IngentaConnect An analysis of recollection in the measurement of long-term chang...

Authors: Miller, Brian K.¹; Gallagher, Daniel G.²

Source: Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, Volume 82, Number 1, March 2009 , pp. 221-228(8)

Publisher: British Psychological Society

Abstract:

In cross-sectional research designs, the measurement of attitudinal and behavioural change has often relied upon respondents' reported recollection of the degree of change from one point in time to another. Alternatively, algebraic approaches for measuring change are often utilized in longitudinal designs with panel data. In a conceptual replication of prior work by Irving and Meyer (1995), this study undertook an examination of direct recall measures of change, as well as contemporaneous Time 1 (T1) and Time 2 (T2) measures of three attitudinal constructs (union commitment, union satisfaction, and union attitudes in general) over a 10-year period. Based upon a sample of 195 union members, the investigation found that more proximal T2 measures of the constructs of interest were strongly related to single-item measures of recollection of change and more distal T1 measures had no significant relationship with respondents' reported recollection of any of the attitudinal measures examined. In the interpretation of these findings, it is suggested that current attitudes provide cognitive prompts to survey-based requests for recollection of past attitudes, which may in-turn lead to serious reporting inaccuracies associated with many direct measures of recollection.

Document Type: Research article

DOI: 10.1348/096317908X280935

Affiliations: 1: Department of Management, Texas State University, Texas, USA 2: James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Virginia, USA

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An analysis of recollection in the measurement of long-term change in attitudes