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EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SELF-EFFICACY AND DISSENT AMONG COLLEGE STUDENT ORGANIZATIONAL MEMBERS: A MIXED-METHODS STUDY

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2016, Doctor of Philosophy, Miami University, Educational Leadership.
This research project explores two very different constructs, self-efficacy and organizational dissent. Self-efficacy is the belief that one has in one’s ability to control or influence the events that occur in one’s life (Bandura, 1997). Dissent is communication of disagreement with the majority opinion or a specific individual who has more power than the individual communicating dissent (Stitzlein, 2014). Specifically, this project sought to answer three research questions: (1) what is the correlation between an individual’s level of self-efficacy and an individual’s experiences in offering an opinion that is contrary (i.e. dissent) to a person in authority or the majority sentiment? Assuming that there is a correlation between self-efficacy and organizational dissent; (2) does the correlation between self-efficacy and organizational dissent differ based upon which role (president, vice president, treasurer, secretary, etc.) a participant holds in their student organization?; and (3) does experience with dissenting in one space correspond with one’s expression of dissent in a variety of different contexts? Two previously vetted and validated instruments were used to determine the relationship between self-efficacy and organizational dissent. The Generalized Self-Efficacy Scale (GSE), developed by Schwarzer and Jerusalem in 1995 was used to measure generalized self-efficacy. The Organizational Dissent Scale (ODS), developed by Kassing in 1998 was used to measure the expression of organizational dissent. Kassing identified that people may express dissent in three different ways: (1) articulated, to someone in the organization who holds more authority; (2) antagonistic, to someone in the organization who holds the same amount of authority; and (3) displaced, to someone outside of the organization. Through the use of both quantitative and qualitative research methods, it was determined that there is a negative correlation between self-efficacy and organizational dissent. More specifically, for a majority of participants in the study, the negative correlation existed between generalized self-efficacy and organizational dissent, as well as generalized self-efficacy and articulated or upward dissent. An investigation into the result revealed that the correlation was not consistent among student organizational leaders. While organizational presidents, treasurers, and general members maintained the negative correlation, vice presidents, secretaries, and committee members did not. Furthermore, organizational participants who identified themselves as members of the “other” category demonstrated a negative correlation between generalized self-efficacy and antagonistic dissent. Lastly, through interviews with participants, it was determined that the expression of organizational dissent in one context does inform and impact the expression of dissent outside of the organization and vice versa.
Kathleen Knight Abowitz, Ph.D. (Advisor)
Amity Noltemeyer, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Andrew Saultz, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Mahauganee Shaw, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
132 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Bell-Robinson, V. D. (2016). EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SELF-EFFICACY AND DISSENT AMONG COLLEGE STUDENT ORGANIZATIONAL MEMBERS: A MIXED-METHODS STUDY [Doctoral dissertation, Miami University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1459983976

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Bell-Robinson, Vicka. EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SELF-EFFICACY AND DISSENT AMONG COLLEGE STUDENT ORGANIZATIONAL MEMBERS: A MIXED-METHODS STUDY . 2016. Miami University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1459983976.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Bell-Robinson, Vicka. "EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SELF-EFFICACY AND DISSENT AMONG COLLEGE STUDENT ORGANIZATIONAL MEMBERS: A MIXED-METHODS STUDY ." Doctoral dissertation, Miami University, 2016. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1459983976

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)