Effects of the self-schema on perception of space at work

The purpose of this research is to show that a person's self-schema can affect his or her perception of reality at work. Results show that significant differences in environmental perception and workspace evaluation exist between people with a self-schema of professional failure and those with a self-schema of professional success. The findings suggest that the self-schema filters information about the environment in two directions, affecting how people assess their work environment, and also how they see themselves on the basis of the attributes and functioning of their work environment. The study has interesting implications for a better understanding of the complexity of the person-environment relationship in the workplace. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.