View
54
Download
0
Category
Preview:
Citation preview
Understanding Motivation and Commitment of Safe Voices’ Volunteers: A
Community-Based Thesis
Caroline Williams Kissick
Department of Psychology
A THESIS
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for a Bachelors Degree
Bates College
December 14, 2015
Advised by Professor Krista Aronson
RUNNING HEAD: Volunteer Motivation and Commitment
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank both Safe Voices and Krista Aronson, without whom this
thesis would not have been possible. Your support and guidance were invaluable, and I
thank you.
Carriage House Residents, everyday you all inspire me, make me laugh, and take
care of me. Thank you for the late nights, the sing-alongs, and the love. Let ‘em say
we’re crazy.
To my parents, I cannot properly articulate my thanks. This thesis and this
education would not have been possible without your devotion and love, and I am
eternally grateful.
And finally to my sister: Eliza, you’re up.
Kissick 2
RUNNING HEAD: Volunteer Motivation and Commitment
Table of Contents
Abstract ……………………………………………………………………... 3
Introduction …………………………………………………………………. 3
Method ……………………………………………………………………… 12
Results ……………………………………………………………………….16
Discussion ………………………………………………………………….. 18
Conclusion ………………………………………………………………….. 19
References …………………………………………………………………... 20
Appendices ………………………………………………………………….. 22
Kissick 3
RUNNING HEAD: Volunteer Motivation and Commitment
Abstract
This research examines the types of motivation and commitment present in a
population of volunteers working within a domestic violence prevention and services
organization using Clary et al. (1998) Voluntary Function Inventory to measure
motivations and J. P. Meyer and Allen (1991) Three Component Model to measure
commitment. The purpose of the research is to provide this organization with an in depth
understanding of their volunteer population, and how they as an organization can
facilitate said volunteers to succeed in and enjoy their work. Findings state that the
participants’ primary motivation for their volunteer work is related to the value they place
on altruistic beliefs and the opportunity that volunteer work has to enhance them
personally. Findings also showed that participants experienced affective commitment to
organization and beneficiaries more highly than normative and continuance commitment.
Introduction
In the world of non-profit organizations, volunteers play a critical role in the
functioning and implementation of services. Volunteers relieve pressure from a non-
profit worker’s responsibilities and act as ambassadors for their organization,
strengthening community ties and awareness. Many non-profit organizations and workers
grow to depend on the help volunteers provide. Because of their important role in these
organizations and the community, it is vital to understand not only what motivates
individuals to volunteer but also what keeps these volunteers committed to their cause
and organization. This research examines volunteer motivation, commitment, and the
relationship between these two factors within the population of volunteers working with
Safe Voices, a domestic violence awareness and prevention organization located in
Kissick 4
RUNNING HEAD: Volunteer Motivation and Commitment
Lewiston, Maine. The goal of the research is to answer questions concerning: (1) what
factors motivate individuals to become volunteers, (2) what types of commitment do
volunteers feel towards their organization and the beneficiaries it serves, (3) do
motivation and commitment correlate with one another, and (4) what can be done to
improve a volunteers experience and strengthen their commitment to their work? By
increasing understanding of what attracts volunteers and what keeps volunteers engaged,
organizations will be able to structure their volunteer opportunities to facilitate a positive
volunteer experience that promotes a supportive productive environment. Specifically for
Safe Voices, the organization observed, this research serves to illustrate not only the
motivations and commitments of their volunteers, but also to highlight the challenges
volunteers face and facilitate a change within the organization to increase volunteer
support and the sense of community.
Review of Literature
The literature described in this report will provide an overview of motivation and
commitment in the context of volunteerism, specifically examining the interactions and
interplay between motivation, commitment, and retention in affecting a volunteer’s work
and assessing the validity of the various tools used to measure these factors.
Motivation Theory
In determining what factors motivate individuals to volunteer, focus must be paid
to theories of motivation. Theories of motivation often center around and build off of two
main themes of motivation: egoism and altruism. Egoistic motivation holds the ultimate
goal of increasing one’s own personal welfare, whereas altruistic motivation is the desire
to increase the welfare of others (Batson, 1991). How these two motivation constructs are
Kissick 5
RUNNING HEAD: Volunteer Motivation and Commitment
examined differ throughout research, and major theories of motivation differ in regards to
approach: the functionalist approach to motivation and the symbolic approach to
motivation. The functionalist approach states that motivations represent the functions,
which are served by actions, meaning that one action can serve different functions for
different individuals (E. G. Clary, 1991). The symbolic approach consider motives to
represent ‘accounts’ created to justify or excuse actions, and states that motivations serve
as tools to interpret and explain individual’s actions (Smith & Lyman, 1968). Within
psychology the functionalist approach to motivation has gained more popularity than the
symbolic approach, in part because assessment tools were created and validated more
easily, such as the Volunteer Functions Inventory.
The Volunteer Functions Inventory (Clary et al., 1998) is a Likert rating scale that
was developed and tested by Clary and associates, and remains today the most
comprehensive set of rating scales for assessing volunteer motivations; based in existing
empirical research, six motivations were identified and incorporated into the VFI
measurements. The six constructs of motivations for volunteering include: (1) expressing
values related to altruistic beliefs (values); (2) learning new skills and gaining experience
(understanding); (3) opportunity to engage with friends/ to engage in activities viewed
favorably by others (social); (4) developing and enhancing career opportunities (career);
(5) escaping negative feelings about self (protective); (6) opportunity to enhance personal
development (enhancement) (Clary et al., 1998). Each of these motives is measured with
five statements and responses are recorded on 7-point response scale. To test the
reliability of the VFI, the researchers conducted a factor analysis of participant responses,
and found that items from each function scale reported successfully on their intended
Kissick 6
RUNNING HEAD: Volunteer Motivation and Commitment
items. The VFI was found to be a valid tool of measurement and each scale successfully
measured the construct intended, without any overlapping.
Since the VFI was created it has been used in the majority of functional
motivational research, but preceding its formation simple open-probe questions yielded
similar results. Nathanson and Eggleton (1993) implemented a questionnaire with close-
ended questions of age, sex, education level, length of service, and type of contract and
an open-ended question regarding the motivations for volunteering. Analysis and coding
of responses resulted in the creation of different categories of motivation: (1) advocacy;
(2) give back to the community; (3) empathy for the elderly; (4) family in nursing home;
(5) related to job experience or educational requirement (Nathanson & Eggleton, 1993).
Research comparing open-ended probe questions and the Likert scale of the VFI
attempts to examine how reported motives of volunteerism may vary between these two
measurement tools. In a study by Allison, Okun, and Dutridge (2002), research addressed
three questions: (1) to what extent is the rank order of motives for volunteering similar
across the VFI and open-ended probe questions; (2) for each of the six volunteer motives
to what extent are VFI scale scores correlated with scores derived from open-ended
probe, and; (3) which method of assessment of motives for volunteering is associated
with better predictions of frequency of volunteering? To answer these questions, Allison
et al. (2002) performed a study of volunteers working with the non-profit Make A
Difference in Arizona, and found that many of their responses to open-probe questions
could be easily translated into motivation types established by the VFI. It is significant
that the majority of open-ended responses could be coded into the pre-existing VFI
Kissick 7
RUNNING HEAD: Volunteer Motivation and Commitment
functions, and provides additional support for the validity and success of the VFI as a
measurement.
Overall, when attempting to answer the research question ‘what factors motivate
individuals to become volunteers’, the research indicates that the functionalist approach
and the VFI are the strongest tools of assessment. Researchers should remain aware of
the drawbacks of the VFI, and consider implementing an open-ended probe component in
research because it may help identify motives not considered by the VFI (Allison et al.,
2002). This strong base and understanding of motivation is essential when moving into
research on commitment, and motivation may play a significant role in determining
commitment levels among volunteer populations.
Commitment Theory
In presenting the research question of ‘what types of commitment volunteers
demonstrate to organizations and beneficiaries’, the answers will most likely be based in
the Three-Component Model of Organizational Commitment (J. P. Meyer & Allen,
1991). This model was proposed to provide a tool with which to aid in the interpretation
of existing research on organizational commitment and serve as a framework for future
research. J. P. Meyer and Allen (1991) argue that the psychological state of commitment
goes beyond the distinctions of attitudinal and behavioral, and has at least three separate
components that reflect a desire, a need, and an obligation to maintain commitment to an
organization. These constructs build off of attitudinal and behavioral perspective of
commitment, in which attitudinal commitment focuses on the process by which people
come to think about the relationship they hold with an organization and behavioral
commitment focuses on the process in which individuals become ‘”locked in” to an
Kissick 8
RUNNING HEAD: Volunteer Motivation and Commitment
organization and how they react to this connection (Mowday, Porter, & Steers, 1982).
Research since has built upon this model (John P. Meyer, Allen, & Smith, 1993; John P.
Meyer, Stanley, Herscovitch, & Topolnytsky, 2002; Valéau, Mignonac, Vandenberghe,
& Gatignon Turnau, 2013) and it remains central to the debate of organizational
commitment and serves as essential background research in the examination of volunteer
commitment.
J. P. Meyer and Allen (1991) categorized the three components reflected in
organizational commitment into three distinct themes: affective commitment,
continuance commitment, and normative commitment. Affective commitment is the
emotional attachment that an employee has to an organization, continuance commitment
is an employee’s awareness of the costs associated with terminating their relationship
with an organization, and normative commitment is based in a feeling of obligation to
continue employment. The goal of the three-component model was to relate these three
constructs of commitment to turnover intentions, on-the-job behavior, and employee
health and wellbeing. It was hypothesized that affective, normative, and continuance
commitment would all correlate negatively with turnover intention, affective and
normative commitment would both correlate positively with on-the-job behavior and
employee health, and that continuance commitment would have no relationship or
correlate negatively with both employee health and on-the-job behavior (John P. Meyer
et al., 1993).
John P. Meyer et al. (1993) tested the generalizability of their three-component
model by developing measures of affective, continuance, and normative commitment,
and tested these measures in samples of student and registered nurses. To determine
Kissick 9
RUNNING HEAD: Volunteer Motivation and Commitment
whether these scales measured distinct constructs, John P. Meyer et al. (1993) examined
covariance of the data obtained from student and registered nurses, and found only the
analysis of the registered nurse sample confirmed distinct constructs. Significant positive
correlations were found between all three forms of commitment, both organization and
occupation, with age and years of nursing experience (John P. Meyer et al., 1993), and as
hypothesized all three forms of commitment to occupation correlated negatively with
intention to leave the profession.
Understanding the relationship between organizational commitment and
commitment to beneficiaries is especially important in the context of volunteerism. The
three-component model has established the relevance of different components that
contribute to retention (J. P. Meyer & Allen, 1991), and understanding commitment in a
volunteer organization could aid in understanding volunteer turnover. Valéau et al.
(2013) utilized the three-component model to study commitment of volunteers to their
organizations and beneficiaries and to examine turnover intention in relation to
organizational commitment theory. It was hypothesized that (1) volunteers’
organizational commitment and commitment to beneficiaries both consist of affective,
continuance, and normative components that are distinguishable from one another; (2)
components of volunteers’ organizational and beneficiary commitment are negatively
associated to turnover intentions, and; (3) volunteers organizational affective
commitment will play a moderating role in the relationship between affective, normative,
and continuance commitment to beneficiaries and turnover intentions and that these
relationships will be stronger as organizational affective commitment is lower (Valéau et
al., 2013).
Kissick 10
RUNNING HEAD: Volunteer Motivation and Commitment
In Valéau et al. (2013) study volunteers’ commitment to their volunteer
organization was measured using a revised version of the John P. Meyer et al. (1993)
scales, where the word ‘organization’ was replaced with ‘volunteer organization’.
Volunteer commitment to beneficiaries was measured using scales modified from
Stinglhamber, Bentein, and Vandenberghe (2002), where the word ‘customer’ was
replaced with ‘beneficiaries’. Affective commitment was measured by six items (I feel
emotionally attached to the beneficiaries of this organization), as was normative
commitment (I feel I have a moral obligation to respond to the needs of the beneficiaries
of this organization) and continuance commitment measured by five items (I have
expended so much effort to get to know the needs of the beneficiaries that it would not be
advantageous for me to quit my activity) (Valéau et al., 2013). Evidence was found that
both commitment to organization and commitment to beneficiaries can be examined
through the three-component model (J. P. Meyer & Allen, 1991) and that both types of
commitment contribute to the understanding of volunteer turnover intentions.
Understanding commitment is essential to understanding volunteers, and this previous
research will serve as a foundation for future commitment research.
All of this research will serve as a sounding board for the present study, and being
aware of the strengths and weaknesses will foster a better understanding of the problems
that may arise in the present study. The present study will work with Safe Voices
volunteers, taking the research in a new direction by directly examining a connection
between Clary et al. (1998) VFI and the modified three-component model from Valéau et
al. (2013).
Kissick 11
RUNNING HEAD: Volunteer Motivation and Commitment
Method
Organization Background
Safe Voices is a domestic violence prevention and advocacy organization located
in Lewiston, ME. Founded in 1977, Safe Voices began as a response to the critical need
for services for victims of domestic and intimate partner violence in Androscoggin
County, which had very few support facilities implemented for this population. Currently
there are 28 individuals employed by the organization, and roughly 20 volunteers
involved. The organization offers a range of services for those affected by domestic
violence, including: shelter services, a network of local community-based offices,
individual support, support groups, children’s services, advocacy, referrals, court
advocacy, transportation, and information. Safe Voices mission is “to support and
empower those affected by domestic violence and engage the community in creating
social change in Androscoggin, Franklin, and Oxford Counties”
(www.safevoices.org/index.php).
Volunteer opportunities include shelter work, court support, event support, and
the 24-hour helpline. Shelter work can include a range of activities from childcare to
organizing through donations. Court support involves accompanying individuals to court
(usually for Protection From Abuse orders) and being a supportive presence, providing
transportation to and from, as well as watching children during court proceedings. Event
support is a seasonal volunteer opportunity, mainly implemented during Safe Voices
Walk to End Domestic Violence 5K and other larger scale events throughout the year.
The 24-hour helpline is one of the more time and training intensive programs.
Kissick 12
RUNNING HEAD: Volunteer Motivation and Commitment
The training to become a helpline caller takes 28 hours, and consists of a studying
a multitude of issues that helpline workers may encounter. The sessions cover: safety
planning, batterers intervention programs, LGBTQ concerns, sexual assault, Protection
from Abuse orders, court advocacy, domestic violence and kids, shelter services, elder
abuse, trafficking, mental health, and suicide concerns. These sessions are lead by Safe
Voices workers, who guide the volunteers through role-plays and community check-ins
to fully prepare volunteers for any situation they may encounter on the helpline.
Participants
Participants include current volunteers and interns with Safe Voices who self-
selected to respond to a survey distributed via email. The survey was distributed to the 17
Safe Voices volunteers and interns, and 11 of these individuals participated. All of the
participants were female volunteers who ranged in age and length of volunteer work with
Safe Voices. The mean age of participants was 37.5 years ( SD = 2.81 ); five participants
indicated that they have been volunteering with Safe Voices for 1 to 2 years, five
indicated volunteering for 2 to 3 years, and one participant indicated 3 to 4 years. All of
the participants currently volunteer on helpline, and 2 of them had volunteer experience
at Safe Voices shelter.
Materials
An online survey designed using the Qualtrics software was implemented and
sent out to current volunteers and interns. The survey consisted of sections assessing
volunteer demographic information, motivations, commitment, and volunteer needs that
arise during their Safe Voices work. The first section consisted of basic demographic
information such as gender, age, and volunteer experience with Safe Voices.
Kissick 13
RUNNING HEAD: Volunteer Motivation and Commitment
The second portion measured volunteer motivation using The Voluntary
Functions Inventory (Clary et al., 1998); the VFI implements functionalist theory to
examine the various motives that may influence volunteerism, and was created to better
understand helping behavior and prosocial activity. The VFI consists of 30 questions to
be answered using a 7-point scale (1 = not at all important/accurate, 7 = extremely
important/accurate). The questions address 6 areas of volunteer motivations: protective
(ex. by doing volunteer work I feel less lonely), values (ex. I feel it is important to help
others), career (ex. volunteering experience will help me succeed in my chosen
profession), social (ex. my friends volunteer), understanding (ex. volunteering allows me
to gain a new perspective on things), and enhancement (ex. volunteering makes me feel
better about myself). The VFI facilitates a better understanding of volunteers’
motivations, and provides a base to move forward into assessing how these differing
motivation types relate to commitment.
The next section of the survey assesses a volunteer’s type of commitment to the
organization and beneficiaries with which their volunteer work serves using a modified
Three-Component Model (J. P. Meyer & Allen, 1991). Valéau et al. (2013) modified the
Three-Component Model for their work with volunteers to create the Volunteers’
Multiple Commitments survey; in the VMC ‘organization’ is replaced with ‘volunteer
organization’ and ‘customers’ with ‘beneficiaries’, and it has been further modified for
this research so that ‘organization’ is replaced with ‘Safe Voices’ and ‘beneficiaries’ with
‘clients’, which is the terminology used within Safe Voices to refer to the individuals
who seek assistance. The VMC consists of 34 items, half addressing commitment to the
volunteer organization and half addressing commitment to the beneficiaries of the
Kissick 14
RUNNING HEAD: Volunteer Motivation and Commitment
organization. Participants respond to each using a 5-point scale (1 = strongly disagree, 5
= strongly agree). AC is measured with items such as “I feel emotionally attached to the
beneficiaries of this volunteer organization” and “I do not feel a sense of belonging to my
organization”, and two of the six items in the AC section are reverse scored. NC is
assessed with items focusing on obligation and loyalty, “I think I am morally responsible
for meeting the needs of the beneficiaries of this volunteer organization” and “The
organization deserves my loyalty”. CC employs items such as “mastering the necessary
skills for working with other beneficiaries would require me a great deal of time and
energy” and “Too much of my life would be disrupted if I left my organization”.
The final section of the survey consists of open-probe questions addressing the
specific needs of Safe Voices volunteers. The questions will assess volunteer experiences
and how Safe Voices can improve these experiences, specifically in what ways Safe
Voices volunteers are or are not having their needs met. Participants will have the option
to insert any comments on what sort of challenges they face in volunteer work and how
Safe Voices could improve its support of volunteers.
Procedure
An email with a link to the survey was sent out to all Safe Voices volunteers and
interns. IRB approval was obtained before the survey was distributed, and participants
were informed of the purpose of the research. Researcher contact information was
included in the email and at the end of the survey so that participants were able to
communicate with the researcher with questions or concerns regarding the survey.
Kissick 15
RUNNING HEAD: Volunteer Motivation and Commitment
Results
Descriptive statistics of the types of motivation reported by participants ( N = 11 )
illustrate that values motivation ( M = 6.53, SD = 0.34 ) and enhancement motivation ( M
= 5.26, SD = 1.42 ) are the most common types of motivation present within the Safe
Voices volunteer sample, while social motivation ( M = 3.25, SD = 1.46 ) and career
motivation ( M = 3.18, SD = 1.73 ) are the least common. Understanding motivation ( M
= 4.96, SD = 1.42 ) was more highly reported than protective motivation ( M = 3.93, SD =
1.46 ). Paired sample t-tests were run to determine whether the differences between
motivation types were significant. Significant differences were found between values
motivation and protective ( t(10) = 5.58, p = .000 ), career ( t(10) = 6.53, p = .000 ),
social ( t(10) = 7.93, p = .000 ), understanding ( t(10) = 3.67, p = .004 ), and enhancement
( t(10) = 3.03, p = .013 ). Enhancement motivation was significantly different from
protective ( t(10) = 3.58, p = .005 ), career ( t(10) = 3.78, p = .004 ), and social ( t(10) =
4.69, p = .001 ). Understanding motivation was also significantly different than protective
( t(10) = 2.39, p = .038 ), career ( t(10) = 3.88, p = .003 ), and social ( t(10) = 3.57, p
= .005 ). No other significant differences were found.
Measures of commitment show a difference between organization and beneficiary
commitment levels. Within organizational commitment measures, affective commitment
( M = 3.12, SD = 0.20 ) had the highest values, followed by normative commitment ( M =
2.95, SD = 0.56 ) and continuance commitment ( M = 1.70, SD = 0.41 ). Commitment to
beneficiaries showed normative commitment ( M = 3.64, SD = 1.00 ) and affective
commitment ( M = 3.55, SD = 0.47 ) to be closer in value, followed by continuance
commitment ( M = 2.56, SD = 0.77 ). Overall, commitment to beneficiaries was
Kissick 16
RUNNING HEAD: Volunteer Motivation and Commitment
significantly greater than commitment to organization in affective commitment ( t(10) =
2.69, p = .023 ), normative commitment ( t(10) = 3.38, p = .007 ), and continuance
commitment ( t(10) = 4.47, p = .001 ).
Correlations were run to examine the relationships within motivation types and
the relationships within commitment types, as well as between motivation types and
commitment types. Within commitment types, a positive correlation was found between
organizational commitment and beneficiary commitment for normative commitment ( p =
.005 ) but not for continuance or affective commitment. Within motivation types,
significant positive correlations were found between enhancement and understanding ( p
= .000 ), enhancement and protective ( p = .035 ), and career and social ( p = .038 ).
Values motivation, career motivation, and social motivation did not correlate
significantly with any of the commitment to organization and commitment to beneficiary
components. Protective motivation had a slightly significant positive correlation with
normative commitment to beneficiaries ( p = .046 ) and continuance commitment to
organization ( p = .03 ). Understanding motivation had significant positive correlations
with all of the measures of commitment to beneficiaries: affective commitment to
beneficiaries ( p = .007 ), normative commitment to beneficiaries ( p = .000 ), and
continuance commitment to beneficiaries ( p = .02 ). Enhancement motivation correlated
positively with normative commitment to organization ( p = .014 ) and had a strong
significant correlation with affective commitment to beneficiaries ( p = .004) and with
normative commitment to beneficiaries ( p = .000 ). No other correlations were found.
Open-probe responses established that participants face personal individual
challenges while volunteering. In their response to the question addressing challenges
Kissick 17
RUNNING HEAD: Volunteer Motivation and Commitment
faced while volunteering, participants mentioned feeling overwhelmed and anxious while
on helpline, experiencing scheduling conflicts, dealing with difficult callers, and
processing some frightening and upsetting personal stories from callers. When asked
what Safe Voices could do to improve the volunteer experience, participants mentioned
implementing further support options, inserting more role-play scenarios during helpline
training, and a more open form of communication for volunteers to contact one another.
Discussion
It is clear from the results that the Safe Voices volunteers who participated in this
research volunteer because of a desire to serve the community, enhance their personal
development, and gain a more complete understanding of domestic violence within their
community. Values motivation’s significant positive difference with all other motivation
types indicates that participants have the motivation to volunteer, first and foremost,
inspired by the importance of serving others. Understanding and enhancement
motivations also play a prominent role in participants’ motivational structure. Participants
feel especially committed to the beneficiaries of Safe Voices, in part because of a sense
of an emotional connection with beneficiaries and a feeling of moral obligation to
provide help. With values motivation, understanding motivation, and enhancement
motivation as the primary forms of motivation, it is evident that Safe Voices’ volunteers
are drawn to the work because of more altruistic motives and less so because of desire to
further their career, be recognized socially, or to relieve negative feelings of self-worth.
The participants are committed to Safe Voices because of a desire to serve the
population in need and a sense of obligation to this population. It is significant that levels
of commitment to beneficiaries are higher than commitment to organization, because this
Kissick 18
RUNNING HEAD: Volunteer Motivation and Commitment
reflects that the participants’ priority is the people. It also may reflect a feeling of
disconnect between participants and the organization, which is also reflected in
participants open-probe responses emphasizing increased organizational support for
volunteers. It is important that Safe Voices keeps this commitment discrepancy in mind,
and works towards further strengthening their organizational bond with volunteers.
Conclusion
This research serves to educate Safe Voices about the motivations and
commitments of its volunteers, as well as draw attention to where volunteers may be
struggling and in need of additional support. Moving forward, it is the suggestion of this
research that Safe Voices facilitates a volunteer support network in which volunteers
have the ability to contact one another in times of difficulty. By expanding the base of
volunteer support, Safe Voices may see an increase in volunteer commitment levels and
extended times of service with the organization.
In conclusion, it is the hope that this research can serve as a general platform for
both understanding and improving the experiences of Safe Voices volunteers. These
volunteers’ commitment and service to Safe Voices are essential to its successful
functioning, and as these volunteers put so much of themselves into their service it is
important for Safe Voices to do the same for the volunteers.
Kissick 19
RUNNING HEAD: Volunteer Motivation and Commitment
Works Cited
Allison, L. D., Okun, M. A., & Dutridge, K. S. (2002). Assessing volunteer motives: A
comparison of an open-ended probe and Likert rating scales. Journal of
Community & Applied Social Psychology, 12(4), 243-255. doi:10.1002/casp.677
Batson, C. D. (1991). The altruism question: Toward a social-psychological answer.
Hillsdale, NJ, England: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
Clary, Snyder, M., Ridge, R. D., Copeland, J., Stukas, A. A., Haugen, J., & Miene, P.
(1998). Understanding and assessing the motivations of volunteers: A functional
approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74(6), 1516-1530.
doi:10.1037/0022-3514.74.6.1516
Clary, E. G. (1991). A functional analysis of altruism and prosocial behavior: The case of
volunteerism. A functional analysis of altruism and prosocial behavior: The case
of volunteerism.
Meyer, J. P., & Allen, N. J. (1991). A three-component conceptualization of
organizational commitment. Human Resource Management Review, 1, 61.
Meyer, J. P., Allen, N. J., & Smith, C. A. (1993). Commitment to organizations and
occupations: Extension and test of a three-component conceptualization. Journal
of Applied Psychology, 78(4), 538-551. doi:10.1037/0021-9010.78.4.538
Meyer, J. P., Stanley, D. J., Herscovitch, L., & Topolnytsky, L. (2002). Affective,
Continuance, and Normative Commitment to the Organization: A Meta-analysis
of Antecedents, Correlates, and Consequences. Journal of Vocational Behavior,
61(1), 20-52. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1006/jvbe.2001.1842
Kissick 20
RUNNING HEAD: Volunteer Motivation and Commitment
Mowday, R. T., Porter, L. W., & Steers, R. M. (1982). Employee-organization Linkages:
The Psychology of Commitment, Absenteeism, and Turnover. New York, NY:
Academic Press.
Nathanson, I. L., & Eggleton, E. (1993). Motivation versus program effect on length of
service: A study of four cohorts of ombudservice volunteers. Journal of
Gerontological Social Work, 19(3-4), 95-114. doi:10.1300/J083v19n03_08
Smith, M. B., & Lyman, S. M. (1968). Accounts. American Sociological Review, 33, 46-
62.
Stinglhamber, F., Bentein, K., & Vandenberghe, C. (2002). Extension of the Three-
Component Model of Commitment to Five Foci: Development of measures and
substantive test. European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 18(2), 123-138.
doi:10.1027//1015-5759.18.2.123
Valéau, P., Mignonac, K., Vandenberghe, C., & Gatignon Turnau, A.-L. (2013). A study
of the relationships between volunteers' commitments to organizations and
beneficiaries and turnover intentions. Canadian Journal of Behavioural
Science/Revue canadienne des sciences du comportement, 45(2), 85-95.
doi:10.1037/a0027620
Kissick 21
RUNNING HEAD: Volunteer Motivation and Commitment
Appendix A
Reflective Piece
This community based thesis has not only provided an opportunity for me to learn
more about the inner workings of Safe Voices and its volunteer population, but also an
opportunity to learn more fully about myself. I was able to deepen my connection with
Safe Voices, its volunteers, and the greater Lewiston community. The process of writing
this thesis has revealed to me where my strengths and weaknesses lie in research, and
allowed me to face these weaknesses head on. I am grateful for this process and the
challenges and successes that have come along with it.
Appendix B
Volunteer Demographic Information
1. Select your gender (M/F/Other)
2. How old are you?
3. How long have you been volunteering with Safe Voices?
4. Are you involved in Helpline? (Y/N)
5. Have you volunteered at shelter? (Y/N)
6. In what other ways have you involved yourself at the organization?
Volunteer Functions Inventory (Clary et. al, 1998)
Protective
7. No matter how bad I’ve been feeling, volunteering helps me to forget about it.
9. By volunteering I feel less lonely.
11. Doing volunteer work relieves me of some of the guilt over being more fortunate than
others.
Kissick 22
RUNNING HEAD: Volunteer Motivation and Commitment
20. Volunteering helps me work through my own personal problems.
24. Volunteering is a good escape from my own troubles.
Values
3. I am concerned about those less fortunate than myself.
8. I am genuinely concerned about the particular group I am serving.
16. I feel compassion toward people in need.
19. I feel it is important to help others.
22. I can do something for a cause that is important to me.
Career
1. Volunteering can help me to get my foot in the door at a place where I would work.
10. I can make new contacts that might help my business career.
15. Volunteering allows me to explore different career options.
21. Volunteering will help me to succeed in my chosen profession.
28. Volunteering experience will look goo don my resume.
Social
2. My friends volunteer.
4. People I’m close to want me to volunteer.
6. People I know share an interest in community service.
17. Others with whom I am close place a high value on community service.
23. Volunteering is an important activity to the people I know best.
Understanding
12. I can learn more about the cause for which I am working.
14. Volunteering allows me to gain a new perspective on things.
Kissick 23
RUNNING HEAD: Volunteer Motivation and Commitment
18. Volunteering lets me learn things through direct, hands on experience.
25. I can learn how to deal with a variety of people.
30. I can explore my own strengths.
Enhancement
5. Volunteering makes my feel important.
13. Volunteering increases my self-esteem.
26. Volunteering makes me feel needed.
27. Volunteering makes me feel better about myself.
29. Volunteering is a way to make new friends.
Survey Items for Volunteers’ Commitment to Beneficiaries (Valeau et. al, 2012)
Affective
1. I feel emotionally attached to the beneficiaries of Safe Voices.
2. In general, I have a liking for the beneficiaries of Safe Voices.
3. The beneficiaries of Safe Voices mean a lot to me.
4. I identify little with the expectations of the beneficiaries of Safe Voices. (R)
5. I do not feel especially attached to the beneficiaries of Safe Voices. (R)
6. I feel close to the beneficiaries of Safe Voices.
Normative
1. I feel I have a moral obligation to respond to the needs of the beneficiaries of Safe
Voices.
2. It would be wrong on my part to neglect the needs of the beneficiaries of Safe
Voices.
3. I feel obligated to meet the expectations of the beneficiaries of Safe Voices.
Kissick 24
RUNNING HEAD: Volunteer Motivation and Commitment
4. I would be reneging on my obligations if I ignored the beneficiaries of Safe
Voices.
5. I think I would be violating an implicit contract if I failed to respond to the needs
of the beneficiaries of Safe Voices.
6. I think I am morally responsible for meeting the needs of the beneficiaries of Safe
Voices.
Continuance
1. I have expended so much effort to get to know the needs of the beneficiaries of
Safe Voices that it would not be advantageous for me to quit my activity as a
volunteer.
2. I have acquired so much knowledge concerning the expectations of the
beneficiaries of Safe Voices that it would not be possible for me to change
activity.
3. I am so specialized in the services I provide to the beneficiaries of Safe Voices
that I could not imagine doing anything else.
4. It would be difficult for me, given the skills that I acquired, to reinvest in working
with other beneficiaries.
5. Mastering the necessary skills for working with other beneficiaries would require
me a great deal of time and energy.
Survey Items for Volunteers Commitment to Organization (Valéau et al., 2013)
Affective
1. I do not feel a strong sense of “belonging” to Safe Voices. (R)
2. I do not feel emotionally attached to Safe Voices. (R)
Kissick 25
RUNNING HEAD: Volunteer Motivation and Commitment
3. Safe Voices has a great deal of personal meaning for me.
4. I would be very happy to continue volunteering with Safe Voices.
5. I really feel as if Safe Voices’ problems are my own.
6. I do not feel like “part of the family” at Safe Voices.
Normative
1. Right now, staying with Safe Voices is an obligation and not a desire.
2. I would not leave Safe Voices right now because I have a sense of obligation to
the people in it.
3. Safe Voices deserves my loyalty.
4. I do not feel any obligation to remain with Safe Voices. (R)
5. I would feel guilty if I left Safe Voices now.
6. Even if it were to my advantage, I do not feel it would be right to leave Safe
Voices now.
Continuance
1. One of the few negative consequences of leaving Safe Voices would be the
scarcity of available volunteering alternatives.
2. If I had not already put so much of myself into Safe Voices, I might consider
volunteering elsewhere.
3. I feel that I have too few volunteer options to consider leaving Safe Voices.
4. It would be very hard for me to leave Safe Voices right now, even if I wanted to.
Safe Voices Open-Probe Questions (comment boxes used for responses)
1. Do you think that Safe Voices should implement a mandatory service
commitment for volunteers who participate in helpline training?
Kissick 26
RUNNING HEAD: Volunteer Motivation and Commitment
2. Would a required service time discourage you from volunteering with Safe
Voices helpline?
3. What challenges have you faced in volunteering?
4. If you work on helpline, is there anything you would add to the training
experience?
5. In what ways can Safe Voices support volunteers?
Kissick 27
Recommended