Positive and negative affect, signal sensitivity, and pay satisfaction

This study examines the relationship of two dispositional factors, positive and negative affect (PA and NA), with multi-dimensional pay satisfaction. Among a sample of 194 full- and part-time employees in two southern states, PA explained significant variance in pay satisfaction after controlling for actual salary levels, overall job satisfaction, and other individual characteristics. More importantly the data show that PA interacts with actual salary level in explaining certain dimensions of pay satisfaction. By contrast, results confirm the hypothesis that NA is unrelated to pay satisfaction. Implications of these results are discussed and directions for future research identified.