Publication Date

2021

Document Type

Dissertation

Committee Members

Debra Steele-Johnson, Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Nathan Bowling, Ph.D. (Committee Member); David LaHuis, Ph.D. (Committee Member); Valerie Shalin, Ph.D. (Committee Member)

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Abstract

Adopting organizational science recommendations can lead to beneficial outcomes, but there is a gap between what scientists recommend and what managers do. This research introduced the construct of confidence in organizational science procedures (COSP), which refers to an individual’s belief that organizational science findings a) are accurate, b) are important, and c) should be applied in organizations. In addition to introducing COSP, the purposes of this research were to develop a measure of COSP and test hypotheses related to the nomological network of this construct. First, 29 participants completed an item sorting task, providing content validity information for the COSP measure. Next, 686 participants completed measures of COSP, cynicism about organizational change, rationality, and experientiality. Factor analyses revealed that the COSP measure is likely unidimensional and statistically distinct from measures of the aforementioned constructs. Finally, 784 participants completed measures of COSP and various cognitive constructs, such as motivated reasoning, and organizational constructs, such as organizational change resistance. Two weeks later, 173 of these 784 participants completed the same measures again. Results yielded reliability and validity evidence for a six-item COSP measure and suggested relationships between COSP and other variables of interest. Key takeaways included the utility of the COSP measure when predicting workplace-specific outcomes, the generalizability of motivated reasoning beyond a climate science context, and the potential trainability of COSP.

Page Count

175

Department or Program

Department of Psychology

Year Degree Awarded

2021

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