Psychology Ph.D. Dissertations

The Curvilinear Impacts of Instrumental Social Support Elicitations

Date of Award

2023

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Melissa Keith (Committee Chair)

Second Advisor

Janelle Sears (Other)

Third Advisor

Joshua Grubbs (Committee Member)

Fourth Advisor

Michael Zickar (Committee Member)

Abstract

Recent research has begun exploring the potential support provider perspective of the social support dynamic—or the perspective of those put in positions to provide support to others. Though nascent, this research suggests that support elicitation experiences that are work-related (Instrumental Support Elicitation Experiences or SEE-I) can function as both a resource (contributing to outcomes such as work engagement) or a demand (contributing to outcomes such as withdrawal behavior). Given this double-edged nature, it could be that SEE-I shares curvilinear relations with outcomes. This research, drawing from the Job Demands-Resources Model, used both cross-sectional (N = 266) and daily diary (NLevel 1 = 630, NLevel 2 = 126) data to explore this idea. In Study 1, using the “Too Little – Too Much” scale formatting, I find that SEE-I from coworkers and supervisors relates to outcomes in a manner suggesting curvilinearity. Study 2 builds from these findings using longitudinal data. Here, curvilinear effects between SEE-I from coworkers and job satisfaction and SEE-I from supervisors and task-related errors are found. In an exploratory analysis, conscientiousness was revealed to moderate the curvilinear relation between SEE-I from coworkers and job satisfaction. Altogether, findings from this research suggest that being frequently sought for work-related support can be draining or beneficial, and that the benefits may depend on one’s level of conscientiousness. This research helps fill a gap in the social support literature focused on potential support providers at work.

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