A validation of the workplace dignity scale : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University, Manawatū, New Zealand
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Date
2019
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Massey University
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Abstract
Workplace Dignity has long been the subject of scholarly enquiry, although until recently the
body of research has been dominated by ethnographic work. Recently, Thomas and Lucas
(2019) developed the first quantitative, direct measure of perceptions of workplace dignity:
the Workplace Dignity Scale (WDS). Given the importance of understanding dignity in the
workplace, this study sought to replicate the initial scale validation study conducted by
Thomas and Lucas, so as to confirm the reliability and validity of the scale prior to its future
applied and scholarly use. Moreover, the current study contributes to the ongoing
methodological reform of psychology towards a transparent and rigorous science by
preregistering the method and analysis script prior to collecting data. A large sample of
workers (N = 853) from the United States were recruited through Prolific Academic and
completed an online questionnaire that included the WDS, as well as theoretically related
scales (e.g., workplace incivility). Confirmatory factor analyses indicated that the model
specified by Thomas and Lucas had reasonable global fit and estimates of reliability (ωt)
indicated that the two main factors of the scale, Dignity and Indignity, had high internal
consistency. Nomological analyses revealed that the Dignity factor of the WDS was
significantly correlated in the expected directions with theoretically related variables.
Furthermore, the Dignity and Indignity factors of the WDS were found to highly correlate
with one another, posing questions as to whether the two factors are qualitatively different
phenomena as was argued by Thomas and Lucas. It is concluded that the WDS is a promising
tool for measuring workplace dignity although refinement of the proposed measurement
model may be necessary.
Description
This thesis was published under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license as: Scott-Campbell, C., & Williams, M. (2020). Validating the Workplace Dignity Scale. Collabra: Psychology, 6(1), 31. http://doi.org/10.1525/collabra.337
Keywords
Scale analysis (Psychology), Psychometrics, Attitude (Psychology), Testing, Employees, United States, Attitudes, Work environment, Psychological aspects, Organizational justice, Dignity