16 Problems associated with a decrease in job satisfaction, may present an
opportunity to introduce livelihood options to a community. One factor contributing to decreased job satisfaction is perceived control which is also
associated with future perspective. Future
perspective is an individual’s perception of the future and degree to which that individual prepares for it. An individual’s future perspective affects
household decision-making and investments, including type and number of income sources. Future perspective incorporates an individual’s tendency toward deferred
gratification and hisher level of fatalistic thinking. Deferred gratification is defined by Pollnac and Poggie as the tendency to “postpone immediate desires in order to
obtain what they consider to be more substantial rewards in the future” 1978:355. Fatalism is the perception that one’s actions will not affect outcomes in future time.
Gratification orientations and fatalism have been addressed by researchers as measurable indicators of future perspective Johnson et al. 1998, Poggie 1978,
Pollnac and Ruiz-Stout 1976. Differences in future orientation or perspective can cause organizational conflict and prevent achieving desired goals Reeves-Ellington
1998:102. Generally, people that feel positively about the future are more likely to accept a new type of livelihood and, therefore, their future perspective may impact
willingness to participate in livelihood rehabilitation projects.
2.4.1 Gratification Orientation
Several studies have investigated participant propensity for saving money to invest in productive materials in various occupations Poggie 1978, Pollnac and
17 Poggie 1978, Pollnac and Ruiz-Stout 1976. This is a type of deferred gratification
is known as investment orientation Poggie 1978, Pollnac and Poggie 1978. Jentoft and Davis suggest that certain fisheries require different levels of investment and
that those fishers that participate in fisheries that require more investment might also tend to anticipate greater investment when participating in other livelihood
projects 1993:14. This tendency to save for future investment, also known as deferred gratification, is generally greater in an occupation that requires more
expensive materials. One investigation revealed that fishermen on average are more likely to
exhibit deferred gratification than people in the same community that are engaged in other occupations Poggie 1978:121. Pollnac and Poggie also compared
gratification orientations in various industries with respect to periodicity and concluded that participants working in occupations that exhibit moderate to high
periodicity of income show a greater tendency to defer gratification 1978:365. Periodicity of income has also been linked to deferred orientations in Panama
where first generation fishers that came from farming families showed a greater tendency to defer than second generation fishers Pollnac and Ruiz-Stout 1976:9.
In this area, the periodicity of income for agriculture is longer than for fishing Pollnac and Ruiz-Stout 1976:10. Occupational periodicity and gratification
orientation is likely to vary among coastal occupations because of seasonal fluctuations in population levels of target species and changing market values.
Individuals that depend on coastal resources with a larger variation in catch are more likely to defer gratification than those that participate in a more reliable,
18 consistent catch level Poggie 1978: 116. Therefore, gratification orientations may
affect willingness to participate in rehabilitation projects.
2.4.2 Fatalism
