Range-frequency models of within-subjects contextual effects: Salary satisfaction

Michael H. Birnbaum and Julien Rouvere

Judgment and Decision Making, 2025, vol. 20, -

Abstract: In four studies, participants judged satisfaction with hypothetical salaries, given the salaries of others doing the same work. Unlike previous research, contexts (distributions of others’ salaries) were manipulated within- rather than between-subjects. These studies enabled tests of an extension of range–frequency (RF) theory that assumes that judgments are a compromise between RF predictions based on between- and within-trial contexts. This extension to within-subjects designs correctly predicted the cases in which people assign higher satisfaction ratings to lower salaries. The manipulation of the context within-subjects confirmed phenomena previously observed in between-subjects research. However, a violation of this within-subjects RF model was also observed: When one’s salary is lowest compared to others within the same firm, satisfaction varies inversely with the highest salary paid to another at the same firm. Apparently, judgments of satisfaction also depend on inequity. This finding was not observed in previous between-subjects research; indeed, salary and inequity are perfectly confounded for the participant in such a design. We theorize that satisfaction is not merely a judgment of where one’s salary falls relative to other salaries, but also depends on how much one is underpaid relative to the distribution of underpayments. A revision of the within-subjects RF model (incorporating the distribution of inequities) gave a good description of judgments of salary satisfaction and of the likelihood to accept a job offer.

Date: 2025
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