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Are “Overpaid” Workers Really Unhappy? A Test of the Theory of Cognitive Dissonance
Author(s) -
Sloane Peter J.,
Williams Hector
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
labour
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.403
H-Index - 34
eISSN - 1467-9914
pISSN - 1121-7081
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-9914.1996.tb00077.x
Subject(s) - cognitive dissonance , proposition , test (biology) , perception , psychology , job satisfaction , social psychology , cognition , economics , demographic economics , labour economics , epistemology , paleontology , philosophy , neuroscience , biology
Using data on individual perceptions of deserved pay for workers in six British local labour markets, this paper tests the implicit proposition of cognitive dissonance theory that workers who express themselves as being overpaid should exhibit lower job satisfaction than equitably paid workers. The regression results do not provide any evidence in support of the proposition.