Explaining Psychological Climate: Is Perceptual Agreement Necessary?

Abstract

The question examined was whether individual and position variables of interest qualify as determinants of individuals' perceptions of their work environment (psychological climate). A criterion of within-unit perceptual agreement was suggested and used, in addition to the more conventional association criterion of across-units aggregate difference. The purpose was to establish within-unit perceptual agreement as a condition for a variable to qualify as a determinant of psychological climate. The findings, based on American employees, implied that research using only across-units difference criteria may have overestimated the extent of the relationship between psychological climate and various individual or position variables. Within-unit perceptual agreement may be a necessary criterion for establishing determinants of perceptual variables.