Date of Graduation
Fall 2014
Degree
Master of Science in Psychology
Department
Psychology
Committee Chair
Robert Jones
Abstract
Nepotism—employment preference given to family members—has been seen as a problem for centuries. In spite of the prevalence of anti-nepotism policies, there have been almost no studies of attitudes toward nepotism itself or as experienced in the workplace. Two hundred twenty-five workers in the United States and India participated in an original questionnaire designed to assess these attitudes. Exploratory factor analysis, bivariate correlations, and multiple analysis of variance (MANOVA) were used to analyze the findings. Attitudes toward nepotism varied between national cultures on a collectivist/individualist dimension, with significantly higher tolerance in the more collectivist culture of India. It was also found that, contrary to conventional wisdom, people who encounter nepotism in their organization do not generally have negative reactions to it.
Keywords
nepotism, scale development, culture, workplace attitudes, MTurk, India, United States, family employment
Subject Categories
Psychology
Copyright
© Mark A. Woolsey
Recommended Citation
Woolsey, Mark A., "Perceptions of Nepotism in a Cultural Context" (2014). MSU Graduate Theses. 1825.
https://bearworks.missouristate.edu/theses/1825
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