Construct validation of a measure of ingratiatory behaviour in organizational settings

To assess the construct validity of an instrument for Measuring Ingratiatory Behaviour in Organizational settings (MIBOS), 51 supervisors completed a 12-item version of the scale, indicating the frequency with which they used ingratiatory behavior at work. Their immediate superiors (targets of the ingratiation attempts) rated the subject on four hypothesized correlates of ingratiation tactics, liking for the subject, feeling comfortable in the subject’s company, subject’s perceived career success and subject’s perceived job performance. Each of the correlations between MIBOS and these superior ratings were significant, suggesting that the instrument possesses sufficient validity to justify its use in future research into ingratiation in organizations.