraction response dimension depicted in Figure 1 can easily be applied to employees, supervisors, managers, books, movies, sports events, geographical settings, products, political candidates, careers, job offers, salaries, training, corporate cultures, workplace environment, shopping malls, or any other stimuli we are called on to evaluate. Implicit in the scale depicted in Figure 1 is the fact that attraction is not an all or nothing response. In fact, attraction is found to be a linear function of the amount of positive affect in relation to the combined total of positive and negative affect elicited (Byrne & Nelson, 1965). The implications of attraction research for organizational issues will be examined at two levels of analysis: First, we will draw a parallel between marital relationships (initial attraction, marriage, learning about one another, long-term maintenance of the relationship, and possible dissolution) and occupational relationships (career and job choice, organizational entry, on-the-job performance, and turnover). Second, we will present evidence that factors that mediate interpersonal attraction, such as attitude similarity, overt stimulus characteristics, and propinquity, are also operative in the highly "objective" world of business.

ATTRACTION: INTERPERSONAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL The evaluationsone makes of anotherperson areconceptuallyparallel to the evaluations made of an occupation, career, or organization.

Selecting a Mate and Selecting an Organization Considering the long-term (at least theoretically) implicationsof a marriage and an occupation, we find it useful to point out the factors common to each selection process.

Propinquity. With no opportunity for interaction there can be no opportunity for attraction. Although self-evident, most of us probably underestimate the importance of propinquity in shaping our lives. Our proximity to a particular stimulus provides an opportunity for interaction and the level and quality of exposure results in a specific

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Hate

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Strong Dislike

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Mild Neutral Disliking

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Mild Liking

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Figure 1: The attraction response dimension

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affective response. A classic example of this fact involves the selection of a mate. It is unlikely that most people believe that their choice of a mate is influenced, to a major extent, by their physical proximity to that other individual prior to acquaintanceship. It may, therefore, be surprising to find that 34% of the first 5000 matriage licenses issued in Philadelphia, in 1931, were issued to men and women who lived within five blocks of each other (Bossard, 1932). In that investigator's words, "cupid may have wings, but apparently they are not adapted for long flights" (Bossard, 1932, p. 222). Both physical proximity (the physical distance between individuals) and functional proximity (the ease with which contact can take place) have been shown to facilitate friendship formation. For example, Caplow and Foreman (1950) found that close physical proximity between apartments, in a married student housing unit, predicted the likelihood of friendship formation. In a similar field study, Festinger, Schachter, and Back (1950) found that individuals who lived on the ground floor of an apartment building were more likely to have friends on the second floor if their apartments were located next to a stairway than was true for other ground floor residents. Students sitting in close proximity (side-by-side seating) to each other in a classroom are more likely to become friends than any other pairs of students in the room (Byrne & Buehler, 1955; Segal, 1974), and people are more likely to become friendly with their immediate next-door neighbors, especially when driveways are sideby-side, than with other neighbors (Whyte, 1956).

Repeated Exposure. Physical and functional proximity not only provide an opportunity for initial contact but also an opportunity for repeated exposure. In a series of experiments, Zajonc (1968) demonstrated that repeated exposure to a stimulus can result in a more positive (or less negative) evaluation of that stimulus. This tendency to feel better about familiar stimuli probably has survival value, in an evolutionary sense. Any novel person or object is potentially dangerous and hence threatening, whereas familiar objects are predictably safe because they caused no harm previously. Regardless of the underlying mechanism, however, research consistently indicates a preference for the familiar. Clearly, close physical and functional proximity facilitate repeated exposure and, hence, increasingly positive evaluations. People who come in contact with each other on multiple occasions are more likely to interact and more likely to become friendly -- assuming that the interactions are of a positive nature. Regardless of the nature of the interaction, a relationship is most likely to begin with an environmentally-guidedopportunity.

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Just as propinquity can influence one's evaluation of others and the selection of a mate, it can influence one's evaluation and selection of a career. Bandura (1969) stresses the importance and the ubiquity of vicarious learning that occurs when we observe what others do and the consequences of their acts. In choosing a career path, it is probably not the case that the average young person sits down and browses through more than 47,000 different occupations listed in me Dictionary of Occupational Titles. In place of this kind of systematic exposure to relevant information, most of us are more likely to respond to such unsystematic influences as our parents, school counselors, accidental exposure to specific occupations, and the job choices of our friends (Conger & Petersen, 1984). For example, even when controlling for social-class, sons of physicians, lawyers, and scientists are more likely to enter these occupations than young men whose fathers are not involved in these occupations (Mortimer, 1976; Werts, 1966; Werts, 1968). Young girls are more likely to express positive attitudes toward working both within and outside the home if their mothers have successfully balanced these roles (Baruch, 1972). Stagner (198 1) describes a situation that is quite possibly representative of the way most people wind up pursuing a particular career. In attempting to trace the development of Industrial-Organizational Psychology, Stagner (1981) solicited autobiographical material from 13 past presidents of Division 14 of APA (Division of Industrial and Organizational Psychology). The autobiographies supplied information about the participants' childhoods, graduate training, and early work experiences. Stagner reported that "one of the most striking observations from these autobiographical essays is the extent to which chance determined a person's entry into the field" @. 497). In fact, one of the respondents, Ray Katzell said, "If I had to name a single most important factor that shaped my career, I would have to say Circumstance. Or call it, if you prefer, Opportunity, Luck, Chance or God's Will" @. 497). When you consider the enormous impact that careers have in shaping our lives, including the way we perceive ourselves and how we are perceived by others, it is unsettling to believe that the choice of a career could be the result of a random process. Are our identity, prestige, purpose, and status merely "roles" of the dice? The revelation that 13 past presidents of Division 14 just "happened" upon their occupations may be startling but, on the basis of a great deal of past psychological research, it is scarcely a cause for surprise.

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Attitude Similarity. As discussed previously, perceived attitude similarity is one factor that can lead to interpersonal attraction. This effect is not restricted to relationships with another individual. Good and Good (1974) investigated the effect of perceived attitude similarity on attraction to a social organization. In this study, 65 college students received surveys supposedly filled out by members of a college fraternity. Subjects evaluated the fraternity on several measures and indicated their desire to belong to that group. Just as in the interpersonal attraction studies outlined earlier, attraction to the fraternity was a function of perceived attitude similarity to the group. In a similar vein, Good, Good, and Golden (1974) hypothesized that perceived similarity between job candidates and employees in a company would result in attraction to a company. The authors tested this hypothesis by presenting subjects with a set of heterogeneous attitudes supposedly obtained from employees in a business organization. As predicted, attraction to the company was a function of perceived attitude similarity to the employees. If attitude similarity and propinquity play such a significant role in both interpersonal and organizational attraction, ou would expect them to be equally important within the context o personnel selection, as they are ubiquitous to this process. Your faith in this assumption would not go unrewarded.

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PERSONNEL SELECTION: THE FIRST DATE When the representative of an organization first becomes aware of a job applicant, the decision to follow this up with face-toface contact resembles the decision to go on a first date with someone described by a friend, relative, or co-worker.

Applications, Resumes, and Letters of Recommendation In the early stages of the selection process, job applicants provide the prospective employer with a heterogeneous array of information, hoping to demonstrate their value to the organization. Although the intent is to provide job-relevant information, application blanks, resumes, and letters of recommendation provide many kinds of information which may not be directly related to future success on the job.

Stereotypical Assumptions about Names and Occupations. To begin, applications and resumes contain the applicant's name and address. Does the applicant have a "foreign sounding" name? Is this a minor-

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ity candidate? Is the candidate male or female? In response to preexisting biases, a personnel officer may respond in either a positive or negative way to each informational segment. For example, within the context of a public opinion poll, administered before an actual Canadian parliamentary election, Kamin (1958) asked voters to choose among fictitious candidates for a fictitious office. Results indicated that within each of two ethnic groups polled (either an English group in the city of Kingston or a French group in the city of Cornwall), respondents were significantly less likely to vote for a candidate whose name suggested an ethnic affiliation opposite to that of the respondent. Similarly, Byrne and Pueschel (1974) collected data on 3,600 candidates in 500 central committee elections in the state of California between 1948 and 1970. These researchers found that candidates with Scandinavian surnames had a 24 percent advantage over candidates with other ethnic names. Conversely, Spanish, Jewish, and Italian surnames resulted in an 11, 14, and 29 percent disadvantage, respectively. In another study, Lawson and Roeder (1986) had subjects rate women's first names on a 7-point semantic differential scale. Further, the investigators observed that positive and negative biases toward particular names could often be traced to television programs on which the names were used. For example, One Day at a Time was a popular television program at the time. The character of Ann, on the program, was portrayed as an iron-willed, women's liberation type, and this perception was attributed to the name Ann by some subjects in the study. In a similar vein, Paunonen, Jackson, and Oberman (1987) found that people possess preconceptions about ideal personality traits associated with certain occupations. Subjects who are perceived as possessing these particular attributes are more likely to be hired for these positions. Given our penchant for stereotyping in response to names, persons, and occupations, who do you suppose would have a better chance at landing a job as a construction worker: Clarence or Butch? And which of these two job applicants would be perceived as the better accountant?

Gender. If a "trivial" attribute such as one's name can affect the personnel selection process, what of a major stimulus characteristic such as gender? Some research has indicated that females often receive lower evaluations than their male counterparts (Cohen & Bunker, 1975; Dipboye, Fromkin, & Wiback, 1975; Ferris & Gilmore, 1977). This differential response to male and female applicants is particularly true in the case of personnel officers who are high in authoritarianism. A study by Simas and McCarrey (1979)

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revealed that "high authoritarian" personnel officers of both sexes rated male applicants more favorably than female applicants. Recent research seems to indicate that gender related effects are most likely to occur with respect to jobs that are traditionally dominated by one sex over the other. That is, if jobs are typically dominated b males, then females will receive lower evaluations; conversely, i an occupation is generally dominated by females, then males are likely to receive lower evaluations (Cash, Gillen, & Bums, 1977; Cohen & Bunker, 1975; Heilman, 1980; Shaw, 1972). The perception of whether a job is "masculine" or "feminine" tends to be based on preconceptions associated with the job title and task composition. Cleveland and Smith (1989) had subjects rate various job titles and job descriptions in terms of probable job incumbents. The job of Warehouse Manager was clearly viewed as masculine while Health Care Services Coordinator was viewed as feminine. Additionally, subjects rated various tasks as being either masculine or feminine. Both job title and job content significantly affected perceptions of typical incumbents, the gender type of the job, and expectations about the probable success of the applicant. The chapter in this volume by Kelley and Streeter also addresses gender issues.

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Employment History. Application blanks also solicit information about employment and salary history. Obviously, personnel officers are looking for stability in a potential employee as well as signs of professional growth within and across jobs. Gaps in employment history and unimpressive promotions or salary increases are red flags to personnel officers. But there can be a more subtle factor in operation -- what is your present salary? Because women continue to earn less than their male counterparts, Mitchell and Henning (1987) decided that it would be important to look at the potential effects of this disparity in the hiring process. Undergraduate business students rated resumes from both male and female applicants who had either a high or low present salary. Compared to high present-salary applicants, low present-salary applicants were offered a lower starting salary for all jobs and were perceived as being less qualified for some jobs. Perceived Similarity. As previously discussed, perceived similarity is strongly associated with interpersonal attraction. Employment applications and resumes provide personnel officers with information relevant to the degree of similarity between themselves and the applicant. Some of the information that a job candidate includes may relate to personal interests, religious affiliations, hobbies, marital

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status, political preferences, number of children, and military history. Rand and Wexely (1975) found that personnel officers perceive job candidates who are biographically similar to themselves as being better suited to the job, more intelligent, and better liked. Aside from the content of supporting documents, there is the question of how the documents are prepared. Are they hand-written or typed? Are they visually striking in their appearance, or do they resemble a prescription prepared by a busy physician on his or her way to the golf course? Research has not examined such effects, but our theoretical model clearly predicts that evaluations of the applicant would be influenced by the quality of these materials.

Letters of Recommendation. Can you be "damned by faint praise?" Most letters of recommendation are written on behalf of the most gifted, honest, creative, intelligent, forthright, and dependable human beings to have ever graced this good earth. Against this background, it is possible that the slightest criticism will prove quite damaging to the applicant. Paradoxically, there is a possibility that because of the lack of variation in letters of recommendation (Muchinsky, 1979) a small amount of criticism may actually help. Knouse (1983) found that a small amount of negative information in a letter may improve the candidate's chances because the writer is viewed as being more honest in his or her evaluation.

Inte wiews Those job candidates who survive the evaluation process involving their resumes and application forms typically constitute a pool eligible for further scrutiny in a face-to-face interview, where additional and usually irrelevant attraction related variables can operate.

Foreign Accents. Stimulus characteristics which are not obvious in written communication may be extremely obvious within the context of a person-to-person meeting. For example, a candidate may not have a "foreign-sounding" name but a strong foreign accent. Aside from the potential difficulty in being able to communicate, foreign accents can elicit stereotypical images and pre-existing biases. In one study, Kalin and Rayko (1978) found that candidates with foreign accents received lower ratings for high status jobs and higher ratings for low status jobs. Of potential importance, but as yet unstudied, are the effects of regional accents within a society such as (for the United States) New England, Southern, or New York speech styles.

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Race, Discrimination in hiring, on the basis of race, has been the focus of a great deal of civil rights legislation. There is, however, comparatively little empirical research in this area and what does exist is rather inconclusive. In one study where fictitious resumes were mailed to actual employers, McIntyre, Moberg, and Posner (1980) found that black applicants received preferential treatment over white applicants. However, Newman and Krzystofiak (1979) found that when managers are aware of their role in a research study they are more likely to treat all applicants equally; in contrast, when unobtrusive measures are used, personnel managers are more likely to base decisions on the race of the job applicant. There also is an indication that an interaction exists between the job and the candidate in that black applicants receive lower evaluations for "white" jobs than equally qualified white applicants. Conversely, blacks receive higher evaluations when applying for "black" jobs (Schmitt & Hill, 1972; Terpstra & Larsen, 1980). Perceived Similarity. Just as with resumes and job applications, similarity variables operate in the interview process. A preponderance of both verbal and nonverbal stimuli contribute to perceptions of either similarity or dissimilarity with predictable results. In experimental research, Baskett (1973) found job applicants perceived as similar to the interviewer were viewed as more competent than dissimilar applicants and received recommendations for higher starting salaries. Similarly, Peters and Terborg (1975) found that similarity resulted in a greater perception of liking for the applicant, higher salary recommendations, and greater likelihood that the interview would culminate in a decision to hire the candidate. In a situation where students were supposedly being hired for positions as research assistants in a major university, Griffitt and Jackson (1970) found that attitude similarity correlated significantly with hiring recommendations ( r = S 3 ) and with salary recommendations ( r = .41). These investigators also found that attitude similarity related to perceptions of reliability, attractiveness, cooperativeness, goodness, and flexibility. Within the context of an actual job interview situation, Orpen (1984) had interviewers complete attitude questionnaires as they believed the interviewee would fill them out. Later, these questionnaires were compared with attitude questionnaires the interviewers themselves had completed. The outcome measure of interest was whether or not the applicant was actually hired. Orpen found that perceived similarity was strongly related to both attraction and hiring decisions.

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Agective Congruence. In addition to the effects of attitude similarity, Alliger and Williams (in press) point to the operation of what they have termed "affective congruence" (similarity of affect between the interviewer and interviewee). In a recent study, they assessed interviews conducted by 10 trained interviewers on 120 applicants for a university based early management potential program. Their results indicated that affective congruence, as opposed to interviewer or interviewee affect alone, was significantly associated with the decision to hire as well as with psychometric ratings of the applicants' management potential. It seems that both misery and joy love congruent company. Physical Appearance. Attitudes are not always readily apparent and emotions can be rather complex. There are, however, many other attraction relevant variables which are much less subtle in their operation -- physical attractiveness is one such variable. An examination of our culture's movies, television, advertising, and literature reveals that physical attractiveness is viewed as a highly desirable attribute. Because an endless array of health and fitness products and services are available to improve many aspects of appearance, few are "doomed" to an aesthetically unappealing future. Unattractive features, which cannot be sweated off or toned up, can be tucked, lifted, reduced, enlarged, reshaped, or removed by means of cosmetic surgery. Research has found that physically attractive people are liked better than unattractive individuals (Byrne, Ervin, & Lamberth, 1970; Byrne, London, & Reeves, 1968; Perrin, 1921; Walster, Aronson, Abrahams, & Rottman, 1966) and are associated with higher levels of social status (Thylor, 1956). There are also differential expectations about personali ty characteristics. Specifically, physically attractive individuals, as opposed to unattractive ones, are expected to be perceptive, confident, assertive, happy, active, amenable, humorous, and outspoken. They are also viewed as complex rather than simple, and flexible as opposed to rigid (Hatfield & Sprecher, 1986; Miller, 1970). "Not only are physically attractive persons assumed to possess more socially desirable personalities than those of lesser attractiveness, but it is presumed that their lives will be happier and more successful" (Dion, Berscheid, & Walster, 1972, p. 290). Physical attractiveness research also has been conducted in the area of organizational behavior. It was hypothesized that perceptions of goodness associated with beauty would influence personnel selection. Dipboye, Fromkin, and Wiback (1975) found that male college recruiters and business students both preferred physically attractive

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candidates to unattractive candidates and made their hiring decisions accordingly. In a follow-up study, Dipboye, Arvey, and Terpstra (1977), found that regardless of interviewer sex, highly qualified applicants were selected over unqualified applicants but, again, attractive candidates were preferred over unattractive candidates. Attractive candidates were also more likely to get higher starting salaries than unattractive candidates. Additionally, physical attractiveness has been shown to result in higher evaluations of job related qualifications (Cash, Gillen, & Burns, 1977). In this volume the chapter by Stone, Stone, and Dipboye discusses unattractiveness as a stigma, and the Kelley and Streeter chapter reviews research on gender in relation to this topic. Gillen (1981) has noted that there may be two types of "goodness" associated with physical attractiveness: a general goodness and a sex-typed goodness. Physically attractive females may be viewed as more feminine while physically attractive males are perceived as more masculine. Along these lines, it is possible that physical attractiveness may be more relevant to "sex-typed" jobs. Cash et al. (1977), tested this hypothesis by having subjects review resumes of male and female applicants for jobs previously rated as stereotypically masculine (automobile salesperson or wholesale hardware shipping and receiving clerk), stereotypically feminine (telephone operator or office receptionist), or neuter (motel desk clerk or photographic darkroom assistant). Results of this study indicated that males applying for masculine positions were rated as more qualified, were expected to be more successful, and received stronger hiring recommendations than equally qualified females. Conversely, females received significantly higher ratings than males with respect to perceived qualifications and expectations of success as well as hiring recommendations for stereotypically female jobs. Cohen and Bunker (1975) also found that interviewers were biased against male applicants applying for traditionally female positions just as they were for females applying for traditionally male jobs.

Cosmetic Use. For the reasons just stated, factors that affect the perception of masculinity and femininity can influence personnel decisions. Cox and Glick (1986) found that cosmetic use enhances female stereotypes and that women using cosmetics, as opposed to women depicted without cosmetics, received lower evaluations of expected performance in a secretarial position. Presumably, this provoked the sexist stereotype of the attractive secretary who was not hired as a result of her typing ability.

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Dress. Forsythe, Drake, and Cox (1985) investigated the effect of female applicants' dress on selection decisions. Personnel administrators viewed videotaped interviews of female applicants in either masculine or feminine attire. In this particular situation, women applying for management positions were more likely to be hired if they were dressed in masculine, as opposed to feminine, clothing. In similar research, Davis (1987) found that those dressed in masculine attire are viewed as more successful in their occupations than persons wearing feminine attire. Davis found this to be true in both traditionally masculine and feminine occupations. Obesity. At the beginning of this section, we alluded to a link between physical fitness and the perception of physical attractiveness. Obese individuals are not perceived as attractive. There is an obvious bias in our culture favoring slim as opposed to stout. In fact, Venes, Krupka, and Gerard (1982) found that students ranked embezzlers, cocaine users, shoplifters, and blind persons ahead of obese persons as a potential spouse. Within an organizational context, Larkin and Pines (1979) found that obese individuals are not considered good workers, and Rothblum, Miller, and Garbutt (1988) found that existing stereotypes of obese individuals included having poor personal hygiene, being lazy, and lacking discipline. Fortunately, obese individuals were also perceived as having a good sense of humor and of being friendly -- a decided advantage for those spending time on an unemployment line. Research seems to indicate that it is primarily the impact of obesity on physical attractiveness that generates negative affect and not obesity itself. When physical attractiveness is held constant, the effects of obesity are mitigated (Rothblum et al., 1988). Mrbal and Nonverbal Communication. Some other important attraction variables that have been studied i n an organizational setting include verbal cues, gestures, and propinquity. Because the ostensible purpose of an interview is to obtain information, what an applicant says to an interviewer should have a significant impact on that interviewer's evaluation of the applicant. This, in fact, does appear to be the case. In a study employing college campus recruiters, Hollandsworth, Kazelskis, Stevens, and Dressel (1979) found that the judged qualifications of an applicant were most affected by the appropriateness of verbal content. There is, however, more to the story. Hollandsworth et al. found that fluency of speech was second in importance, after speech content, in evaluating applicants. In actual interviews for positions at a large amusement park, Parsons and Liden (1984) found that verbal articulation accounted for 66% of

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the variance in interviewers' ratings of applicants' qualifications, and McGovern and Howard (1978) found that voice modulation and speech hesitations (urn's and ah's) affect the evaluation process. In face-to-faceinteractions, much that remains unspoken does not necessarily remain unsaid. A wide variety of nonverbal communications pervade the employment interview. One such factor has to do with functional propinquity and has been referred to as immediacy -"the degree of directness and intensity of interaction between two entities, such as two people" (Mehrabian, 1967, p. 325). Interactions between interviewer and interviewee marked by greater amounts of eye contact, smiling, closer physical proximit direct body orientation, and gesturing can convey a perception o increased availability. In a laboratory study conducted by Imada and Hakel (1977), job applicants who engaged in behaviors categorized as promoting immediacy were judged to be warmer and more enthusiastic. In addition, when compared to subjects who demonstrated low immediacy behaviors, the subjects in the "immediate" condition were better liked by the interviewer, perceived as more qualified, and judged to have a greater likelihood of success on the job. In fact, 86% of the subjects in the immediate condition were recommended for the job whereas only 19% of the subjects in the non-immediate condition were so evaluated. Amalfitano and Kalt (1977) have also found that direct eye contact results in rating applicants as more alert, assertive, dependable, confident, responsible, and possessing greater initiative. Altogether, eye contact, smiling, and gesturing have been shown repeatedly to result in more favorable interviewer evaluations (Amalfitano & Kalt, 1977; Imada & Hakel, 1977; Washburn & Hakel, 1973; Young & Beier, 1977). Hopefully we have demonstrated that we were not engaging in hyperbole at the beginning of this section when we described the personnel selection process as a first date. During both the initial attraction period and the selection phase, affect plays a central role in both types of interaction. Attraction variables are very much in evidence at every level of the evaluation process.

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ORGANIZATIONAL ENTRY AND BEYOND: FOR BETTER OR WORSE? The roller-coaster of emotion that is present in the early stages of an interpersonal relationship is very much in evidence at the early stages of an organizational relationship. Having negotiated the hurdles present during the early stages of an interpersonal relationship, strong attraction may result in marriage. Having

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negotiated the analogous hurdles in the early stages of the organizational relationship, strong attraction also leads to marriage -"we now pronounce you employee and employer. 'I

Organizational Entry In the beginning, marriages and jobs are bathed in the rosy glow of positive emotions and expectations.

The Honeymoon. The beginning of an interpersonal relationship is usually an exciting period. It is generally marked by a substantial amount of positive affect which flows from a seemingly endless supply of smiles, hand-holding, longing gazes, verbal praises, and physical closeness. To some degree this is true for those newly hired in an organizational setting as well. Immediate superiors are likely to praise every occurrence of successful behavior and check to see that the new employee is comfortable and happy in his or her new environment. Colleagues are typically cordial and supportive and a good deal of attention is forthcoming from individuals charged with the responsibility of training the new employee. Unfortunately, "all good things must come to an end." Over a period of time (frequently, all too brief), the personal attention and positive reinforcement wane, and what was novel becomes routine. At this point, individuals must begin to deal with the more mundane, but extremely important, day-to-day aspects of the relationship. The Honeymoon Is Over. During the recruiting period (the courting stage), many promises are made or implied. Individuals enter into relationships with certain expectations which may, or may not, be fulfilled. In some cases, we are intentionally deceived by others. At other times, the deception may be unintentional or self-induced. For example, in interpersonal interactions we are motivated to say and do the things that are most appropriate in each situation and project the most favorable image possible (Baumeister, 1982; Goffman, 1959, 1963, 1967; Riess, Rosenfeld, Melburg, & Tedeschi, 1981). Analogous to this, organizations have traditionally engaged in a similar form of self-presentation, or impression management. In an attempt to attract a large pool of qualified applicants, organizations have typically engaged in "selling" themselves to potential employees by communicating information that is primarily favorable and flattering to themselves. In these instances, expectations are formed on the basis of information which was either intentionally distorted or withheld. At the same time, applicants are busily engaged in their own deceptions. Needless to say, this does not characterize a free

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and honest exchange of information. Apart from managing information meant for public consumption, human beings are quite adept at distorting information without conscious effort or external justification. Research indicates that in the absence of information to the contrary, human beings exhibit a general tendency to assume that others believe as they do and maintain similar attitudes (Byrne & Blaylock, 1963; Hensley & Duval, 1976; Levinger & Breedlove, 1966; Newcomb, 1978; Ross,. Greene, & House, 1977; Zuckerman, Mann, & Bernieri, 1982). Additionally, individuals are inclined to overestimate the probability of future success while underestimating the probability of future failure (Einhorn & Hogarth, 1978; Neuman, 1990). "Very few of us harbor dreams of a future consisting of a dull job, a drab home, an unhappy spouse, and unappreciative kids" (Byrne & Kelley, 1981, p. 515). To the extent that our expectations are overly optimistic or our attitudes and beliefs are incongruent with organizational realities, the stage is set for disappointment and dissatisfaction. This, in turn, can translate into substantial hardships for both individuals and organizations. Research has demonstrated an association between dissatisfaction and voluntary worker turnover (Mobley, Griffeth, Hand, & Meglino, 1979; Muchinsky & Tuttle, 1979; Porter & Steers, 1973) and absenteeism (Muchinsky, 1977; Porter & St'eers, 1973). Both of these behaviors can result in substantial financial loss to organizations (Mirvis & Lawler, 1977). On a more personal level, a 15-year longitudinal study of the aging process found that the single greatest predictor of longevity was work satisfaction (MIT, 1973) -- the ultimate dependent measure!

Satisfaction and Perj4ormance Though satisfaction is a worthwhile goal for its own sake and though job satisfaction is associated with less turnover, another question is obviously important: are satisfied employees more productive than dissatisfied ones?

Affect and Productivity. A good deal of empirical research has tended to contradict the popular notion that "a happy worker is a productive worker" (Iaffaldano & Muchinsky, 1985). It is clear that the relationship between satisfaction and worker productivity is not a simple one. Satisfaction in the absence of motivation or ability will not result in high performance. Rather than satisfaction leading to productivity, there has been more empirical support for the hypothesis that productivity leads to satisfaction (Locke, 1965, 1966, 1967; Porter & Lawler, 1968). Although the view of satisfaction as an

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antecedent to performance has been somewhat tarnished, the question is far from settled. In addition to determining evaluative responses, the elicitation of affect mediates cognitive processes and behavioral responses (Isen, 1984).

Aflect and Cognition. The creative process has been described as one in which diverse associations are formed into new combinations (Mednick, 1962) and problem solving results in solutions that are unusual and useful (Murray, 1959). Within these parameters, recent research has uncovered an association between positive affect and creativity. Persons in whom positive affect has been induced, by receiving a gift, a bag of candy, a compliment, or as a result of viewing a few minutes of a comedy film, tend to categorize stimuli more inclusively than subjects in a control condition (Isen & Daubman, 1984), give more unusual and diverse first-associates to neutral words (Isen, Johnson, Mertz, & Robinson, 1985), and demonstrate improved performance on tasks designed to assess creativity -- such as Duncker's (1945) candle task and M. T. Mednick, S.A. Mednick, and E.V. Mednick's (1964) Remote Associates Test (Greene & Noice, 1988; Isen, Daubman, & Nowicki, 1987). Positive affect also serves as a retrieval cue for positive material in memory (Isen, Shalker, Clark, & Karp, 1978; Laird, Wagener, Halal, & Szegda, 1982; Nasby & Yando, 1982; Teasdale & Fogarty, 1979). Conversely, subjects in whom negative affect has been induced tend to view ambiguous stimuli as less pleasant (Forest, Clark, Mills, & Isen, 1979; Isen & Shalker, 1982) and demonstrate lower tachistoscopic thresholds for failure-related words than subjects in a control condition (Postman & Brown, 1952). Emotional states also play a role in mediating "rational" decision making processes. Kahneman and Tversky (1983) demonstrated that preferences for specific decision alternatives change as a result of the manner in which alternatives are framed -- human beings demonstrate a general tendency toward risk-aversive behavior when considering potential gains and risk-seeking behavior when presented with a potential loss. This framing effect was demonstrated experimentally by Huber, Neale, and Northcraft (1987) within the context of a simulated personnel selection task. Subjects were presented with application material for 20 job applicants and asked to review this information. One group of subjects was instructed to select applicants they would accept for an interview while another group of subjects was asked to indicate which applicants they would reject for an interview. When cost salience of interviewing was high (subjects were explicitly advised that interviewing candidates was a very expensive process) subjects in the "gain" condition (those using

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an acceptance strategy) selected significantly fewer applicants to be interviewed than those in the "loss" condition (using a rejection strategy). From a purely "rational" decision-making perspective, the context in which the decision was being made should have had no bearing on the outcome of the selection process because all subjects were reviewing the same "objective" information. With respect to affect and risk-seeking, losses seem worse to people who are feeling happy -- they show a more negative subjective utility for losses than controls (Isen, Nygren, & Ashby, 1988).

Afect and Behavior. A considerable body of evidence suggests that positive affect is associated with helping behavior (Aderman, 1972; Berkowitz, 1987; Isen, 1970; Isen & Levin, 1972; Isen, Clark, & Schwartz, 1976). Generally, people are more willing to engage in helping behavior when they are in a positive, as opposed to negative, mood state. At the same time, people who are feeling happy prefer to remain in that state and are disinclined to engage in behaviors that will jeopardize this desirable condition. As previously mentioned, positive affect is strongly associated with interpersonal attraction. It is also associated with an increased willingness to initiate conversations with others (Batson, Coke, Chard, Smith, & Taliaferro, 1979; Isen, 1970) and an increased level of receptiveness to persuasive communication (Galizio & Hendrick, 1972; Janis, Kaye, & Kirschner, 1965). The relationship between positive and negative affect is not symmetrical; that is, the effects associated with negative affect are not always opposite to those associated with positive affect. For example, in a study by George (1989), positive affect was significantly and negatively associated with worker absenteeism while no significant relationship was demonstrated with respect to negative affect. In much of the research on emotional states, the effects associated with positive affect are fairly consistent and predictable while those associated with negative affect are rather inconsistent and unpredictable (Isen, 1984). On these grounds alone, positive affect has our vote. To summarize, positive affect is associated with increased levels of creativity, optimism, helping behavior, liking for others, and decreased levels of absenteeism. It impacts decision-making, risktaking, interpersonal communications, receptivity to persuasion, and approach-avoidance behavior. Satisfaction-pe~ormanceRevisited. We propose that affect plays a more important role in worker productivity than has been documented to date. The weak relationship between satisfaction and performance may be based on methodological problems associated with the

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measurement of satisfaction (refer to footnote 3) and the evaluation of performance. If worker productivity is primarily measured in terms of products manufactured, lines of computer code generated, management tasks completed, or services rendered, our assessment will be incomplete. What about inventions not invented, options not considered, chances never taken, assistance never rendered, and extra effort not invested? Whether measuring productivity in terms of quantity or quality, we are constrained to measure what is and not what might have been. The question may not be whether positive affect leads to performance but, rather, when does it lead to increased performance, under what circumstances, and in what manner. There are times when positive affect may prove detrimental -- being risk-averse is not a virtue in all situations nor is being more receptive to persuasive communications (assuming that you are the target of the persuasion attempt). The skill, knowledge, and ability required for successful completion of a particular task varies considerably from job to job. Consequently, the degree to which positive affect facilitates or inhibits performance will vary accordingly. We now turn our attention to the relationships among attraction variables, resultant affect, and worker productivity.

Interpersonal Attraction and Wrker Pe formance In a work setting, does it matter whether an individual likes, dislikes, or is indifferent to his or her fellow workers?

Attitude Similarity. Krivonos, Byrne, and Friedrich (1976) hypothesized that an educational setting which fosters an affectively positive atmosphere should facilitate performance on various intellectual tasks. Because attitude similarity is strongly associated with positive affect, it was hypothesized that subjects paired with similar others would perform significantly better on various cognitive tasks than subjects paired with dissimilar others. Results indicated that subjects paired with similar others felt affectively more positive and performed significantly better on tasks that required analysis, synthesis, integration, and recall of textual material as well as an evaluative task that required judgment and decision making. Analogous to this, high interpersonal attraction has been shown to result in increased levels of performance on a conditioning task (Sapolsky, 1960), learning Spanish equivalents of English words (Lott & Lott, 1966), and simple mechanical tasks (Nelson & Meadow, 1971). Attitude similarity also impacts worker performance by mediating group dynamics. Inter-member liking, resulting from attitude

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similarity, leads to a more cohesive work group. Depending upon the task, cohesiveness can lead to higher levels of performance. Within the context of a longitudinal field experiment, Terborg, Castore, and DeNinno (1976) were unable to confirm a relationship between attitude similarity and performance but they did find that, over time, attitude similarity leads to group cohesiveness. Other research has demonstrated that group cohesiveness is associated with increased levels of innovation (West & Farr, 1989), increased quality of communication among group members and lower levels of absenteeism and turnover (Lott & Lott, 1966; Stogdill, 1972). Additionally, because group membership is highly valued and communications are unrestrained, within cohesive work groups, individual members are more likely to respond to group norms. Therefore, cohesive groups are likely to perform better than noncohesive groups when performance standards a r e high (Berkowitz, 1954; Schachter, Ellertson, McBride, & Gregory, 1951). Another outcome associated with interpersonal attraction is that of cooperation and participation, as opposed to conflict and competition. In an experiment examining productivity as a function of intergroup cooperation/competition and intra-group cooperation/competition, Workie (1974) found that cooperation was significantly more productive than competition. Analogous to this, in a meta-analysis reviewing 122 studies comparing the effectiveness of cooperation and competition, Johnson, Maruyama, Johnson, Nelson, and Skon (1981) found that cooperation is superior to competition in promoting achievement and productivity. Perceived similarity has also been found to be associated with worker motivation. Within the context of equity theory (Adams, 1963), individuals seek to maximize equity in relationship to a comparison other. Whether being overpayed or underpayed, individuals are motivated to restore equity. Griffeth, Vecchio, and Logan (1989) investigated the relationship between interpersonal attraction (attitude similarity-dissimilaritybetween subjects and a comparison other) and three levels of equity (underpayment, overpayment, and equitable payment). Results indicated a significant interaction between level of equity and interpersonal attraction on several measures. Subjects in the high attraction condition (similar attitudes), indicated that they would work significantly more hours if given the opportunity, but this effect was only noted for subjects in the underpayment or equitable payment conditions. Those in the low attraction condition (dissimilar attitudes) would only agree to additional participation if they were in the overpayment condition. High attractiveness also accounted for more variance across equity conditions for

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subjective and objective measures of performance quality. Because attitude similarity can determine evaluative responses, it should come as no surprise that it can impact the performance appraisal process. Pulakos and Wexley (1983) found that perceived similarity between managers and their subordinates led each to give higher performance ratings to the other. Turban and Jones (1988) found that superiors who perceived subordinates as being similar to themselves recommended significantly higher merit increases than those they perceived as being dissimilar. According to Landy and Farr (1980), judgmental measurements of performance are in wide use -- we suspect that attitude similarity is in wide use as well when appraisals are made.

Propinquity. Both physical and functional propinquity play a role in worker productivity. The size of a work group, and its physical setting, will dictate the nature, quality, and frequency of worker interaction. Employees working together in a small and open work area are more likely to form a cohesive unit than workers separated by partitions, offices, or great distances. Even the way furniture is arranged in a room can serve to facilitate or inhibit productivity. As an example, arranging work stations in such a way as to reduce interaction (unnecessary socializing on the job) can actually decrease, rather than increase, productivity (Baskin & Aronoff, 1980). Other research demonstrates that placing a desk or table between individuals results in a less friendly and more formal atmosphere (McCaskey, 1979). Propinquity can also involve inappropriately close (or distant) interpersonal space. Muchinsky (1990) gives an example of the subtle, but significant, impact of cultural differences on preferred interpersonal distances in describing an interaction between two diplomats. One diplomat was from a northern European country and the other was from a country in the Middle East. As Hall (1959) has reported, people from northern Europe prefer greater physical distance when interacting with others than individuals from the Middle East. Throughout their conversation, the diplomat from the Middle East would attempt to move closer while the European diplomat worked to regain what he considered to be an appropriate physical distance. After returning to their respective embassies, the diplomat from Northern Europe described the representative from the Middle East as "incessantly pushy," while the Middle Eastern diplomat felt that he had been dealing with someone "cold and standoffish" (Muchinsky, 1990). Neither of the diplomats thought the meeting went particularly well. The effects of functional propinquity are clearly evidenced during

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interactions between superiors and subordinates. To the extent that a superior maintains a functional distance from the subordinate by asserting his or her status and power, the interaction is marked by a high degree of formality and guarded communications. This is not conducive to an honest and open exchange of ideas.

Overt Stimulus Characteristics. We have identified numerous ways in which a wide variety of stimulus characteristics, such as gender, age, physical attractiveness, verbal and nonverbal communications affect interpersonal processes. These variables are always present in the day-to-day operation of business and impact the process in more ways than we can imagine, let alone recount. We will, therefore, confine our discussion to just a few examples. Leadership can be defined as 'la process whereby an individual influences the group toward the attainment of desired group or organizational goals" (Mitchell & Larson, 1987, p. 434). Although leaders should be chosen for their ability to lead groups in the right direction, very often leaders are chosen on the basis of physical attributes and not leadership ability. For example, regardless of their sex, individuals are more likely to emerge as group ieaders if they possess masculine, as opposed to feminine or androgynous, gender role characteristics (Goktepe & Schneier, 1989) and are physically attractive (Stogdill, 1974). Additionally, Americans like to "look up" to their leaders. Trml individuals are more likely to obtain positions of leadership and authority; for example, Americans have overwhelmingly preferred the taller of the two major predidential candidates in each election since 1900 (Feldman, 1975). To the extent that leader emergence is based on the aforementioned physical attributes, as opposed to leadership ability, group performance may be adversely affected. Environmental stimuli also can affect worker productivity. Beyond the obvious considerations, such as sufficient space, efficient office and equipment layouts, appropriate safety considerations, and properly designed and maintained equipment, there are more import considerations; such as, who gets the office with the window and who gets the office with the carpeting? Is your desk made of metal or mahogany? In fact, do you even have a desk or an office? In a recent field experiment, Greenberg (1988) demonstrated that office space constitutes an important job reward. In this study, life insurance underwriters were moved to new offices because their own offices were being refurbished. Some of these individuals were moved to offices of higher-status persons (spacious and well decorated), others were moved to offices of lower-status workers (more cramped and stark in appearance), and still others were moved to

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offices of equal-status persons. Finally, a control group of underwriters continued working in their own offices. Results revealed that subjects moved into higher-status offices demonstrated significantly increased levels of productivity, and subjects moved into lower status offices demonstrated significantly reduced levels of productivity. Performance levels for the control group and equalstatus group remained unchanged during the study. At the conclusion of this study, all subjects were returned to their original offices and their performance returned to pre-experimental levels. Assuming that you are fortunate enough to choose the right career, be selected by the right organization, land the right job, occupy the right office, work for the right boss and with the right kind of people, you might view your prospects in rather optimistic terms. Let us further suppose that these conditions remain constant over an extended period of time. At this point, you might be prepared to predict a storybook ending; however, you're not out of the woods just yet.

ORGANIZATIONAL EXIT: SEPARATION AND DIVORCE I cannot love as I have loved, And yet I know not why; It is the one great woe of life To feel all feeling die. [Philip James Bailey: Festus]

Habituation, Evaluation, and Acffect Robert Bums' observation that the best laid plans of mice and men often go astray is certainly operative within the context of any relationship, especially one of a long-term nature. Relationships can fail for many reasons and certainly poor planning is one of them.

But there are other causative factors that have less to do with wisdom and more to with the physiology of the organism and the dynamics of the situation. Although repeated exposure to a stimulus tends to result in a more positive, or less negative, evaluative response to that stimulus (Zajonc, 1968), one can get too much of a good thing -- familiarity can breed contempt.

Habituation. The capacity of a stimulus to elicit positive affect can diminish over time. This may result in mere indifference toward that

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stimulus (boredom) or, in the extreme, a highly negative evaluative response (hate). In long-term romantic relationships, this may manifest itself in the form of declining interest in one's sexual partner (Griffitt, 1981). The brisk rentals of sexually explicit videotapes, and numerous advertisements for marital aids, support the observation that people are looking for ways to heighten (or revitalize) their sexual experiences. The diminished capacity of a familiar stimulus to result in sexual arousal is not restricted to human beings. Habituation to sexual stimuli also has been demonstrated in laboratory studies involving animals (Clemens, 1967; Krames, Costanzo, & Carr, 1967). The impact of habituation on both interpersonal and organizational relationships can be substantial. For example, Hill, Rubin, and Peplau (1976) found that for both males and females, the most frequently cited cause of a failed relationship was "boredom.I' The effects of habituation have been noted in an organizational context, as well. Workers involved in highly specialized or routine jobs become bored and dissatisfied (Dunham, 1979). In an effort to combat this problem , organizations have instituted job enlargement programs to add variety and job enrichment programs to add responsibility and autonomy (Lawler, 1969). The research evidence on the effectiveness of these programs is mixed. Although some research suggests that these programs can result in increased levels of job satisfaction and reduced levels of turnover (Ford, 1969; Paul, Robertson, & Herzberg, 1969), other research suggests that these gains may be short-lived (Maher & Overbagh, 1971). It has been suggested that these short-term gains may be due, in part, to a Hawthorne effect (Muchinsky, 1990, p. 454). Possibly, workers are only responding, for a period of time, to the novelty of the situation and the attention they receive from individuals running the program. In short, this is performance in response to a novel stimulus -- sound familiar? Landy (1978), in noting that an individual's level of satisfaction will change over time (even if all aspects of the job remain constant) provides a physiological explanation for the habituation effect. He proposes that an "opponent process" works against both highly negative or positive emotions in such a way as to maintain a state of equilibrium in the central nervous system. According to this theory, the nervous system produces a response in opposition to that of the emotional stimulus. Each time this opponent process is activated it becomes stronger, which explains the reduction in affect over time. Fortunately, in attempting to explain habituation, we are not constrained to a static environment. There are a sufficient number of environmental explanations for the variability in worker satisfaction.

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Evaluation. As indicated in the previous section pertaining to organizational entry, the continual support and reinforcement that is present upon entry into an organization dissipates over time and the ratio of positive to negative interactions may become decidedly more negative in nature. In a study conducted by Birchler, Weiss, and Vincent (1975), comparing distressed and nondistressed married couples, observations were made when the couples interacted with each other and also when they interacted with strangers. In the case of distressed couples, there was a tendency to agree and express approval when interacting with strangers. However, when interacting with each other, distressed couples were more likely to engage in negative forms of communication -- marked by complaints and criticism (Levinger & Senn, 1967). In the workplace, complaints, criticism, and coercive communications may occur in the course of daily interpersonal interaction or they may manifest themselves within more formal contexts. Structurally, large organizations are departmentalized and this, in turn, leads to natural conflict. For example, in the clothing industry, the sales and marketing departments may dream of unlimited inventories containing a diverse assortment of stock -- clothing to suit every size and taste, available on demand. For the people in production, this constitutes their worst nightmare. Production dreams of a single product manufactured to a single specification and the finance department's fantasy involves the prospect of zero overhead. There are, to be sure, diverse interests to be satisfied in any organization. If these interests are not integrated properly, conflict will be the rule and not the exception. The formal structure of business also involves hierarchies, promotions, salary increases, merit pay, bonuses, and performance appraisal systems. These items are most often associated with employee dissatisfaction or, at best, indifference (Herzberg, Mausner, & Snyderman, 1959). Regardless of how it occurs, over a period of time, the level of rewards an employee derives from employmen t may decline while costs attributed to continued employment may increase. This can result in serious consequences to all concerned. Fanell and Rusbult (1981) noted that employees who exited an organization, as opposed to those who remained, experienced a greater decline in the level of rewards and an increase in the level of costs.

P

Inter ersonal Attraction and Emp oyee-Organizational Linkages Fortunately for the institutions of marriage and business, many relationships not only endure but actually flourish. However, in

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those instances where negative affect predominates, employee-organizational linkages may become severely strained and, eventually, broken.

Satisfaction and Withdrawal. As previously discussed, attraction is a linear function of the amount of positive and negative affect elicited. Given a decrease in positive affect, due to habituation, or an increase in negative affect, in response to various environmental stimuli, the attraction response is affected accordingly. Initial evaluations of love or strong liking may degenerate to mere indifference, mild dislike, strong dislike, or hate. As the attraction response deteriorates, so does the linkage between the organization and the employee. Up to this point, we have only considered worker absenteeism and voluntary turnover in terms of their costs to an organization. There are instances where this is not necessarily the case. Dissatisfied workers who remain on the job can engage in activities that are very costly to an organization. For example, employees who are dissatisfied about compensation have been known to engage in sabotage, damaging important production equipment (Stagner & Rosen, 1965). Or, at the very least, dissatisfied workers may engage in a pattern of neglect, passively allowing the situation to deteriorate (Farrell, 1983). Under these circumstances, turnover can be desirable for both employee and employer. What causes a dissatisfied employee to engage in sabotage or neglect, as opposed to organizational exit? Or, in more general terms, what causes a dissatisfied person to leave any relationship? Within the context of romantic relationships, Rusbult, Zembrodt, and Gunn (1982) investigated the relationship among three variables and the decision to engage in four behaviors: exit (leaving the relationship), voice (active, constructive, behavior), loyulty (passive support for the relationship), and neglect (passive, destructive behavior). The three predictor variables involved: (1) prior satisfaction with the relationship; (2) the amount of resources an individual has invested in the relationship, and; (3) the presence and quality of alternatives to the relationship. Prior levels of high satisfaction with the relationship, and high levels of investment, were associated with voice and loyalty and the decreased likelihood of neglect and exit. Conversely, lower levels of satisfaction and investment, as well as the presence of attractive alternatives, was associated with an increased likelihood of exit. These results have been supported within the context of romantic relationships (Rusbult, Johnson, & Morrow, 1986) and organizational relationships (Farrell & Rusbult, 1981; Rusbult & Farrell, 1983; Rusbult, Farrell, Rogers, & Mainous, 1988). Within the attraction paradigm, this can be conceptualized as the

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number and intensity of reciprocal rewards exchanged within a relationship as compared to the number and intensity of reciprocal punishments (Byrne & Blaylock, 1963). This ratio is then compared to a ratio of the rewards and punishments associated with leaving the organization.

CONCLUDING COMMENTS Human beings with their attitudes, judgments, beliefs, expectations, values, and fantasies are the organization. Organizations have no life apart from people and process. It is human decision-making that is centralized or decentralized, not some inanimate organizational structure. It is people w h o are departmentalized, not buildings, plants, and divisions. It is the work that people accomplish that must be integrated, not merely systems and functions. And so, for good or ill, attitude similarity, physical attractiveness, gender, race, firm handshakes, foreign accents, tallness, shortness, offices with windows, and large mahogany desks influence our attitudes, color our judgment, and affect our behavior. They can be blatantly obvious or extremely subtle in operation. Regardless of their intensity, they pervade every aspect of our daily lives. We began this chapter by suggesting that people are generally disinclined to admit the influence of affect in the dollars-and-cents world of business while quite willing to acknowledge its influence in other domains. We hope that we have accomplished our two objectives: (1) demonstrated that the evolution of romantic relationships parallels that of organizational relationships and (2) provided a considerable amount of empirical evidence to support our contention that affect plays an important role in both business and pleasure. We trust that after you have had an opportunity to digest all of the information provided, and carefully consider all of the evidence presented, you will be in a position to make an informed judgment about the merits of our case. More likely, by the time you reached the second page of this chapter, you either liked it or you didn't. Of course, we don't know that for sure, it's just a feeling.

NOTES 1. Rosenbaum has suggested that rather than similarity leading to attraction it is actually dissimilarity which leads to repulsion. For a discussion of this "repulsion hypothesis," and a presentation of disconfirming data, the reader is directed to Byme, Clore, & Smeaton (1986), Rosenbaum (1986a; 1986b), and Smeaton, Byme, & Mumen (1989).

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2. Contrary to this traditional approach of "selling" the organization to potential job candidates, many organizations now employ realistic recruiting procedures which attempt to convey information which more accurately reflects the conditions employees are likely to encouter. Refer to Wanous (1980) for a thorough treatment of this topic.

3. George (1989) points out that much of the theorizing and research related to job satisfaction has focused on cognition rather than affect. To the extent that these variables may operate independently of each other (Zajonc, 1980, 1984), the observed relationship between satisfaction and performance will be weakened.

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Berkowitz, L. (1954). Groups standards, cohesiveness, and productivity. Human Relations, 7, 509-519. Berkowitz, L. (1987). Mood, self-awareness, and willingness to help. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, 721729. Birchler, G. R.., Weiss, R. L., & Vincent, J. P. (1975). Multimethod analysis of social reinforcement exchange between maritally distressed and nondistressed spouse and stranger dyads. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 31, 349-360. Bossard, J. H. S. (1932). Residential propinquity as a factor in marriage selection. American Journal of Sociology, 38, 2 19224. Byrne, D. (1961). Interpersonal attraction and attitude similarity. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 62, 7 13-715. Byrne, D. (1971). The attraction paradigm. New York: Academic Press. Byrne, D., & Blaylock, B. (1963). Similarity and assumed similarity of attitudes between husbands and wives. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 67, 636-640. Byrne, D.? & Buehler, J. A. (1955). A note on the influence of propinquity upon acquaintanceships. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 51, 147-148. Byrne, D., & Clore, G. L. (1970). A reinforcement model of evaluative responses. Personality: An International Journal, 1 , 103-128. Byrne, D., & Clore, G. L., & Smeaton, G. (1986). The attraction hypothesis: Do similar attitudes affect anything? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 1167-1170. Byrne, D., London, O., & Reeves, K. (1968). The effects of physical attractiveness, sex, and attitude similarity on interpersonal attraction. Journal of Personality, 36, 259-271. Byrne, D., & Nelson, D. (1965). Attraction as a linear function of proportion of positive reinforcements. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1 , 659-663. Byrne, D., Ervin, C. R., & Lamberth, J. (1970). Continuity between the experimental study of attraction and real life computer dating .-Journal of Pehonality and Social Psychology, 16, 157-165. Byrne, D., & Kelley, K. (1981). An introduction to personality (3rd ed.). New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Byrne, G. C., & Pueschel, J. K. (1974). But who should I vote for for county coroner? Journal of Politics, 36, 778-784.

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