Empirical Test of Affective Events Theory

Affective Events Theory states that there are different antecedents of employee's work attitudes (i.e., job satisfaction) that lead to different behaviors. The theory differentiates between behaviors that are driven by affective reactions of the employee and those that are driven by employee judgments. As a result, both affective reactions and cognitive judgments need to be analyzed in order to accurately predict employee behavior. Until now, this theory has received little empirical evaluation. The present research used path analysis to examine the model fit of Affective Events Theory with a student sample. Alternative models were tested in an effort to determine other influences on employee behavior. The results indicated a mediocre model fit for Affective Events Theory. Alternate models that were examined failed improve model fit. However, many of the paths predicted in the model were found to be significant. Interestingly, testing of alternate models revealed several significant paths that AET predicted to not be significant. It appears that while Affective Events Theory accurately accounts for the importance of affect on employee behaviors, there are still several critical pieces missing in the model. Several recommendations are made for future research in this area.Air Force Inst of Tech Wright-Patterson AFB OH is the author of 'Empirical Test of Affective Events Theory', published 2003 under ISBN 9781423585466 and ISBN 1423585461.