PSYCHOLOGY MASTER'S THESIS ABSTRACT

Elijah Kim
Industrial/Organizational
May 1998

The Effects of Group Member Performance Variance and Equity Sensitivity on Reward Allocation

    The purpose of this study was to investigate how rewards would be allocated when performance variance in a work group existed and how the allocator’s individual ideology on perceptions of fairness (equity sensitivity) would moderate the relationship between performance variance and reward allocation.  Subjects (N = 121 employees) were asked to imagine themselves as a supervisor deciding how much to reward each member of a three-member work group.  The scenario described either little or large group member performance variance.  Sensitivity to equity (Benevolent, Equity Sensitives, and Entitled) was measured through the Equity Sensitivity Instrument.  The results found that those subjects who received the little performance variance condition distributed rewards more equally to group members than those who received the large performance variance condition.  Contrary to the predictions, though, Equity Sensitivity did not influence reward allocation.  Limitations and future research possibilities are discussed.

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