Person-Environment Fit Scale – PE Fit
Measures the discrepancy between an employee's perceived work environment and their personal preferences across four job dimensions.
Scale Development & Technical Details
Scale Overview
The Person-Environment Fit Scale – PE Fit was developed by Caplan, R. D., Cobb, S., French, J. R. P., Van Harrison, R., & Pinneau, S. R. (1980). It is designed to measure Person-Environment Fit. The scale is intended for use with Employees / Working adults.
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 42 items organized into 8 factors/subscales: Quantitative Workload – Environment, Quantitative Workload – Person, Responsibility for Persons – Environment, Responsibility for Persons – Person, Job Complexity – Environment, Job Complexity – Person, Role Ambiguity – Environment, Role Ambiguity – Person.
| Factor / Subscale | Items | N |
|---|---|---|
| Quantitative Workload – Environment | 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 | 7 |
| Quantitative Workload – Person | 8,9,10,11,12,13,14 | 7 |
| Responsibility for Persons – Environment | 15,16,17,18 | 4 |
| Responsibility for Persons – Person | 19,20,21,22 | 4 |
| Job Complexity – Environment | 23,25,27,29,31,33 | 6 |
| Job Complexity – Person | 24,26,28,30,32,34 | 6 |
| Role Ambiguity – Environment | 35,36,37,38 | 4 |
| Role Ambiguity – Person | 39,40,41,42 | 4 |
Response Format
Respondents rate each item using a custom response format.
Response anchors: 1 = Hardly any / Very little / Rarely / Exactly like first profile, 2 = A little / A few / Occasionally / A lot like first profile, 3 = Some / Sometimes / Somewhat like first profile, 4 = A lot / Fairly often / Halfway between profiles, 5 = A great deal / A great number / Very often / Somewhat like second profile, 6 = A lot like second profile, 7 = Exactly like second profile.
The scale includes 8 reverse-scored items to reduce acquiescence bias.
Scoring
Items are scored by subscale, with each subscale sum representing a distinct dimension.
Total scores range from 0 to 6. Interpretation guidelines:
- Perfect Fit (No discrepancy between Environment and Person preferences): 0 – 0
- Discrepancy / Misfit (Calculated as the absolute difference between E and P subscale scores): 1 – 6
Psychometric Properties
Internal Consistency: The scale has demonstrated good to excellent internal consistency with reported Cronbach’s alpha values of Alpha values range from .60 to .89 across subscales.
Administration
The scale is self-administered and typically takes approximately 15 minutes to complete. It can be administered individually or in group settings. No special training is required for administration.