Why grit requires perseverance and passion to positively predict performance

This is the final version. Available from the publisher via the DOI in this record.Data deposition: Data and scripts related to this paper are available at https://osf.io/ kp7cb/Prior studies linking grit—defined as perseverance and passion for long-term goals—to performance are beset by contradictory evidence. As a result, commentators have increasingly declared that grit has limited effects. We propose that this inconsistent evidence has occurred because prior research has emphasized perseverance and ignored, both theoretically and empirically, the critical role of passion, which we define as a strong feeling toward a personally important value/preference that motivates intentions and behaviors to express that value/preference. We suggest that combining the grit scale— which only captures perseverance—with a measure that assesses whether individuals attain desired levels of passion will predict performance. We first metaanalyzed 127 studies (n = 45,485) that used the grit scale and assessed performance, and found that effect sizes are larger in studies where participants were more passionate for the performance domain. Second, in a survey of employees matched to supervisor-rated job performance (n = 422), we found that the combination of perseverance, measured through the grit scale, and passion attainment, measured through a new scale, predicted higher performance. A final study measured perseverance and passion attainment in a sample of students (n = 248) and linked these to their grade-point average (GPA), finding that the combination of perseverance and passion attainment predicted higher GPAs in part through increased immersion. The present results help resolve the mixed evidence of grit’s relationship with performance by highlighting the important role that passion plays in predicting performance. By adequately measuring both perseverance and passion, the present research uncovers grit’s true predictive power

The critical role of second-order normative beliefs in predicting energy conservation

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Springer Nature via the DOI in this recordSustaining large-scale public goods requires individuals to make environmentally friendly decisions today to benefit future generations. Recent research suggests that second-order normative beliefs are more powerful predictors of behaviour than first-order personal beliefs. We explored the role that second-order normative beliefs—the belief that community members think that saving energy helps the environment—play in curbing energy use. We first analysed a data set of 211 independent, randomized controlled trials conducted in 27 US states by Opower, a company that uses comparative information about energy consumption to reduce household energy usage (pooled N = 16,198,595). Building off the finding that the energy savings varied between 0.81% and 2.55% across states, we matched this energy use data with a survey that we conducted of over 2,000 individuals in those same states on their first-order personal and second-order normative beliefs. We found that second-order normative beliefs predicted energy savings but first-order personal beliefs did not. A subsequent pre-registered experiment provides causal evidence for the role of second-order normative beliefs in predicting energy conservation above first-order personal beliefs. Our results suggest that second-order normative beliefs play a critical role in promoting energy conservation and have important implications for policymakers concerned with curbing the detrimental consequences of climate change

Inequality in researchers’ minds: Four guiding questions for studying subjective perceptions of economic inequality

This is the final version. Available on open access from Wiley via the DOI in this recordSubjective perceptions of inequality can substantially influence policy attitudes, public health metrics, and societal well-being, but the lack of consensus in the scientific community on how to best operationalize and measure these perceptions may impede progress on the topic. Here, we provide a theoretical framework for the study of subjective perceptions of inequality, which brings critical differences to light. This framework—which we conceptualize as a series of four guiding questions for studying subjective perceptions of economic inequality—serves as a blueprint for the theoretical and empirical decisions researchers need to address in the study of when, how, and why subjective perceptions of inequality are consequential for individuals, groups, and societies. To lay the foundation for a comprehensive approach to the topic, we offer four theoretical and empirical decisions in studying subjective perceptions of inequality, urging researchers to specify: (1) What kind of inequality? (2) What level of analysis? (3) What part of the distribution? and (4) What comparison group? We subsequently discuss how this framework can be used to organize existing research and highlight its utility in guiding future research across the social sciences in both the theory and measurement of subjective perceptions of inequality.Tobin FoundationInternational Association for Research in Economic Psychology (IAREP)Department of Economics, University of Exeter Business Schoo

Proactivity can be a double-edged sword

This is the final version. Available from the publisher via the link in this record

Measuring inequality beyond the Gini coefficient may clarify conflicting findings

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Nature Research via the DOI in this recordPrior research found mixed results on how economic inequality is related to various outcomes. These contradicting findings may in part stem from a predominant focus on the Gini coefficient, which only narrowly captures inequality. Here, we conceptualize the measurement of inequality as a data reduction task of income distributions. Using a uniquely fine-grained dataset of N = 3, 056 US county-level income distributions, we estimate the fit of 17 previously proposed models, and find that multi-parameter models consistently outperform single parameter models (i.e., which represent the Gini coefficient). Subsequent simulations reveal that the best-fitting model—the two-parameter Ortega model—distinguishes between inequality concentrated at lower- versus top-income percentiles. When applied to 100 policy out comes from a range of fields (including health, crime, and social mobility), the two Ortega parameters frequently provide directionally and significantly different correlations than the Gini coefficient. Our findings highlight the importance of multi-parameter models and data-driven methods to study inequality.UK Research and Innovatio

My Boss’ Passion Matters as Much as My Own: The Interpersonal Dynamics of Passion are a Critical Driver of Performance Evaluations

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Wiley via the DOI in this recordData and code availability: All data and code necessary to reproduce our analyses are available at: https://osf.io/35hy8/?view_only=2982af79977f461ea951f83af4437947Companies often celebrate employees who successfully pursue their passion. Academic research suggests that these positive evaluations occur because of the passion percolating inside the employee. We propose that supervisors are also a key piece of this puzzle: Supervisors who are more successful in their own pursuit of passion place more value on passion in their performance evaluations. This produces an interpersonal dynamic whereby employees who are more successful in pursuing their passion may receive higher performance ratings when their supervisors are also more successful in pursuing their passion. We provide support for this core hypothesis across a crowd-sourced study with a heterogeneous sample (N=106 subordinatesupervisor dyads), a field study with a financial services company (N=321 subordinatesupervisor dyads), and a laboratory experiment (N=205) that offers both causal and mediating evidence. Crucially, we demonstrate that this interpersonal dynamic is specific to passion and does not apply to less observable motivations (intrinsic and extrinsic motivation). These results demonstrate that supervisors who successfully pursue their passion may overvalue passion relative to other valuable attributes, leading to potential bias. They also give a new perspective on managing upwards: Employees may further their own careers by helping their supervisors pursue their passion

To retain employees, support their passions outside work

As the Great Resignation continues, leaders continue to struggle with how to recruit and retain the best talent. What do talented workers most want out of their jobs? Is it remote work and autonomy? Better pay and health coverage? The chance to work with a diverse team and make a positive impact in the lives of others? While these dimensions are widely understood as important, our research pinpoints an additional aspect of the most attractive jobs that is currently under recognized: jobs that are designed to enable employees to pursue their out-of-work passions. That is, many employees may benefit from viewing their jobs as conduits to pursue their passion outside of work, and jobs that allow employees to do so may not only draw in talented employees, but can help them maintain their productivity and well-being over the long-term. How can you attract and retain employees who want to pursue their passions outside of work? Drawing on research on passion at work and examples of companies that help employees to embrace out-of-work passions, we recommend creating passion opportunities for your employees through the following steps

Your job doesn't have to be your passion

The Covid-19 pandemic has prompted many of us to re-consider our career path. A common refrain from students knocking on our (virtual Zoom) door has been: “The pandemic has given me time to think, and I’ve come to realize that I want to pursue work that I’m passionate about. How do I go about doing that?” This comes amidst a growing body of research highlighting the beneficial effects of pursuing your passion at work, including higher job performance, job satisfaction, and career earnings

Reply to Guo et al. and Credé: Grit-S scale measures only perseverance, not passion, and its supposed subfactors are merely artifactors

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the publisher via the DOI in this recor