Effect of assimilation of work experience on growth satisfaction: assessment of selected validity threats

Responding to the weak evidence for moderating effects of growth need strength on the growth satisfaction/job enrichment relationship, Bottger and Chew (1986) argue that capacity rather than need for growth should be studied. They show that “assimilation of work experience” (A WE), a measure of the individual's affective responses to work performance variations, does explain variance in growth satisfaction independent of job scope and context satisfactions. Here we investigate aspects of the internal and construct validities of this finding. We show that the A WE effect on growth satisfaction is independent of role ambiguity and leader behavior. Also, whereas A WE explains variance in growth satisfaction, it has a random effect on satisfaction with supervision. The sample is 487 sales representatives. Moderated regression analysis is the primary analytical method. © 1988, Sage Publications. All rights reserved.