On the Measurement of Work and Leisure Ethics and Resultant Intercorrelations

Abstract

Two work ethic and two leisure ethic scales and one leisure satisfaction index were administered to 498 students ranging from the 8th graders to upperclasspersons (juniors and seniors combined). While work ethic and leisure ethic were moderately negatively correlated for the total sample, this relationship was mediated by individual differences (gender) and the scales used. Specifically, the negative correlation was considerably higher for females than for males. Furthermore, the smallest negative correlation (-.03) was observed when the items of the employed work ethic scale made no reference to leisure and the items of the employed leisure ethic scale made no reference to work. On the other hand, the highest negative correlation between the two (-.31) was observed when the items of the employed work ethic scale made several references to leisure and those of the employed leisure ethic scale made several references to work. A similar pattern of influence of the items was found when the leisure/work ethic scales were correlated with leisure satisfaction. Clearly, then, these findings indicate how the empirical correlation between work and leisure ethic and between the two ethics and leisure satisfaction can systematically be manipulated by considering the types of items included in the instruments before selecting a given scale for research purposes.