The primary purpose of this thesis was to determine whether self-legitimacy impacted police officer satisfaction. Using data collected through an online self-reported survey, perceptions of satisfaction among 266 St. Louis County police officers were analyzed, controlling for other factors previously determined to be important to satisfaction such as race, gender, educational achievement, stress, relationships with supervisors, and years of experience. Results showed that self-legitimacy did not significantly affect officer satisfaction; however, relationships with supervisors and stress were significant in determining officer satisfaction. A possible explanation is offered that takes into account the nature of law enforcement around the time of survey collection (i.e., in the aftermath of the Michael Brown shooting).

Job attitudes of rangers play a key role in the implementation and effectiveness of conservation initiatives. As such, scholars have begun to examine the attitudes rangers hold towards their role, organization, and external working environment. However, little is known about work motivation among rangers. Work motivation is a key predictor of employee performance, job attitudes, and well-being. The relationship between work motivation and ranger occupational attitudes may offer insight that conservation agencies can leverage to improve positive job attitudes. Guided by self-determination theory and the criminal justice literature, this study examines the relationship between ranger work motivation and attitudes towards self-legitimacy, job satisfaction, and turnover intent. Using survey data collected from a large, international sample of rangers, path analysis is employed to calculate the effects of different forms of work motivation on job attitudes. Results indicate that autonomous motivation (i.e., intrinsic and identified regulation) are significantly and positively associated with ranger perceptions of self-legitimacy and job satisfaction. Additionally, job satisfaction is significantly and negatively associated with turnover intent. Implications include organizational strategies for enhancing autonomous motivation, such as managerial autonomy support as well as implementing organizational justice in the workplace in both ranger and broader policing contexts. Future research should account for the role of work motivation when examining occupational attitudes and consider integrating self-determined work motivation into existing theories.