Psychology Research Digest
Journal of Applied Psychology - Vol 111, Iss 3
The Journal of Applied Psychology will emphasize the publication of original investigations that contribute new knowledge and understanding to fields of applied psychology.
Exposure to successful women and racial minorities who defy stereotypes about their groups leads to inflated perceptions of diversity in organizations.
The presence of historically underrepresented minority employees who defy negative stereotypes can have widespread organizational benefits. For example, hiring highly successful women and racial minority employees can reduce stereotypes about their groups, set a precedent for more inclusive norms, and create role models for members of stereotyped groups. Yet, defying stereotypes also makes these employees particularly salient, as their success in organizations conflicts with stereotyped expectations regarding their career outcomes. By integrating insights from the stereotype content model and the process of attribute substitution from dual process theory, we argue that the salience of highly successful women and racial minority employees can ironically have negative secondary consequences for the groups from which they hail. Specifically, we propose that exposure to successful women and racial minorities can lead to inflated perceptions of gender and racial diversity, as the salience of such stereotype defiers is used to evaluate their groups’ prevalence. We further suggest that such inflated diversity perceptions can significantly hinder organizational efforts to advance the interests of the historically underrepresented minority groups in question. We test our predictions across four complementary studies: three experiments (including stimuli generated with real data for gender diversity in organizations in the United States) and a study that combines real gender diversity and gender pay gap data from organizations in the United Kingdom with experimental data on diversity perceptions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved)
Publication date: Thu, 02 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMT Access the article >>From cues to categorizations: An integrative framework for leader (re-)categorization over time.
Who is perceived as a leader? Traditional theories of leader categorization have primarily emphasized observable behaviors as the key basis for making this judgment. However, a growing body of research shows that perceivers rely on a broader set of cues—beyond behavior alone—that differentially shape leadership attributions. To integrate these perspectives, we present a comprehensive review of how multiple—and sometimes competing—cues are perceived, interpreted, and activated as traits in the leader categorization process. To explain when and why certain cues are attended to while others are overlooked, we draw on a previously overlooked body of research on cue properties, illustrating how characteristics such as cue availability, discriminability, salience, and accessibility influence leadership perceptions. We further demonstrate how cue properties can shift over time by distinguishing cues in terms of their dynamism, with important implications for leader re-categorization. We conclude by offering directions for future research, practical recommendations for individuals seeking to be perceived as leaders, and suggestions for improving leader selection. Our review suggests that recognizing differences among cues and unpacking the process of cue integration is critical for the advancement of leader categorization research. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved)
Publication date: Mon, 08 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMT Access the article >>What do assessment center ratings reflect? Consistency and heterogeneity in variance composition across multiple samples.
The question of what assessment centers’ measure has remained a controversial topic in research for decades, with a recent increase in studies that (a) use generalizability theory and (b) acknowledge the effects of aggregating postexercise dimension ratings into higher level assessment center scores. Building on these developments, we used Bayesian generalizability theory and random-effects meta-analyses to examine the variance explained by assessment center components such as assessees, exercises, dimensions, assessors, their interactions, and the interrater reliability of AC ratings in 19 different assessment center samples from various organizations (N = 4,963 assessees with 272,528 observations). This provides the first meta-analytic estimates of these effects, as well as insight into the extent to which findings from previous studies generalize to assessment center samples that differ in measurement design, industry, and purpose, and how heterogeneous these effects are across samples. Results were consistent with previous trends in the ranking of variance explained by key AC components (with assessee main effects and assessee–exercise effects being the largest variance components) and additionally emphasized the relevance of assessee–exercise–dimension effects. In addition, meta-analytic results suggested substantial heterogeneity in all reliable variance components (i.e., assessee main effect, assessee–exercise effect, assessee–dimension effect, and assessee–exercise–dimension effect) and in interrater reliability across assessment center samples. Aggregating AC ratings into higher level scores (i.e., overall AC scores, exercise-level scores, and dimension-level scores) reduced heterogeneity only slightly. Implications of the findings for a multifaceted assessment center functioning are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved)
Publication date: Mon, 29 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMT Access the article >>Ignorance may be bliss: How the ability to perceive emotions influences attitudes and behavior.
The ability to perceive emotion is traditionally associated with desirable work outcomes. In the present study, we challenge this assumption by examining whether all emotion perception abilities are created equal. Although the ability to perceive positive emotion may be a “blessing” because it allows one to see positive emotions in one’s environment, the empathic accuracy model suggests that the ability to perceive negative emotion may be a “curse” because it allows one to see negative emotions in one’s environment and, as such, may adversely affect one’s attitudes and behaviors at work. Across an experimental design (Study 1), a sample of employed coworker dyads (Study 2), and an experience sampling study (Study 3), we found no support for “the blessing” of the ability to perceive positive emotion, but we did find evidence of the curse of the ability to perceive negative emotion and its harmful effects on how one perceives their coworkers, how one perceives their job, and the extent to which one withdraws from their job. Our findings suggest that emotional contagion is a potential mechanism through which the ability to perceive negative emotion is detrimental to attitudes and behaviors; the more one observes and subsequently feels negative emotions at work, the greater the personal consequences for this ability. To mitigate the adverse effects of this ability, we test and find support for an intervention that instructs employees to focus on positive emotions in their work environment. Implications for future theory and research on emotion perception ability are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved)
Publication date: Mon, 29 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMT Access the article >>Reducing adverse impact by hiring on vocational interests: A pareto-optimal approach.
In the study of personnel selection to enhance organizational diversity, Pareto-optimal predictor weights are designed to simultaneously optimize the diversity and job performance of new hires. One aspiration for this approach is to access stronger combinations of diversity and performance outcomes by shifting the diversity–validity trade-off curve outward. The current work examines the role of a particular set of predictors—vocational interests—for their capacity to shift the Pareto trade-off curve outward, creating superior diversity–validity outcome pairings. Empirical results based on meta-analytic estimates suggest that novel diversity benefits (at no loss in terms of validity) can be observed in two sets of scenarios: (a) when selecting on high levels of social or conventional vocational interests (i.e., when individuals enjoy social or conventional tasks) specifically when such interests are relevant to the job, and (b) when selecting on high levels of realistic, investigative, or artistic disinterests (i.e., when individuals find realistic, investigative, or artistic tasks aversive) specifically when such disinterests are relevant to the job. Implications for improving diversity through hiring on vocational interests and vocational disinterests, while simultaneously optimizing on job performance, are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved)
Publication date: Thu, 02 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMT Access the article >>The u-shaped relationship between locus of control and prohibitive voice via perceived risk of prohibitive voice: The moderating role of team voice climate.
Locus of control (LOC) has been recognized as a key individual disposition shaping employee behavior; however, its relationship with risk-taking behaviors such as prohibitive voice remains inconclusive. This research extends the literature by theorizing and testing a U-shaped relationship between LOC and prohibitive voice. Drawing upon the demands–abilities fit framework, we propose that employees with either strongly internal or strongly external LOC perceive lower risk associated with speaking up than those with moderate LOC, resulting in greater engagement in prohibitive voice. Moreover, this mediated U-shaped relationship is more pronounced when team voice climate is low rather than high. Findings from two field studies with a multisource, multiwave design support the proposed moderated mediation model. Overall, this research refines our understanding of why and when employees speak up about problems at work and suggests ways managers can better foster such behavior in situations that feel risky. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved)
Publication date: Thu, 02 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMT Access the article >>How newcomers and incumbents adapt their daily performance to others in jobs where social interaction is unnecessary.
In traditional work group settings, individual employees are known to adapt their behavior to that of peers. It is less clear how individuals adapt their behavior in work settings where tasks are independent and the role of social interaction is minimized. This study examines day-to-day performance adaptation among incumbents and newcomers in an automated Fortune 500 e-commerce warehouse where employees work in shifts yet are paid based solely on individual performance. We contribute to performance adaptation literature by exploring whether employees adjust their daily performance based on real-time information from salient others in close physical proximity. Additionally, we extend newcomer socialization research by examining differences in how incumbents and newcomers utilize performance cues from others. We find that incumbent daily performance is more strongly related to that of salient others than is newcomer daily performance. Our findings offer practical insights into an understudied but rapidly growing segment of the workforce. The findings also highlight that social influence continues to play a key role in job performance even in jobs specifically designed to minimize the role of social factors. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved)
Publication date: Mon, 01 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMT Access the article >>Self-knowledge is the beginning of self-improvement.
- Baltasar Gracián, The Art of Worldly Wisdom (1647)
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