Date of Award

Summer 8-2023

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

School

Psychology

Committee Chair

Dr. Emily Bullock-Yowell

Committee Chair School

Psychology

Committee Member 2

Dr. Melanie Leuty

Committee Member 2 School

Psychology

Committee Member 3

Dr. Richard Mohn

Committee Member 4

Dr. Craig Warlick

Committee Member 4 School

Psychology

Abstract

There is a need for more accurate information regarding the work-related experiences of individuals from lower social class backgrounds. The present study seeks to evaluate the degree to which important career-related variables (e.g., interest congruence, decent work) account for differences in subjective well-being (SWB) and job performance (e.g., occupational citizenship behavior [OCB], task performance) for a sample of adults from lower social class backgrounds. A novel approach to evaluating the objective indicators of social class for individual study participants was implemented to collect a sample of 365 participants, 105 of which were included in analysis. A path analysis was conducted to evaluate study hypotheses. Results indicated that decent work accounted for a significant amount of the variance in SWB, but not for task performance or OCB. Interest congruence did not account for a significant amount of the variance in any outcome variables. Practical implications of the results, study limitations, and next steps for research are discussed.

ORCID ID

0000-0001-8686-4085

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