SOCIAL BEHAVIOR AND PERSONALITY, 2014, 42(2), 245-252

Society for Personality Research

http://dx.doi.org/10.2224/sbp.2014.42.2.245

COMPASSION AS THE AFFECTIVE DIMENSION OF PUBLIC

SERVICE MOTIVATION IN A CHINESE CONTEXT
BANGCHENG LIU, XIAOYI ZHANG, AND XIAOJUN LV
Shanghai Jiao Tong University
We investigated the generalizability of compassion as the affective dimension of public
service motivation (PSM) as observed in Western society to the context of social workers in
China. We also examined the effects of compassion on job satisfaction. We found that the
affective dimension of PSM was present in the Chinese social workers. However, we split
the factorial structure of Perrys (1996) original 8-item scale into 2 subgroups of negatively
and positively phrased items (4 items in each subgroup). Further analysis indicated that the
shortened scale of 4 negative items had the best fit. We also found that compassion had a
marginally positive relationship with job satisfaction of the social workers.
Keywords: compassion, job satisfaction, public service motivation, Chinese social workers.

Although the findings in previous research support the existence of public

service motivation (PSM), the measurement of PSM still generates controversy
owing to discrepancies in the history, culture, and institution of the public service
(Vandenabeele, 2008). In particular, the measurement of the dimensions of
attraction to public policy making and compassion has been the focus of dispute
(Coursey & Pandey, 2007). In a study conducted in China, the researchers

Bangcheng Liu, Department of Public Administration, School of International and Public Affairs,
Shanghai Jiao Tong University; Xiaoyi Zhang, Department of Public Economics and Social Policy,
School of International and Public Affairs, Shanghai Jiao Tong University; Xiaojun Lv, Department
of Public Administration, School of International and Public Affairs, Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
This research was supported by the National Natural Sciences Foundation of China (Project
71002035), SMC-Chenxing Young Scholar Program (Shanghai Jiao Tong University), and Shanghai
Pujiang Program awarded to Bangcheng Liu. An earlier version was presented at the 7th International
Conference on Public Administration, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to: Bangcheng Liu, School of
International and Public Affairs, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, Peoples
Republic of China. Email: liubangcheng@sjtu.edu.cn

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COMPASSION AS PUBLIC SERVICE MOTIVATION

confirmed the validity of the attraction to public policy making dimension of

PSM but did not provide evidence of the factorial structure of the compassion
dimension (Liu, Tang, & Zhu, 2008). They stated, however, that this does not
mean that the Chinese public service sector is devoid of compassion (Liu et al.,
2008).
In this study, we conducted further investigation into the existence of a
compassion dimension of PSM by surveying 552 social workers from a city
located in eastern China.
Public Service Motivation and its Affective Dimension of Compassion

PSM is defined as an individuals predisposition to respond to motives

grounded primarily or uniquely in public institutions and organizations (Perry
& Wise, 1990, p. 368). Perry (1996) identified and measured four dimensions of
PSM: attraction to public policy making, compassion, commitment to the public
interest, and self-sacrifice. Replicating Perrys (1996) Western study in a Chinese
context, Liu and colleagues (2008) found that three of the dimensions of the PSM
construct were confirmed but the compassion dimension was unconfirmed. In
the light of their findings, and those in studies conducted in a Western context,
it seems that more research is needed on the measurement of PSM, especially in
regard to the dimensions of attraction to public policy making and compassion
(Coursey & Pandey, 2007).
Compassion is the unselfish concern for the welfare of others (Radey &
Figley, 2007, p. 207). Perry (1996) uses the term compassion for Frederickson
and Harts (1985) concept, patriotism of benevolence, which they define as
combining love of regime values and love of others, and suggest that it should
be the central motive for civil servants. Compassion is an essential element
in effective direct social work practice (Radey & Figley, 2007). To build and
develop a harmonious society, China needs a sufficient number of competent
social workers.
Researchers have shown that, when employees attitudes toward their job (e.g.,
job satisfaction) are being assessed, the nature of the work and the employees
expectations, needs, motivations, and work conditions are very important factors
(Bussing, Bissels, Fuchs, & Perrar, 1999; Saari & Judge, 2004). Therefore, we
proposed the following hypothesis:
Hypothesis 1: Individual job satisfaction of social workers will be positively
associated with their level of compassion.
Research Context in China

The theory and practice of Chinese social work originated long ago, in beliefs
such as the great equity of Confucianism (Wang, 1995, 2007). Social workers are
deeply connected to helping others and compassion is a core value in their work

COMPASSION AS PUBLIC SERVICE MOTIVATION

247

(Radey & Figley, 2007). Social work in China today is consistent with this notion
and the facilitation of social harmony.
The development of Chinese social work depends on attracting, retaining, and
motivating the best people for the job. The theory of PSM provides a possible
key to achieving this. Specifically, in this study, our aims were to validate the
affective dimension of PSM in a Chinese context and to explore its effect on the
job satisfaction of Chinese social workers.
Method
Participants

Through a local agency, we recruited 602 social workers from eastern China.
We received 552 usable complete responses to our survey (47.1% men). The
average age level of respondents was 3.19 (level 1 = under 30 years of age, 2
= between 30 and 39 years, 3 = between 40 and 50 years, 4 = over 50 years,
SD = 0.89). The average tenure was 3.52 years (SD = 1.50). Most social workers
were employed as employment assistants, housing assistants, or as aged-care
assistants.
Measure

We used Perrys (1996) 8-item scale of compassion, the affective dimension of

PSM. Job satisfaction was measured with three items from the scale used by Liu
et al. (2008). We used the back-translation technique to create a Chinese version,
and all items were measured on a 6-point scale with responses ranging from
1 = strongly disagree to 6 = strongly agree.
Statistical Analyses

To investigate the generalizability of the affective dimension of PSM in a

Chinese context, we used several analyses. We randomly divided the sample
into two subgroups (Group A and Group B, with each subgroup consisting of
276 people) to perform exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory
factor analysis (CFA), respectively. The objective was to limit the possibility of
sample bias between EFA and CFA. We conducted EFA with Group A to identify
the structure of compassion. If compassion is a multiple construct, the possible
dimensions of compassion should be correlated according to Perrys (1996)
definition of compassion. Thus, we conducted a principal components analysis
with direct oblimin rotation to perform EFA. We conducted CFA with Group B to
validate the structure of compassion. We conducted a further regression analysis
to examine the effects of the affective dimension of PSM on the job satisfaction
of all the 552 social workers.

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COMPASSION AS PUBLIC SERVICE MOTIVATION

Results
The results of the initial EFA analysis with Group A are shown in Table 1. We
found that the original eight items in Perrys (1996) scale should be split into two
factors. We found it interesting that the four negatively phrased items combined
into a single factor (factor 1), and the four positively phrased items also combined
into a single factor (factor 2). Cronbachs alpha reliability coefficients of both
factors were at acceptable values of .80 and .68, respectively. Also, the two
factors individually account for 38% and 21%, respectively, of the total variance.
Table 1. Results of EFA of Affective Dimension of PSM (Compassion)
Item
I am rarely moved by the plight of the underprivileged.*
I seldom think about the welfare of people whom I dont know personally.*
There are few public programs I wholeheartedly support.*
I have little compassion for people in need who are unwilling to take the
first step to help themselves.*
I am often reminded by daily events about how dependent we are on one another.
To me, patriotism includes seeing to the welfare of others.
It is difficult for me to contain my feelings when I see people in distress.
Most social programs are too vital to do without.
Alpha coefficient
Variance explained
Eigenvalue

Factor 1 Factor 2
.85
.82
.81

-.04
-.03
-.30

.65
-.22
-.21
-.39
.09
.80
.38
3.06

-.36
.81
.78
.69
.53
.68
.21
1.66

Note: Figures in bold indicate primary factor loading. Items with * indicate they were reverse-scored
from Perrys original scale. EFA is based on principal component analysis with direct oblimin
rotation.

The results indicate that among the Chinese social workers, the compassion
dimension of PSM is a more complex factor than it was in Perrys (1996)
construct. That is, compassion is a construct made up of two subdimensions
instead of being assessed on a unidimensional scale. Our results suggest that
the dimensionality of the compassion of PSM among Chinese social workers
should be reassessed. To validate the dimensionality of Perrys (1996) scale of
compassion, we used structural equation modeling for CFA. Given the caution
recommended by Coursey and Pandey (2007), we analyzed the data for Group
B using LISREL version 8.7 with diagonally weighted least square (DWLS)
estimation. In the first analysis we tested the full version with four negative and
four positive items of the original construct (Model A). As negative questions
may cause problems of validity and reliability (Schmitt & Stults, 1985), we also
tested separately the four positive items from the scale (Model B) and the four
negative items from the scale (Model C). If the components are discrete, as in the

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COMPASSION AS PUBLIC SERVICE MOTIVATION

above case, the two-factor model would be the best fit (Model D).The fit statistics
are summarized into Table 2, in which the results demonstrate that Model C with
four negative items has the best fit.
Table 2. Results of Confirmatory Factor Analysis: Indices of Fit for Each Model
Model
A One factor (full)
B One factor (positive)
C One factor (negative)
D Two factors

df

2/df

CFI

IFI

207.85
15.03
3.58
128.03

20
2
2
19

.00
.00
.17
.00

10.39
7.52
1.79
6.74

.66
.92
.99
.80

.66
.92
.99
.80

Note. CFA was conducted by DWLS estimate.

The following analysis for testing Hypothesis 1 was conducted with the 552
respondents, based on Model C. Before testing Hypothesis 1, the results of CFA
on job satisfaction yielded an acceptable result for comparative fit index (CFI)
and incremental fit index (IFI), 2/df = 3.20; CFI = .97; IFI = .97. In Table 3, the
means, standard deviations, and correlations of the variables are shown.
Table 3. Descriptive Statistics and Correlations Between Measures
Variable
Gender
Age
Tenure
Compassion
Job satisfaction

SD

.45
3.17
3.50
3.12
2.16

.50
.89
1.50
1.01
.92

1
1.00
.18**
-.02
.18**
.09*

1.00
.43**
-.02
.09*

1.00
-.10*
.04

1.00
.09*

1.00

Note. Gender (1 = male, 0 = female); Age (1 = under 30 years, 2 = 30-39 years, 3 = 40-50 years, 4 =
over 50); N = 552; * p < .05; ** p < .01.

As can be seen in Table 3, the correlation between job satisfaction and

compassion is significantly positive (p < .05). Therefore, Hypothesis 1 is
supported. Further, when job satisfaction is regressed on compassion, there is a
marginal positive association of compassion with job satisfaction ( = .08, p <
.10).
Discussion
We surveyed 552 Chinese social workers to explore the dimensionality of
compassion and to test its effects on job satisfaction. The results not only
validated the affective dimension of PSM, but also showed that compassion
could exist in the context of Chinese culture and tradition, and should be the
central motive for social workers (Radey & Figley, 2007). The values of social

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COMPASSION AS PUBLIC SERVICE MOTIVATION

work in China are exemplified by workers contribution to resolving problems,

serving the people, and assistance with needs (Wang, 1995), and support the
existence of compassion in Chinese social workers.
However, we changed the factorial structure of the original instrument in the
Chinese context. CFA demonstrated that the solution with four negative items was
the best fit, although, as has been noted by Schmitt and Stults (1985), negative
statements may cause problems of validity and reliability. In fact, in Perrys
(1996) scale of PSM, all three items in the attraction to public policy making
dimension are negatively phrased, and Liu and colleagues (2008) reported good
cross-cultural validation for these items. Thus, we concluded that the shortened
and negative 4-item solution to the affective dimension of PSM had the best fit
for Chinese social workers.
In addition, we found that compassion was related to job satisfaction. When
evaluating compassion in the negative 4-item model (Model C), we found a
marginally positive association between compassion and job satisfaction. We
reasoned that, if the 8-item compassion dimension of PSM in Perrys (1996)
scale were used, compassion would be more significantly related to job
satisfaction because of the summated scale characteristics. Thus, Hypothesis 1
was supported. Our results also supported those obtained in previous studies on
PSM (e.g., Taylor, 2007).
According to the theory of person-organization fit (Kristof, 1996), as the
congruence between individuals and organizations increases, employees become
more satisfied with their job within the organization. Social workers who are
satisfied with their job will perceive that it allows for the fulfillment of values
that are important to them, for example, helping, sympathy, and compassion
(Zhang, 1998). Thus, respondents with greater compassion would be more
satisfied with their jobs because their values are congruent with the spirit of
social work in China.
The operationalization of subgroups and the cross-sectional design were
limitations in our study. In future, researchers need to replicate our study using
more rigorous methods, such as a longitudinal design.
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