Evaluations of one’s own and others’ financial rewards: the role of trait positive affectivity

Previous research indicates that trait positive affectivity (PA) directly and indirectly influences individuals’ evaluations of reward sizes. However, research shows conflicting results on the direction of PA’s moderating influence. Furthermore, past studies fail to differentiate evaluations of one’s own rewards versus rewards for others, which is particularly important as reward systems are designed from a third-person perspective. Our experimental design confirms PA’s direct and moderating effects on the evaluation of one’s own rewards, finding stronger positive relationship for small-to-moderate rewards but weaker positive relationship for moderate-to-large rewards. These evaluation processes further show that individuals high (low) in PA perceive their own rewards as being larger (smaller) than rewards for others. The discussion addresses the implications for designing reward systems in organizations.