Status consistency and nurses' expectations and perceptions of role performance

To determine if behavior of individuals at various levels within a profession may be predicted, relationship between expectations and perceptions of role performance among nurses and status consistency and status inconsistency was investigated. Two variables were selected as the best predictors in regression analysis of the scores for expectations and perceptions: type of basic nursing program from which a subject graduated and type of status consistency of the subject. Of the three variables--education, position, and income--education was the most important for determining status consistency. This study supported the conclusion that a significant relationship exists between expectations and perceptions of role behavior and status consistency.