Models of Job Preference for Stanford MBA's '78

An experiment was conducted to determine if the decision-making process for choosing between alternative job offers by Stanford MBA's is affected by a task requiring an individual to evaluate hypothetical combinations of a limited number of job characteristics. Based on a paramorphic representation of the decision-making process, the ability to predict which job is chosen by the individual does not appear to be influenced by exposure to the task. However, the ability to predict the preference order of the job offers differed significantly between the experimental and control groups. This difference is probably due to a phenomenon similar to the testing effect. Models developed at various levels of aggregation are explored and differences in job preferences related to background variables are noted. For example, female students on the average, appear to be less interested in financial remuneration and less career-oriented than male students, even after adjusting for marital status and other background variables.