Comparing Two Approaches to Job Perception

Abstract

Two different approaches to the study of job perception were compared. One was based on an instrument of semantic differential type adapted to the study of jobs (job differential), the other was based on similarity ratings among job pairs. Data for the two approaches from the same 42 subjects were used for multidimensional analyses of nine job titles which were chosen so as to cover different status levels and job areas. The approaches seemed to yield congruent results. The number of dimensions was the same, and the psychological content of these dimensions seemed to correspond. The three dimensions were interpretable as “Preference,” “Status,” and “Nursing and Contact.”