Psychology Research Digest
Journal of Applied Psychology - Vol 111, Iss 4
The Journal of Applied Psychology will emphasize the publication of original investigations that contribute new knowledge and understanding to fields of applied psychology.
Rising to the challenge: The interactive effect of role overload and workplace impostor thoughts on effort and subsequent job performance.
Scholars have presented equivocal predictions and findings regarding the relationship between role overload and effort. Building on underdeveloped hints in the challenge–hindrance framework of work stress, I theorize that workplace impostor thoughts—popularly known as the impostor phenomenon—moderate the role overload–effort relationship, with implications for job performance. I test my theory in three studies: a field study, a preregistered experiment, and a preregistered survey study. I find that when employees have more frequent workplace impostor thoughts, they exert more effort in response to role overload, benefiting performance. Yet, when employees have less frequent workplace impostor thoughts, they exert less effort in reaction to role overload, hurting performance. Underlying these effects is that those employees who have more frequent workplace impostor thoughts seem to view role overload as more challenging (i.e., presenting a greater opportunity to attain gains). In contrast, those who have less frequent workplace impostor thoughts seem to see role overload as less challenging (i.e., presenting little opportunity to attain gains). I do not find that the greater effort for those with more frequent workplace impostor thoughts comes with subsequent well-being costs (e.g., stress, emotional exhaustion). I close with theoretical and practical implications given extant theory and research. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved)
Publication date: Mon, 10 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT Access the article >>Can’t get work off my mind: The effect of nonwork goal reflection on after-work rumination and well-being.
Many employees lament that their inability to stop ruminating about work during nonwork time is one of their most significant work-related challenges, yet limited research has articulated actionable strategies to address this issue on a day-to-day basis. Integrating goal shielding theory with rumination theory, our model introduces nonwork goal reflection as a deliberate behavioral intervention employees can engage in to curtail work-related rumination, in a way that facilitates well-being during nonwork time. Specifically, we argue that engaging in nonwork goal reflection—where employees intentionally reflect on nonwork goals to be completed during their nonwork time—can curtail work-related rumination and is associated with enhanced well-being. Additionally, our model identifies employee workaholism as a boundary condition: The benefits of nonwork goal reflection for rumination (and well-being) are weaker (vs. stronger) for employees higher (vs. lower) in workaholism. We conducted a field experimental experience sampling study that supports our theoretical model. Additionally, we conducted several supplemental studies that enhance theoretical rigor and precision by examining the underlying assumptions of our model. Theoretical and practical implications of our findings are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved)
Publication date: Thu, 13 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT Access the article >>How do career shocks shape occupational calling? Testing a moderated chained mediation model.
The present study examined how several career shocks experienced by students in the health care fields during the COVID-19 pandemic shaped their subsequent occupational calling. Drawing on social information processing theory, we posit that the perceived impact of career shocks is positively related to an improvement in the perceptions of occupational characteristics (i.e., perceived task significance and social worth) and resultant improvement in psychological states (i.e., meaningful work and prosocial motivation), which in turn are expected to be positively related to an improvement in occupational calling. We further posit that intrinsic motivation should weaken the above links through the perceptions of occupational characteristics. A four-wave prospective field study with baseline measures was conducted with 703 students in the health care fields in China during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results based on path analysis largely supported the hypothesized moderated chained mediation model. In addition, several novel relationships were discovered between perceived occupational characteristics and psychological states (i.e., the perceived task significance—prosocial motivation link and the perceived social worth—meaningful work link). Theoretical and practical implications, as well as future research directions, were discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved)
Publication date: Mon, 10 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT Access the article >>Bridging the social class capital gap: A psychological intervention in the newcomer adjustment context.
Motivated by observations that workers from lower social class backgrounds often experience lower career outcomes even after securing desirable jobs, we adopted an abductive approach—combining theory (the newcomer personal capital framework) with qualitative evidence from open-ended accounts (Study 1)—to identify three challenges these workers face after joining organizations as newcomers: limited cultural capital (i.e., institutional knowledge), lower social capital (i.e., social self-efficacy), and lower psychological capital (i.e., distress tolerance). Furthermore, in Study 1, we developed and tested a psychological intervention targeting these challenges and found that it effectively addressed them. In Studies 2 and 3, both preregistered field experiments, we deductively tested whether addressing these challenges would enhance key downstream outcomes. Indeed, for newcomers from lower social class backgrounds, the intervention improved both the experience of the work itself (job engagement) and the organizational social environment (social integration), which, in turn, led to better job performance—although it did not reduce turnover intentions. The intervention offers a scalable, low-cost method to promote the adjustment and career success of upwardly mobile workers from lower social class backgrounds. We discuss implications for understanding sources of class achievement gaps and for the importance of the newcomer adjustment process in promoting socioeconomic mobility in organizations. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved)
Publication date: Thu, 13 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT Access the article >>When the young feel old and the old feel young: Age-differential effects of subjective age bias on employee voice behavior.
Studies have shown that older individuals often feel younger than their chronological age (i.e., subjective age bias [SAB]) and that this can affect their attitudes, behavior, and health. This research extends current theory on SAB by arguing that not only older but also younger individuals exhibit SAB and that this affects their ability to voice critical input at work. Adopting a motivated social–cognitive perspective, we develop and test an age-differential model associating SAB with voice. We argue that younger adults tend to feel older and older individuals tend to feel younger to distance themselves from negative age stereotypes. This, in turn, positively affects their self-efficacy and thus promotes voice behavior at work. Our model is supported by four studies (two survey studies, one scenario study, and one experiment: Ns = 1,724, 16–75 years), including diverse samples of working individuals and using different operationalizations of SAB and voice. Studies 1a, 1b, and 2 demonstrate that older individuals who feel younger and younger individuals who feel older are more likely to speak up with work-related suggestions and concerns because of their higher self-efficacy. Study 3 shows that by activating negative age stereotypes, younger and older employees can be prompted to feel older (vs. younger), subsequently affecting their self-efficacy and voice behavior. This study contributes to a better understanding of SAB for younger and older individuals at work and highlights important implications for increasingly age-diverse organizations. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved)
Publication date: Thu, 13 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT Access the article >>Correction to “Build or buy? The individual and unit-level performance of internally versus externally selected managers over time” by DeOrtentiis et al. (2018).
Reports an error in "Build or buy? The individual and unit-level performance of internally versus externally selected managers over time" by Philip S. DeOrtentiis, Chad H. Van Iddekinge, Robert E. Ployhart and Tom D. Heetderks (Journal of Applied Psychology, 2018[Aug], Vol 103[8], 916-928; see record 2018-16525-001). In the article, in Table 1, most of the values in the columns for Variables 2 and 3 were incorrectly transposed. The columns with the corrected values are shown in the erratum. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2018-16525-001). At some point, hiring managers in all organizations face the decision of whether to fill open positions with internal candidates (e.g., through promotions) or to hire external candidates (e.g., from competitors or new entrants into the labor market). Despite this ubiquitous choice, surprisingly little research has compared the effectiveness of internal and external selection or has identified situations in which 1 approach may be better than the other. The authors use theory on human capital resources to predict differences between internal and external hires on manager- and unit-level outcomes. Analysis of data from a quick-service retail organization (N = 3,697) suggested that internally hired managers demonstrated higher levels of individual job performance and commanded lower starting salaries than externally hired managers. At the unit-level, operations led by internal hires demonstrated higher performance on organization-specific criteria (i.e., service performance), whereas no internal–external differences were found on more general criteria (i.e., financial performance). They also found some evidence that differences in unit service performance decreased over time (but did not diminish completely) as external hires improved at a slightly faster rate than internal hires. Overall, these findings underscore the complexity of the recurring “build or buy” decision. The results also suggest that internal hires generally outperform external hires, both individually and collectively, and they do so for less money. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved)
Publication date: Thu, 05 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT Access the article >>Stability matters: A dynamic process view on self-efficacy in training transfer.
We present a dynamic process view on self-efficacy that introduces the level and stability as two properties of self-efficacy influencing training transfer. The level of self-efficacy refers to the extent to which individuals believe in their capability to perform a task (e.g., 0%–100%). Stability refers to the extent to which the current level of self-efficacy can be predicted from the previous level of self-efficacy, indicating a lack of change in the level over time. According to our view, the level of self-efficacy positively influences the goal intentions to engage in action after training, independent of the stability of self-efficacy. Furthermore, the effect of the level of self-efficacy on transfer performance depends on the stability of self-efficacy. We test our model using a longitudinal data set over 2 years with a total of 1,399 lagged observations from N = 871 participants of an entrepreneurship training intervention. We find that training increases the level of self-efficacy in the short term and that the stability of self-efficacy develops over time during the transfer process. Furthermore, the level of self-efficacy becomes a stronger predictor of transfer performance over time as it becomes more stable. Our results suggest that both properties of self-efficacy develop over time, and the joint consideration of both properties better explains training transfer. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved)
Publication date: Thu, 13 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT Access the article >>Striving or settling: Social class origins and wage goal dynamics in the job search process.
This research examines how social class origins influence wage goals among college-educated job seekers. Drawing from the social class and job search literatures, we hypothesize that compared with their peers with upper class origins, job seekers with lower class origins (a) set lower wage goals and (b) adjust their wage goals up and down in reaction to changes in their perceived job search progress (i.e., have a stronger positive within-person relationship between perceived job search progress and wage goal). We tested these hypotheses in two studies that surveyed college-educated job seekers in China every week over 3 months. Study 1 revealed that job seekers with lower (but not upper) class origins adjusted their wage goals based on perceived job search progress. Study 2 found that job seekers with lower class origins had stronger motives for seeking employment to meet the needs and expectations of others (i.e., higher interdependent motives for employment), which in turn strengthened the within-person relationship between perceived job search progress and wage goal. In addition, family income (but not parental education) was positively related to access to resources, which in turn was positively related to the job seeker’s average perceived job search progress and wage goals. Both studies found that job seekers who set higher wage goal floors (i.e., the lowest level of wage goal throughout a job search) received job offers with higher wages. These findings offer valuable insights for research and practice. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved)
Publication date: Thu, 13 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT Access the article >>