Agency Beliefs Over Time and Across Cultures: Free Will Beliefs Predict Higher Job Satisfaction

Gilad Feldman*, Jiing-Lih Farh, Kin Fai Ellick Wong

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

In three studies, we examined the relationship between free will beliefs and job satisfaction over time and across cultures. Study 1 examined 252 Taiwanese real-estate agents over a 3-months period. Study 2 examined job satisfaction for 137 American workers on an online labor market over a 6-months period. Study 3 extended to a large sample of 14,062 employees from 16 countries and examined country-level moderators. We found a consistent positive relationship between the belief in free will and job satisfaction. The relationship was above and beyond other agency constructs (Study 2), mediated by perceived autonomy (Studies 2-3), and stronger in countries with a higher national endorsement of the belief in free will (Study 3). We conclude that free-will beliefs predict outcomes over time and across cultures beyond other agency constructs. We call for more cross-cultural and longitudinal studies examining free-will beliefs as predictors of real-life outcomes.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)304-317
Number of pages14
JournalPersonality and Social Psychology Bulletin
Volume44
Issue number3
Early online date1 Nov 2017
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Mar 2018

Keywords

  • Journal Article
  • CORE SELF-EVALUATIONS
  • METAANALYSIS
  • SUCCESS
  • agency
  • PERFORMANCE
  • BEHAVIOR
  • INTRINSIC MOTIVATION
  • CHOICE
  • belief in free will
  • DISBELIEF
  • PUNISHMENT
  • job satisfaction
  • BRAIN
  • United States
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Personal Autonomy
  • Job Satisfaction
  • Cross-Cultural Comparison
  • Taiwan
  • Adult
  • Female
  • Surveys and Questionnaires

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