The experimental effects of “Autonomy” on performance and self-reports of satisfaction

Abstract

Though the job characteristics model proposed by Hackman and his associates has provided the impetus for a large number of correlational studies, few of any studies have involved the systematic manipulation of one or more of the five core dimensions (job properties) while noting the performance outcomes. In this study, the autonomy dimension was experimentally varied (four levels) in a laboratory setting. Four groups of undergraduate students performed a job comprised of three tasks under varying degrees of autonomy while measures of performance, “perceptions” of task properties, and other self-reports were obtained. It was found, contrary to our hypothesis, that variations in autonomy produced a negative effect on quantity of performance and no effect on quality of performance, though subjects in the more autonomous conditions reported a higher level of autonomy. Reservations regarding the strategy of drawing causal inferences from correlational analyses are discussed.