On the Intra- and Interindividual Differences in the Meaning of Smileys
Does This Face Show Job Satisfaction?
Abstract
There is increasing evidence that the Faces Scale is more sensitive to the emotional component of job satisfaction than other scales. This study investigated underlying processes and tested whether state affect and neuroticism covary with respondents’ evaluations of each face’s meaning. Seventy-five participants repeatedly judged single schematic faces as looking satisfied or unsatisfied. Participants made 11,025 two-alternative, forced-choice judgments about a variety of eleven faces. Results showed that faces appeared more satisfied to those who reported good mood and lower neuroticism (assimilation effect). In addition, there was a significant range effect of scale composition: In a range including five smiling faces, a face showing a mild smile was more often judged as looking unsatisfied than in a range including five frowning faces. Moreover, a significant interaction between range and neuroticism indicated stronger range effects in those participants who reported higher neuroticism than others. The implications for the use of the Faces Scale in work and organizational psychology are discussed.
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