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HERZBERG'S DUAL FACTOR

THEORY OF JOB SATISFACTION
AND MOTIVATION: A REVIEW OF
THE EVIDENCE AND A CRITICISM
Raphael Blaboe

Personnel Psychology

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HERZBERG’S DUAL-FACTOR THEORY OF JOB

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SATISFACTION AND MOTIVATION: A REVIEW OF

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THE EVIDENCE AND A CRITICISM
ROBERT J. HOUSE and LAWRENCE A. WIGDOR

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Bernard M . Baruch School of Business and Public Administration

In 1959, Hereberg, Mausner and Snyderman reported re-

search findings that suggested that man has two sets of needs:
his need as an animal to avoid pain, and his need as a human to
grow psychologically. These findings led them to advance a
“dual factor” theory of motivation. Since that time, the theory
has caught the attention of both industrial managers and psy-
chologists. Management training and work-motivation pro-
grams have been installed on the basis of the dual-factor
theory. Psychologists have both advanced criticisms and con-
ducted substantial research relevant to the dual-factor theory.
The purpose of this paper is to review the theory, the criti-
cisms, and the empiric investigations reported to date, in an
effort to assess the validity of the theory.
Whereas previous theories of motivation were based on
causal inferences of the theorists and deduction from their
own insights and experience, the dual-factor theory of motiva-
tion was inferred from a study of need satisfactions and the
reported motivational effects of these satisfactions on 200
engineers and accountants.
The subjects were first requested to recall a time when they
had felt exceptionally good about their jobs. The investigators
sought by further questioning to determine the reasons for
their feelings of satisfaction, and whether their feelings of
satisfaction had affected their performance, their personal re-
lationships, and their well-being. Finally, the sequence of

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events that served to return the workers’ attitudes to ‘(normal”
was elicited.
I n a second set of interviews, the same subjects were asked
to describe incidents in which their feelings about their jobs
were exceptionally negative-cases in which their negative
feelings were related to some event on the job.
369
370 zyxwvu
zyxwv PERSONNEL PSYCHOLOGY

Herzberg and his associates concluded from their interview

findings that job satisfaction consisted of two separate inde-
pendent dimensions: the first dimension was related to job
satisfaction, and the second dimension to job dissatisfaction.
These dimensions are not opposite ends of the same con-
tinuum, but instead represent two distinct continua. High sat-
isfaction is not in the main brought about by the absence of
factors that cause dissatisfaction. Those job characteristics
that are important for, and lead to, job satisfaction but not to
job dissatisfaction are classified as “satisfiers,” while those
that are important for, and lead to, job dissatisfaction but not
to job satisfaction are classified as “dissatisfiers.” A few job
characteristics functioned in both directions.
According to the theory, the satisfiers are related to the

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nature of the work itself and the rewards that flow directly
from the performance of that work. The most potent of these
are those characteristics that foster the individual’s needs for
self-actualization and self-realization in his work. These work-
related or intrinsic factors are achievement, recognition, work
itself, responsibility, and advancement.
A sense of performing interesting and important work (work
itself), job responsibility, and advancement are the most im-
portant factors for a lasting attitude change. Achievement,
more so than recognition, was frequently associated with the
long-range factors of responsibility and the nature of the work
itself. Recognition that produces good feelings about the job
does not necessarily have to come from superiors; it might
come from peers, customers, or subordinates. Where recogni-
tion is based on achievement, it provides more intense satis-
faction,
The dissatisfaction factors are associated with the individ-
ual’s relationship to the context or environment in which he
does his work. The most important of these is company policy
and administration that promotes ineffectiveness or ineffi-
ciency within the organization. The second most impotant is
incompetent technical supervision-supervision that lacks
knowledge of the job or ability to delegate responsibility and
teach. Working conditions, interpersonal relations with super-
visors, aalary, and lack of recognition and achievement can
also cause dissatisfaction.
 zy
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HOUSE AND WIGDOR 371

The second major hypothesis of the dual-factor theory of

motivation is that the satisfiers are effective in motivating the
individual to superior performance and effort, but the dissatis-
fiers are not. In his most recent book, Herzberg (1966, p. 75)
advances the following analogy to explain why the satisfier
factors or “motivators” affect motivation in the positive direc-
tion.
When a child learns to ride a bicycle, he is becoming more competent,
increasing the repertory of his behavior, expanding his skills-psychologi-
cally growing. I n the process of the child’s learning t o master the bicycle,
the parents can love him with all the zeal and compassion of the most de-
voted mother and father. They can safeguard the child from injury by
providing the safest and most hygienic area in which t o practice; they can
offer all kinds of incentives and rewards; and they can provide the most

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expert instructors. But the child will never, never learn to ride the bicycle-
unless he is given a bicycle! The hygiene factors are not a valid contributor
to psychological growth. The substance of the tasks is required t o achieve
growth goals. Similarly, you cannot love an engineer into creativity, al-
though by this approach you can avoid his dissatisfactions with the way
you treat him. Creativity will require a, potentially creative task t o do.

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Criticisms of the Two-Factor Theory

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The theory has been criticized on several grounds: first, that
it is methodologically bound; second, that it is based on faulty
research; and third, that it is inconsistent with past evidence
concerning satisfaction and motivation. Each of these criti-
cisms will be reviewed here.
Methodological Bounds of t h e Theory. Vroom (1964) has
argued that the storytelling critical-incident method, in which
the interviewee recounts extremely satisfying and dissatisfying
job events, accounts for the associations found by Herzberg
e t al. and that other methods are required to adequately test
the theory.
I t is . . . possible that obtained differences between stated sources of
satisfaction and dissatisfaction stem from defensive processes within the
individual respondent. Persons may be more likely t o attribute the causes
of satisfaction t o their own achievements and accomplishments on the
job. On the other hand, they may be more likely t o attribute their dissatis-
faction not t o personal inadequacies or deficiencies, but t o factors i n the
work environment; i.e., obstacles presented by company policies or super-
vision. (Vroom, 1964, p. 129)

“People tend to take the credit, when things go well, and

enhance their own feeling of self-worth, but protect their self-
 zyxwv
372

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PERSONNEL PSYCHOLOGY

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concept when things go poorly by blaming their failure on the
environment” (Vroom, 1966, pp. 7, 8). He further states, “If
you grant the assumption about the way in which biases oper-
ate, it follows that the storytelling methods may have very
little bearing on the actual consequence of managerial prac-
tice.” (Vroom, 1966, p. 10).
Faulty Research Foundation. Not only has it been argued
that the theory is method bound, but it is also argued that the
research from which it was inferred is fraught with procedural
deficiencies.
The most important criticism involves the utilization of

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Herzberg’s categorization procedure to measure job dimen-
sions, the satisfiers and “hygiene factors.” The coding is not
completely determined by the rating system and the data, but
requires, in addition, interpretation by the rater. For example,
the dimension of supervision encompasses, among others, the
categories : (a) “supervisor competent,” (b) “supervisor in-
competent,” and (c) “supervisor showed favoritism.” The
three classifications all require an interpretation of the super-
visor’s behavior. If the respondent offers the evaluation, no
interpretation by the rater is required. However, if the subject
merely describes the supervisor’s behavior, an evaluation by
the rater is necessary.
The necessity for interpretations of the data by a rater may
lead to contamination of the dimensions so derived. Employing
one of Herzberg’s own incidents t o illustrate the dimension of
recognition, Vroom (1964) pointed out the way in which the
dual-factor theory may contaminate the coding procedure. The
dimensions in the situation can quite possibly reflect more the
rater’s hypothesis concerning the compositions and interrela-
tions of dimensions than the respondent’s own perceptions. A
more objective approach, to minimize the possibility of learn-
ing more about the perceptions of raters than those of inter-
viewees, would be to have the respondents do the rating and
perform the necessary evaluations (Graen, 1966).
Second, and closely related to the first methodological prob-
lem, is the inadequate operational definitions utilized by Herz-
berg and associates to identify satisfiers and dissatisfiers. Nu-
merous critics (Malinovsky & Barry, 1965; Burke, 1966;
Ewen, 1964; Dunnette, 1965) have questioned the mutual
 HOUSE AND WIGDOR zy
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exclusiveness of these dimensions. Malinovsky and Barry
(1965) reported that it is possible that correlations between
iiiotivator items and between hygicnc items in the evaluations
373

of factors resulted from response-set effects-the tendency of

the workers to respond in the same manner to like-worded
statements.
The original study has also been criticized because it con-
tains no measure of overall satisfaction (Ewen, 1964). How-
ever, such a measure is important if a factor is to be called a
satisfier or dissatisfier. There is no basis for assuming that the
factors described as hygiene or motivators contribute to re-
spondent overall satisfaction or dissatisfaction.
Smith and Kendall (1963) have shown that a worker may
dislike some aspects of his job, yet still think it is acceptable.
Similarly, workers may dislike the job despite many desirable
characteristics. Smith and Kendall (1963) propose that job
satisfaction is a function of the perceived characteristic of a
job in relation to an individual’s frame of reference. A par-
ticular job condition can be a satisfier or dissatisfier.
Other procedural criticisms concern the lack of reliability

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data for the critical-incident method, and the fact that the
research was not based solely on current satisfaction with a
presently existing job situation. As a result, there is no control
over the sampling time for the data, and no basis for drawing
inferences about the relative contribution of various job fac-
tors to overall job satisfaction.
Inconsistency With Previous Evidence. If the dual-factor
theory were correct, we should expect highly satisfied people
to be highly motivated and to produce more. Based on a rather

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exhaustive review of the empiric research up to 1955, Brayfield
and Crockett (1955) concluded that one’s position in a net-
work of relationships need not irnply strong motivation for
outstanding performance within the system, and that produc-
tivity may only be peripherally related to many of the goals
toward which the industrial worker is striving. Herzberg et al.
(1959) cited 27 studies in which there was a quantitative rela-
tionship between job attitude and productivity. Of these, only
14 revealed a positive relationship. In the remaining 13, job
attitudes and productivity were not related. In 1964, Vroom
examined 20 studies dealing with strength between job satis-
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Summarv of Facior8 Which S h d Siani&ant DifferenemBetween Positiw and Nmativa Incidents of Job P u l i w a Rammentinu 10 Studim of 17 Populations

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relat.-peem X - -
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TOTALS 9 9 7 8-2 9-1 5 5 5 3 3 3 5 2 9 9 8 6 105+3=108

X Correct prediction
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5 correct predictio-mple too e m d for Statistical Siificance teat
a Reprinted by permimiin of World Publishing Company from p. 124 Work and tL Nature of Man, Frederick Hereberg. Copyright @ 1986 by Frederick Herzberg.
 HOUSE AND WIGDOR

faction and job performance. Seventeen studies revealed a

positive relationship with a medium correlation of .14, while
3 studies revealed a negative relationship. At the present time,
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there seems to be general agreement among most researchers

that the effect of satisfaction on worker motivation and pro-
ductivity depends on situational variables yet to be explicated
by future research. Furthermore, as Friedlander (1966a, p.
143) reported, no data are presented by Herzberg to indicate
a direct relationship between incidents involving intrinsic job
characteristics and incidents containing self-reports of in-
creased job performance. According to the Protestant ethic,
it is conceivable that self-reports of increased job performance
may be nothing more than moral justification for increased
job enjoyment.
Vroom (1966, p. 11) summarizes these arguments suc-
cinctly: “In discussing the administrative implication of his
findings, Herzberg loses sight of the distinction between recall
of satisfying events and actual observation of motivated be-
havior. He appears to be arguing that the satisfiers are also
motivators; i.e., that those job content conditions which pro-
duce a high level of satisfaction also motivate the person to
perform effectively on his job.”
If one reflects on the kinds of conditions necessary for pro-

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ductive work, it becomes quite clear that motivation is only
one of them. Clearly, when working conditions, the quality of
TABLE 2
Frequency of Reports f o r Satis$ers And Dissatisfiers Out of Total Number

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of 1,980 People i n Siz Studies Reported by Herzberg (1966)

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Factor Satisfier Dissatisfier Total Number
of People

Achievement 440 122 1,220

Recognition 309 110 1,220
Advancement 126 48 1,220
Responsibility 168 35 1,220
Work itself 175 75 1,220
Policy and administration 55 337 1,220
Supervision 22 182 1,220
Work conditions 20 108 1,220
Relations with superior 15 59 1,220
Relations with peers 9 57 1,220
 Researcher
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Subject
EXHIBIT 1
Summary of Investigations on Herzberg’s Dual-Factor Theory
Procedure Findings

Burke (1966) 187 college students (male Ranking of 10 Herzberg’s job Motivators and hygienes are neither undimen-
and female) enrolled in characteristics-five hygiene sional nor independent constructs.

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industrial psychology
course
Centers and 392 employed adults (male
Bugental and female) engaged in
(1966) a wide cross-section of
occupations - manager,
clerks and salesmen,
skilled blue collar and
unskilled blue collar
and five motivator
Ranking of most important at-
tributes of job based on ques-
tionnaire composed of three
intrinsic and three extrinsic
items
Job motivations were related t o occupational
level. Intrinsic job components (motivators)
were valued over extrinsic (hygienes) by
white-color workers, while the opposite was
true for blue-collar workers. Men and women
were found not to differ in general. However,
women placed a greater value on good co-
workers, and a lower value on self-expression

Dunnette,
Campbell,
and Hake1
(1967)
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133 store managers, 89
sales clerks, 44 secre-
taries, 129 engineers and
research scientists, 49
salesmen, and 92 army
reservists and night
school students
Factor analysis of Q sorts of two
sets of 36 statements for highly
satisfactory and unsatisfactory
job situations
than men. Occupation is psychologically
more central to men than women.
Four job dimensions-achievement , respon-
sibility, recognition, and supervisor human
relations-were most important satisfiers
and dissatisfiers. For some persons, satis-
faction resides in the job content dimen-
sions; for others, in the job context; and
for still others, in combinations of both. The
same holds for job dissatisfaction. Satis-
fying and dissatisfying job situations share
many features in common, most of which are
are common across a broad range of jobs.
 zyxwvutsrqp
zyxwvutsr
Eran (1966)

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456 lower middle managers
of which 89 “high” and
“low” scorers were used
Ewen (1964) 1,021 full-time life insur-
ance agents divided into
two groups-an experi-
mental sample and a
cross-validation sample
Ewen, Smith,
Hulin, and
Locke (1966)
Fantz (1962) Three hospit a1 rehabilit a-
Self-descriptions by the Ghiselli
techniques and job attitudes
using Porter’s MPQ technique
were used t o compare person-
ality and job attitude (Porter,
1962)
Factor analysis of 58-item
at,titude scale
Cited by Dunnette, Campbell,
and Hake1 (1965). Method not
described
Modified Maslow’s six hierarchi-
Individual’s evaluation of himself is primarily
determined by his relative standing i n ref-
erence group. A t least two factors are
strongly related t o attitudes: the environ-
ment as indicated by the level of manage-
ment, and personality a s measured by self
perception of psychological traits studied
b y Porter. T h e higher the level of manage-
ment, the greater the need for autonomy
and self-actualization.
Six interpretable factors emerged, of which
three were hygienes, two motivators, and
one general. Two of the three hygienes
acted like motivators i n both samples; one
acted like a motivator i n the cross-valida-
tion sample and both a motivator and hy-
giene in the experimental sample. Recogni-
tion, one of the two motivators, caused
both satisfaction and dissatisfaction.
The intrinsic factors are more strongly re-
lated t o overall satisfaction than the ex-
trinsic factors. Extrinsic factors may de-
pend on level of satisfaction with the
intrinsic variable.
“Good” events were described in terms of

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tion patients cal needs t o record major factor motivators, while “bad” events were de-
in six events described by the scribed in terms of hygienes.
patients. Two satisfying events
and dissatisfying events from
hospital experience, and one
each from previous job experi-
ence. Responses were analyzed
in terms of the actual event
and psychological effect.
 zyxwvu
zyxwvutsrqponmlk EXHIBIT I-Continued
Ruearcher

Friedlander
(1963)

Friedlander
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Engineers,

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Subject

supervisors,
and salaried employees
of a manufacturing firm
(200 of each).

80 evening students in a
Procedure

Factor analysis of a 17-item ques-

tionnaire measuring the im-
portance of various job char-
acteristics
satisfaction
to employee

Rating of 18 variables to job

Findi

Of the three factors which emerged, one waa

drawn from both motivators and hygienes.

Intrinsic job characteristics were found to

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(1964) course in industrial or satisfaction and dissatisfaction be important to both satisfaction and dis-
child psychology satisfaction, while extrinsic aspects were
relatively unimportant. Satisfiers and dis-
satisfiers were held not to be opposite ends
of a common set of dimensions.
Friedlander 1,468 civil service workers Factor analysis of a 14-item ques- The work context factors (hygienes) were of
(1966b) from three status levels tionnaire measuring the impor- primary importance to all status levels
(low, middle, and high tance of recreation, education, within the blue-collar group, plus the low-
GS rankings) and two church, work content and work status level white collar. Only the medium-
occupat.iona1 levels context factors and high-status white-color workers placed
(white and blue collar) primary importance on the work content fac-
tors (motivators). Suggests that subgroups
may have different value systems.
Friedlander 1,468 civil service workers Questionnaire responses as to im- Among white-collar workers, low performers
(1966s) from three status levels portance of various job char- were motivated primarily by the social en-
(low, medium, and high acteristics to satisfaction and vironment of the job, and to a lesser extent
GS rank) and two occu- dissatisfaction were related to by the opportunity for gaining recognition
pational levels (white age, tenure, and performance through advancement. Few significant rela-
and blue collar) tionships were between self -actualizing
motivations and performance. Among blue-
collar workers, no significant differences
were noted between motivator and hygiene
factor influence on performance. With ad-

Friedlander and 82 scientists and engineers Semistructured interviews in
Walton (1964) which respondents gave the
most important reasons keep-
ing them in the organization
and factors that might cause
them to leave the organization
Gibson (1961) 1,700 employees in four Questionnaire designed to elicit
plants and ten depart- opinion concerning greatest
vancing age and tenure, the importance of
the social environment (hygiene) increased
for both high and low blue-collar and
white-collar performers. For blue-collar
workers, both hygiene and motivator fac-
tors declined with age and tenure.
Reasons for remaining in an organization
were different from, and not merely opposite
to, the reasons for which one might leave the
organization. Reasons for remaining were
more closely related to satisfiers, while rea-
sons for leaving were more related t o dis-
satisfiers
For male employees, results confirm theory,
although only four factors reported. Women

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ments of a Midwestern
manufacturing firm
Gordon (1965) 683 life insurance agents
satisfiers on job and the dissat-
isfiers not already covered in the
questionnaire. Analyzed using
Herzberg’s 16 factors.
Rating of degree of satisfaction
and dissatisfaction with 54
items comprising four scalee
(motivators, hygienes, both,
did not respond to negative question.
Individuals highly satisfied with motivators
did not have greater overall job satisfaction
than individuals highly satisfied with hy-
gienes, and individuals highly dissatisfied

zyxwvutsrqp
hygiene minus both). Measures with hygienes were not less satisfied than
of overall job satisfaction and with motivators. A positive relationship be-

Green (1966)
zyxw 153 engineers working in
electronics firms
self-reported production figurer
were available.

Factor analysis of %-item ques.

tionnaire prepared from Herz-
berg definitions
tween satisfaction with motivators and pro-
duction was found, but no relationship be-
tween hygiene and production.
Dimensions proposed by Herzberg, when repre-
sented aa items and rated, do not result in
homogeneous groupings in the factor-analy-
tic or correlational sense.
 Researcher

Graglia and
Subject

College students
zyxwvut
zyxwvutszy EXHIBIT 1-Continued
Procedure Findings

Interposed tasks between before The effect of succeeding a t an effortful task was
W
OD
0

Hamlin (1964) and after measures of motiva- to increase the approach motivation of the
tion. Measured effects of inter- subjects to participate in future activities
vening variables of effort a t the while attempting to improve motivation by
task and relatedness of the task giving tasks a contextual relationship re-

zyxw
by determining willingness of versed the motivation to one of avoidance of

Hahn (1959) 800 officers in U.S. Air

Force
zy students to participate in a ser-
ies of future psychological ex-
periments
future activities.

Content analyses of questionnaire Major source of job satisfaction was self-ac-

on relating satisfying and non-
satisfying experience
tions. According t o Herzberg, the category of
self-action was similar to his achievement
Q
rn
rn
W

P
and responsibility categories. Major source B
of dissatisfaction was action of supervisors rn
Q

and job context, each of which did not con-

<
n

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I
tribute to job satisfaction. s

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Halpern (1966) 93 male college graduates
working
Hamlin and 69 subjects divided equally
Nemo (1962) in three groups-unim-
proved chronic schizo-
phrenics, former pa-
tients, and students
Ratings of satisfaction with four Subjects were equally well satisfied with both 0
motivators, four hygiene fac- the motivator and hygiene aspects of their 2
tors, and overall job satisfac- jobs. The motivators contributed signifi-
tion on respondent’s best-liked cantly more to overall satisfaction than did
job the hy gienes.
20-item forced-choice activity Positive mental health depends to a major de-
questionnaire analyzed on gree on developing an orientation toward
choice-motivator scale self-actualization, achievements, responsi-
bility, and goal-directed effort. Improved
schizos obtained higher motivator and lower
hygiene scores than the unimproved. College
students obtained higher motivator and
lower hygiene scores than the two schizo
groups.
 zyxwvutsrqpon
Haywood and
Dobbs (1964)
100 eleventh and twelfth
grade students i n public
high school
Attitude toward tension-inducing
situations was measured by thc
S-R Inventory of anxiousness
The choice-motivator scale oi
Hamlin and Nemo (1962) wa!
used for classifying the sub
There was a significant tendency for subjects
who were high in motivator orientation t o be
also high in approach motivation, while those
high in hygiene orientation are also high in
avoidance motivations.

jects’ motivational patterns

Hinrichs and 613 engineering technicians
Mischkind
(1967)
Malinovsky and 117 male maintenance men Factor analysis (first and second
Barry (1965) and watchmen a t a
Southern s t a t e university questionnaire consisting of 2C
Myers (1964) 282 male scientists, engi-
neers, manufacturing su-
pervisors and techni-
cians, and 52 female
hourly assemblers
Content analysis of open-end re-
sponses concerning factors in.
fluential i n creating positive 01
negative attitudes with re.
sponses t o overall satisfactior
scale.
order of 40-item work attitude
motivator and 20 hygiene
items)
Content analysis of Herzberg-
type interviews
:ontent dimensions (motivators) were s t a t e d
with equal frequency by subjects on every
position on the overall satisfaction contin-
uum. The proportion of content factors seen
as contributing t o negative job feelings be-
came larger and larger with decreasing level
of respondents’ overall level of satisfaction.
Main dimensions of job satisfaction are not dis-
tributed along separate dimensions, but in-
teract in a variety of ways. Of the 12 factors
extracted from the first order-factor analy-
sis, six were composed of both motivator and
hygiene items. Overall satisfaction was re-
lated t o both hygiene and motivator factors.
Job characteristics grouped naturally into
motivator-hygiene dichotomies. However,
one Herzberg motivator acted like a hygiene
and other Herzberg motivators acted like
both motivators and hygienes. Different job
levels had different job characteristic con-
figurations. The female configuration was
different from the four male configurations,
suggesting a sex factor. Herzberg motivators
were absent from the hourly technician and
hourly female assembler configurations, sug-
gesting a job-level factor.
 Researcher

Ott (1965)
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Subject

350 telephone operators

EXHIBIT l-Continued
Procedure

Factor analysis of 115-item job

attitude questionnaire
Findings

Five main factors were extracted. Two con-

tributed mostly to satisfaction, both con-
tained items primarily related to competent
supervision; two contributed mostly to dis-
satisfaction, one dealing with supervision,
the other with customers; one contributed to
both satisfaction and dissatisfaction. Thus,
sources of satisfaction were not independent.
For workers of one cultural background, jobs
characterized as varied, complex, and de-
manding were associated with high job satis-
faction; for workers of a different cultural
background, these same jobs tended to be as-

Rosen (1963)
zyxwvuts
94 research and develop-
ment personnel items, as related t o desire t o
sociated with low job satisfaction in contrast
t o what one would expect from the dual-fac-
tor theory
Rating of importance of 118 Many of the most important items which, if not
present, would cause the individual to seek

Saleh (1964)

zyxwvutsr
8.5 managerial level male
employees, ages ranged
from 60 to 65
leave present position

16-item job attitude scale

other employment were similar to Herzberg’s
motivators.
Semistructured interview and a Pre-retirees looking backward on their careers
indicated motivators as sources of satisfac-
tion, and hygienes as sources of dissatisfac-
tion; pre-retirees looking at time left prior to
retirement indicated hygienes as sources of
satisfaction.
 zyxwvutsrqpo
zyxwvuts
Schwarz (1959) 373 third -level supervisors Analyses of responses to question-
naire in part, asking questions
similar to Herzberg in his criti-
cal-incident studies
Achievement and recognition for achievement
were the factors occurring most in response
to satisfying experience, while company
policy and administration major cause of
frustrating experience.
Singh and 340 nonsupervisory avia- Questionnaire to determine demo- Age and formal education are significant deter-
Baumgartel tion mechanics graphic factors and importance minants of various job-related motivations.
(1966) of job factors on a 5-point As a man gets older, the importance he at-
Likert-type scale taches to getting ahead in the company job
structure declines. The level of formal educa-

zyxwvutsrq
tion achieved during youth induces a perse-
vering effect upon his desire to get ahead.
Sandvold (1961) Improved and unimproved Used complex factoral design to Improvement in verbal responsibity as well as
schizophrenics and con- measure the effects of effort and in motivator orientation for all groups who
trol group of nurses’ the effect of relating this effort were given effortful taaks related to some
aides to some purpose, in terms of be- purpose. Relating task to purpose was of
fore and after scores on the most importance to the sick group, and of no
choice-motivator scale used by importance to the normal group.

zyxw
Hamlin and Nemo (1962)
50 accountants and 82 engi- Self-description of past satisfying Both groups of subjects endorsed more content
neers and dissatisfying job situa- (motivator) statements as describing both
tions, using both free-choice satisfying and dissatisfying types of situa-
and forced-choice items devel- tions. Both motivators and hygienes can be
oped to tap Herzberg’s motiva- sources of job satisfaction and job dissatis-
tors and hygienes faction.
Yadov (1965) 2,665 workers under 30 em- Analysis of attitude question- The most effective and important attitudinal
ployed in light and heavy naire factor for effective job performance is satis-
industries in Leningrad faction with the kind of job.
384 PERSONNEL PSYCHOLOGY zyxw
leadership, the suitability of supplies and equipment, the effi-
ciency of scheduling and coordinating procedures, or the abili-
ties of the members of the work force are found deficient,

zyxwvut
highly motivated behavior may have either little effect on
productivity or even possibly the effect of causing frustration
which interferes with productivity.
Empiric Research Based on Critical-Incident Methodology

z
In Work and the Nature of Man, Herzberg (1966) reports
the results of 10 critical-incident studies on 17 different popu-
lations. He asserts that these studies support the dual-factor
theory in 97% of the cases. Table 1 is taken from Herzberg’s
1966 book and summarizes the results of these studies. Each
x in the table represents a correct prediction for a factor, while
a dash indicates an incorrect prediction. The blank spaces sug-
gest no significant evidence either way because of (a) failure
of an investigator to include the factor in the analysis, (b) the
scoring of only major factors in the events, (c) the general
rarity of a factor occurring, or (d) occasional moderate fre-
quency of a factor to be associated with both satisfaction and

zyxwvu
dissatisfaction.
The chart shows that theoretical predictions, when made
for each separate study, were valid in 97 percent of the cases.
However, compilation of the number of people mentioning
one of Herzberg’s ten factors as a satisfier or dissatisfier yields
Table 2.’
From this table it can be observed that achievement is seen

zyx
by most respondents as more of a dissatisfier than Relations
with supervisors or Working conditions. I n fact, Achievement
can be considered the third major dissatisfier. Recognition is
also found to be more of a dissatisfier than both Working
conditions and Relations with superiors. Using these data from
Table 2, one can rank dissatisfiers as follows:
* This analysis is restricted to those factors mentioned more than four times.
By restricting this analysis to those factors, several factors are excluded. The
excluded factors are Opportunity for growth, Interpersonal relations with
subordinates, Status, Personal life, Security and Salary. With the exception
of Opportunity for growth, these excluded factors are peripheral to the Two-
Factor theory, and their inclusion in this analysis would not change the major
conclusion suggested by the analysis.
 HOUSE AND WIGDOR

Company policy and administration

Supervision
385 zy
Achievement
Recognition
Working conditions
Work itself
Relations with superior
Advancement
Responsibility
This ranking can be partially explained by considering the fact
that every factor did not appear in every study reported by
Herzberg. However, in all studies, each factor had an equal
chance of occurring and did not because of failure of respond-
ents to mention incidents relating to all factors.

zyx
Evidence Based on Methods other than the Critical-Incident
Method
Since the publication of the original research by Herzberg,
Mausner, and Snyderman in 1959, several studies based on
different research methods have been reported in the literature.
These studies are described in brief' detail in Exhibit 1.
Conclusions
Our secondary analysis of the data presented by Herzberg
(1966) in his most recent book yields conclusions contradictory
to the proposition of the Two-Factor theory that satisfiers and
dissatisfiers are unidimensional and independent. Although
many of the intrinsic aspects of jobs are shown to be more fre-
quently identified by respondents as satisfiers, achievement
and recognition are also shown to be very frequently identified
as dissatisfiers. In fact, achievement and recognition are more
frequently identified as dissatisfiers than working conditions
and relations with the superior.
Since the data do not support the satisfier-dissatisfier di-
chotomy, the second proposition of the Two-Factor theory,
that satisfiers have more motivational force than dissatisfiers,
appears highly suspect. This is true for two reasons. First, any
attempt to separate the two requires an arbitrary definition of
the classifications satisfier and dissatisfier. Second, unless such
 zyxwv
zyx
386 PERSONNEL PSYCHOLOGY

an arbitrary separation is employed, the proposition is un-

testable.

zyxwvu
Turning to our review of previous studies based on methods
other than the storytelling method (Exhibit l ) , four im-
portant conclusions emerge concerning the operation of, and
variables associated with, the various job characteristics perti-
nent to satisfaction or dissatisfaction. These four conclusions
are :
1. A given factor can cause job satisfaction for one person
and job dissatisfaction for another person, and vice versa.
Job satisfaction is a function of the perceived characteristics of a job in
relation to an individual frame of reference. A particular job condition on
the basis of this theoretical, can be a satisfier, dissatisfier or irrelevant
depending on conditions in comparable jobs, conditions of other people, of

zyxwv
the qualifications and past experience of the individual as well as on nu-
merous situational variables of the present job. Thus, job satisfaction is
not an absolute phenomena but is relative to the alternatives available to
the individual. (Smith & Kendall, 1963, p. 14.)
Variables that partially determine whether a given factor
will be a source of satisfaction or dissatisfaction on the job
were shown to be:
Job or occupational level: Centers and Bugental (1966),
Myers (1964), Rosen (1963), Friedlander (1966b),
Dunnette (1965).
Age of respondents: Singh and Baumgartel (1966), Saleh
(1964), Friedlander (1966b), Wernimont (1966).
Sex of respondents: Centers and Bugental (1966), Gibson

zyxw
(1961), Myers (1964).
Formal education: Singh and Baumgartel (1966).
Culture: Turner and Lawrence (1965), Ott (1965).
Time-dimension variable: Ewen (1964), Wernimont
(1966).
Respondent’s standing in his group: Eran (1966).
2. A given factor can cause job satisfaction and dissatisfac-
tion in the same sample (Dunnette, 1965; Ewen, 1964;
Gordon, 1965; Burke, 1966; Ewen, Smith, Hulin & Locke,
1966; Friedlander, 1963; Wernimont, 1966; Halpern, 1966;
Ott, 1965; Hinrichs & Mischkind, 1967; Graen, 1966; Malin-
ovsky & Barry, 1965).
3. Intrinsic job factors are more important to both satisfy-
 zy
zyxw
zyxw
HOUSE AND WIGDOR

ing and dissatisfying job events (Dunnette et al., 1967; Werni-

387

zy
mont, 1966; Ewen, Smith, Hulin & Locke, 1966; Graen, 1966;
Friedlander, 1964).
4. These conclusions lead us to agree with the criticism ad-
vanced by Dunnette, Campbell and Hake1 (1967) that the
Two-Factor theory is an oversimplification of the relationships
between motivation and satisfaction, and the sources of job

zyxwvut
satisfaction and dissatisfaction.
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