Impression Management Concerns and Reinforcement Interventions

Abstract

The study sought to determine the effect that impression management concerns would have on the perceptions of an intervention. Subjects were given the description of a reinforcement intervention and were asked to evaluate how employees involved might react. The description varied whether or not the reinforcing agent was the direct supervisor as well as whether the rei nforcement was delivered privately or publicly. Results showed that the means of delivering reinforcement affected how subjects perceived the intervention, regardless of the position of the reinforcing agent. The data were discussed in terms of their implication for organizational development specialists and human resource managers.