Publication Date
12-2024
Document Type
Dissertation
Abstract
William Glasser’s Choice Theory states that humans have five basic needs (survival, love and belonging, power, freedom, and fun). Glasser believed that Choice Theory could be leveraged to improve business and leadership to increase internal motivation and work quality. However, empirical data testing Choice Theory in the work setting is lacking. The first scale developed for this purpose is presented in this study. This research tests the basic needs framework, with two additional areas of investigation: the inclusion of a sixth basic need—meaning and purpose—and the conceptualization of the power need. Wubbolding (2022) proposed that meaning and purpose be added as a basic need a suggestion supported by research and examined in this study. Furthermore, Glasser conceptualized power in two ways: power as power over and as empowerment. This study disentangles these constructs. Two samples were used: Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk), yielding 341 usable responses and non-teaching faculty and classified staff at a medium-sized university, yielding 172 participants. Analyses of both scale validity and results presented. Confirmatory Factor analyses confirmed the structural validity of the seven need subscales. A series of multiple linear regression models predicting autonomous motivation provided strong evidence across both samples that meaning and purpose should be added as a sixth need. Power over scores were more predictive than empowerment scores, which did not contribute to either sample, after controlling for other variables in the model. Polynomial regression and response surface analysis results revealed differing results across samples, suggesting that the relationship between basic needs at work and autonomous motivation may vary across various worker populations. On a broad scale, this work represents a model for need congruence research in a leadership context. This work brings need congruence in the workplace to the forefront as a genre of leadership to be explored. Future research should continue to refine the scale presented, evaluate various industries, and examine other outcomes of interest to employers, such as turnover intention, worker creativity, and employee performance. Findings of this study highlight the need for additional empirical evaluation of Choice Theory’s basic needs in workplace settings.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Hubbard, Marcus C., "Reconsidering Glasser’s Basic Needs in Lead-Management Theory: Testing the Validity of the Original Basic Needs, Disentangling the Power Construct, and Auditioning the Inclusion of Meaning and Purpose" (2024). Libraries. 259.
https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/letfspubs/259
Included in
Business Commons, Industrial and Organizational Psychology Commons, Leadership Studies Commons, Organization Development Commons, Other Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons
