Skip to main content
Log in

Abstract

This paper presents some differences between men and women regarding their attitudes to work and the implications of those attitudes regarding counselling. The subjects were 300 Polish students (150 men and 150 women) and 306 German students. The study is part of a larger collaborative research program conducted in 43 countries by Lynn (1991). The results are presented against the background of Weber's (1929) Protestant work ethic, Schumpeter's (1934) theory of competitiveness, McClelland's (1976) theory of achievement motivation, and Wiener's (1981) theory of low valuation of business.

All of these theories seek to show the relationship and influence of the psychology of the individual, as that is manifested in attitude, on the economic growth of a nation. The results of the present study support Wiener's theory that the “social status” of business occupations play an important role in the growth of economies. They also reveal that men are generally more concerned than women, with the attitudes, and values, that are considered as a motive power of economic growth.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Ahmed, S.U. (1985). N. Ach, risk-taking propensity, locus of control and entrepreneurship.Personality and Individual Differences 6: 781–782.

    Google Scholar 

  • Collins, O.F., Moore, D.G. & Unwalla, D.B. (1964).The Enterprising Man. East Lansing: University of Michigan Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Furnham, A. (1984). Many sides of coin: the psychology of money usage.Personality and Individual Differences 5: 501–509.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lynn, R. (1969). An achievement motivation questionnaire.British Journal of Psychology 60: 526–534.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lynn, R. (1991).The secret of the miracle economy: Different national attitudes to competitiveness and money. The social Affairs Unit. Croley Esmonde Ltd.

  • McClelland, D.C. (1976).The achieving society. Princeton: Van Nostrand.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ray, J.J. (1979). A quick measure of achievement motivation — validation in Australian and reliable in Britain and South Africa.Australian Psychologist 14: 337–345.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schumpeter, J.A. (1934).The theory of economic development. Oxford: University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spence, J.A. & Helmreich, R.L. (1983). Achievement related motives and behavior. In: J.T. Spence (ed)Achievement and Achievement Motives. San Francisco: W.H. Freeman.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weber, M. (1929).The Protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism. New York: Scribner.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wiener, M.J. (1981).English culture and the decline of the industrial sprit, 1985–1980. New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yamauclii, K.T, Templer, D.I. (1982). The development of money attitude scale.Journal of Personality Assessment 46: 522–528.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Maurer, A., Oszustowicz, B. & Stocki, R. Gender and attitudes toward work. Int J Adv Counselling 17, 35–46 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01407924

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01407924

Keywords

Navigation