Validation of a Perception of Objectification in the Workplace Short Scale (POWS).

An increasing number of studies focus on the phenomenon of objectification in the workplace. This phenomenon reflects a process of subjection of the employee, where he is considered as an object, a mean (utilitarian) or reduced to one of his attributes. Previous studies have shown that objectification can have consequences on the workplace health or performance. Field studies are based on objectification measures based on tools whose psychometric qualities are unclear. Based on a previous workplace objectification measurement scale, we conducted a study with the aim of devising a new parsimonious scale. We present three studies which aim to validate this new scale. In the first study, an EFA and a CFA were performed in order to construct a scale and verify its structure validity. We obtained a 10-item scale reporting two factors labeled "Instrumental value" and "Powerfulness." The psychometric qualities of this scale were satisfactory, i.e., showed good internal reliability and good structural validity. In a second study, we tested the convergent and divergent validity of the scale. We observe that POWS is adequately correlated with dehumanization indicators. Finally, in a third study, we found that only powerfulness was associated with negative consequences for occupational health. This suggests that objectification is a process of social perception that contributes either to the devaluation of social agents in the workplace or to normal functioning at work.

Measuring the Sense of Agency: A French Adaptation and Validation of the Sense of Agency Scale (F-SoAS).

Sense of Agency (SoA) is the subject of growing attention. It corresponds to the capacity to claim authorship over an action, associate specific consequences with a specific action, and it has been claimed to be a key point in the development of consciousness. It can be measured using the Sense of Agency Scale (SoAS), originally proposed by Tapal et al. (2017), who distinguished it into two-factor: Sense of Positive Agency (SoPA) and Sense of Negative Agency (SoNA). This study reports on the first adaptation of the SoAS into another language, French. For this French version of the Sense of Agency Scale (F-SoAS), we analyzed responses from a sample of 517 native French-speakers. Our results indicate that the scale has good psychometric properties. Factor analysis confirms the same two-factor model as Tapal et al. (2017). However, some items were removed due to insufficient loadings with factors, leading to a short version of the scale (7-item). Furthermore, we observed gender differences that are consistent with findings in the literature. Specifically, women report higher SoNA scores and lower SoPA scores than men. We conclude by discussing possible uses and future directions for the scale.