The phenomenology of fit: Linking the person and environment to the subjective experience of person-environment fit

• 成果类型: Article; Proceedings Paper
• 署名作者: Edwards, Jeffrey R.; Cable, Daniel M.; Williamson, Ian O.; Lambert, Lisa Schurer; Shipp, Abbie J.
• 署名单位: University of North Carolina; University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF APPLIED PSYCHOLOGY
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0021-9010
• DOI: 10.1037/0021-9010.91.4.802
• 发表日期: 2006
• 页码: 802-827
• 关键词: PERSON-ENVIRONMENT FIT; perceived fit; subjective fit; phenomenology; cognition

摘要

The authors distinguished 3 approaches to the study of perceived person-environment fit (P-E fit): (a) atomistic, which examines perceptions of the person and environment as separate entities; (b) molecular, which concerns the perceived comparison between the person and environment; and (c) molar, which focuses on the perceived similarity, match, or fit between the person and environment. Distinctions among these approaches have fundamental implications for theory, measurement, and the subjective experience of P-E fit, yet research has treated these approaches as interchangeable. This study investigated the meaning and relationships among the atomistic, molecular, and molar approaches to fit and examined factors that influence the strength of these relationships. Results showed that the relationships among the approaches deviate markedly from the theoretical logic that links them together. Supplemental analyses indicated that molar fit overlaps with affect and molecular fit gives different weight to atomistic person and environment information depending on how the comparison is framed. These findings challenge fundamental assumptions underlying P-E fit theories and have important implications for future research.