Affective Disposition and the Letter of Reference

The present study attempted to determine the relationship between affective disposition and the favorability of letters of reference. We hypothesized that individuals with positive dispositions would write more favorable letters than would individuals with less positive or neutral dispositions. In addition, we also hypothesized that length of letter would partly mediate the relationship between affective disposition and letter favorability. To test these hypotheses, two studies were conducted. In order to present letter writers with a controlled stimulus, Study 1 entailed having 110 undergraduate students write letters of reference for two hypothetical job candidates in a laboratory setting. In order to test the generalizability of the laboratory study, Study 2 involved 95 faculty members who submitted three recent letters of reference they had written. Results showed that affective disposition was related to the favorability of letters of reference in both studies. Results also revealed that length of letter partly mediated the relationship between affective disposition and letter favorability.