| The following is a two-part investigation that tested hypotheses derived from a combination of the tenets of appraisal theory (Lazarus & Smith, 1988; Smith & Lazarus, 2001) and Affective Events Theory (AET, Weiss & Cropanzano, 1996). The research questions examined were the following: Q1: What is the relationship between the appraisals of relevancy, congruency and accountability of information derived from performance appraisal and the emotional reactions to the appraisals? Q2: How do the emotional reactions experienced after receiving performance appraisal feedback relate to employees' job satisfaction one week later? These research questions were examined in two studies. In the first study I examined research question 1, using a sample of undergraduate students receiving exam scores. In the second study I examined research question 2 to replicate and build on the findings of Study 1, using a sample of employees receiving job performance feedback. Results are discussed using the frameworks of appraisal theory (Lazarus & Smith, 1988; Smith & Lazarus, 2001) and affective events theory (Weiss & Cropanzano, 1996). |
