Role ambiguity, role conflict, and satisfaction: Moderating effects of individual differences.

The moderating effects of need for achievement and need for independence on relationships between role ambiguity, role conflict, and job satisfaction were investigated. Subjects were 90 military and civil service personnel. Results indicated that need for achievement moderates relationships between intersender role conflict and satisfaction and between task ambiguity and satisfaction, while need for independence moderates the relationship between intersender conflict and satisfaction. In recent years a number of studies have explored relationships between role conflict and role ambiguity and worker attitudes and behavior (Greene & Organ, 1973; Johnson & Graen, 1973; Kahn, Wolfe, Quinn, Snoek, & Rosen thai, 1964; Lyons, 1971; Rizzo, House, & Lirtzman, 1970; Tosi, 1971). Only two of these studies, however, have examined the influence of individual differences on worker responses to role conflict and role ambiguity (Kahn et ah, 1964; Lyons, 1971). This study sought to obtain additional evidence on the influence of individual differences by examining the moderating effects of need for achievement and need for independence on relationships between role conflict, role ambiguity, and satisfaction.