Industrial and Organizational Psychology Commons^™

Industrial And Organizational Psychology Researchers’ Positive And Negative Experiences With The Peer-Review Process, Alexa Weaver

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Peer review plays a critical role in advancing the field of psychology; however, limited empirical research has examined psychologists’ experiences with the peer review process. The present study investigated both positive and negative peer review experiences among industrial and organizational (I/O) psychologists and assessed the prevalence of specific reviewer behaviors. A two-phase survey design was administered via Qualtrics. Study 1 employed open-ended questions to identify recurring themes in researchers’ experiences with peer review. Thematic analysis revealed distinct positive and negative patterns of reviewer behavior, which informed the development of Study 2.

Study 2 quantitatively assessed the prevalence of behaviors associated …

Bilingualsim In The Workplace: How Work Attitudes Influence Burnout And Turnover Intentions, Andrea Del Aguila

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Understanding whether language status functions as a risk or protective factor for employee well-being and retention is essential for developing organizational policies that support workers from varied demographic backgrounds. This study examined how work attitudes such as job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and work engagement are seen among bilingual and monolingual workers and how these outcomes relate to employee burnout and turnover intentions. An outside researcher from Talent Metrics Consulting collected data via an online survey utilizing previously validated measures of job satisfaction, organizational commitment, burnout, work engagement, and turnover intentions. Participants were recruited through online advertising and social sampling obtaining …

Discomfort In Silence: Investigating Workplace Discrimination In Relation To Employee Disclosure Of Menopausal Health Issues, Alysia Furbish

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Menopause is a universal developmental transition for women that often coincides with peak career years, yet it remains underexamined in organizational research and is frequently treated as a private or taboo workplace topic. This lack of visibility shapes whether women feel able to disclose menopause-related challenges, seek accommodations, and access organizational support. Drawing on literature related to pregnancy and motherhood discrimination, menopause stereotypes, and disclosure literature, this study examines how symptom burden, ideal worker norms, and stigma-related identity management contribute to anticipated workplace discrimination and disclosure decisions. Data were collected via an online survey of 106 working women recruited through …

Socio-Technical Exchange With Machines: Worker Experiences With Complex Work Technologies, Cameron W. Piercy, Reaia Turner-Leatherman

Human-Machine Communication

Machines are now commonplace work partners and Human-Machine Communication (HMC) is part of modern work. Guided by the machine heuristic and Social Exchange Theory (SET) this paper uses interviews with 22 workers to explore the socio-technical relationships between humans and machines at work. Participants worked with complex machines across a wide variety of industries and roles and findings reveal participants see machines as part of the work ecosystem, develop everyday machine heuristics to guide repeated interactions with machines, and that elements of human uniqueness persist in evaluations of humans and machines. Discussion points emphasize situated and developing human-machine interaction scripts, …

From Boredom To Purpose: How Self-Concept Can Affect Motivation In The Workplace, Norma I. Cintron

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The present experiment explored whether or not a positive self-concept influences how individuals manage boredom in the workplace. It was hypothesized that individuals with a positive self-concept would cope better with boredom and complete a dull task more accurately. However, these hypotheses were not confirmed, the study found no significant relationship between self-concept and boredom coping, nor between self-concept and task accuracy. In fact, individuals with higher self-concepts were slightly less accurate, though the difference was not statistically significant. Additionally, the study analyzed participants’ written responses to questions about handling boredom using Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) software. The …

A Kinder Panopticon? Examining Effects Of Fairness And Justice On Performance Outcomes Under Advanced Electronic Monitoring Systems, William F. Tang

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The adoption of Electronic Performance Monitoring (EPM) systems has increased with the prevalence of remote workers post-COVID. Research indicates EPM yields conflicting performance and behavioral outcomes. EPM-related behavior can be predicted by organizational justice (the extent to which workplaces are perceived as fair in nature); environments with higher justice ratings are less likely to induce issues like stress and distrust. However, advanced EPM like electroencephalograms (EEG) may modulate the relationships between perceived fairness, stress, and work performance. This study assigned 42 participants to a modified vigilance test (based on Temple, et al., 2001), which participants took under 3 placebo monitoring …

A Stress Perspective Of Leader-Follower Relationship Ambivalence, Ghada Baz

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

Ambivalence is the experience of both positive and negative evaluations regarding an object such as a person or an event. Although interest in leadership ambivalence has been growing among researchers, there is still little understanding of what distinguishes it from poor leadership. The goal of this dissertation was to contribute to the leadership ambivalence literature by examining ambivalence in the leader-member exchange (LMX) relationship through the lens of occupational stress. Specifically, I used the job demands-resources model as a theoretical foundation and presented leadership ambivalence as a unique job demand that is associated with emotional exhaustion as a symptom of …

Assessment Of Caretaker Resources And Motivation In The Wean-To-Market Phase Of Swine Production, Joshua W. Holtkamp

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

This study is a novel application of I/O Psychology principles to the U.S. swine industry. The Swine Health Information Center (SHIC) recently identified caretaker motivation related to compliance with biosecurity behaviors as a priority needing to be better understood. This exploratory study seeks to identify if there is indeed a worker motivation issue within the industry that is impacting compliance with biosecurity, and if so, establish both a baseline of motivation and a better understanding of the primary influencing factors. Using the Theory of Planned Behavior and the Job Demands/Resources Model of Burnout as a framework, an online survey was …

The Role Of Multiteam Systems In Prescribed Fire Operational Incidents, Kevin Llanos

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to study how multiteam systems (MTS) are implicated in prescribed fire operations and enhance an interdisciplinary understanding of occupational demands in the industry to mitigate worsening environmental challenges. We study publicly accessible sources through a mixed-methods approach applying I/O psychology and discuss relevant literature. Land management plan documentation is reviewed to explore the structural and functional components of prescribed fire teams. We apply theory-driven coding to analyze prescribed fire incident documentation as we study MTS system processes and develop thematic findings. Lastly, industry job listing content and occupational demands are reviewed. Through this archival …

Employee Volunteering: Integrating The Volunteering And Helping Literatures Using A Latent Profile Approach, Emily Broksch

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

In recent years, more and more organizations are being held responsible for the social impact of their organizational priorities, commonly referred to as corporate social responsibility. As a result, there has been an increased implementation of employee volunteering initiatives. However, research on volunteering has largely remained separate from the context of work. As the prevalence of employee volunteering initiatives continues to grow, the need to integrate the theoretical and practical findings from the volunteering literature with that of the extensively studied and related discretionary prosocial work behavior (i.e., organizational citizenship behavior) research has become increasingly apparent. This dissertation examines how …

Patterns Of Risk Behaviors And Their Value: A Latent Class Growth Modeling Approach, Anthony Naranjo

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

The current body of individual risk behavior research has been mainly driven by two streams of literature. Stable risk researchers propose individuals tend to display similar risk behaviors across time and situations due to individuals' underlying propensity to either engage in risk averse or risk seeking behaviors. Changeable risk researchers have sought out to examine variability in risk behaviors due to factors such as personality and contextual characteristics. However, might it be the case that there are subgroups of individuals who may be more prone to display static risk behaviors and other subgroup whose risk behaviors are more amendable? To …

Predicting Implementation Citizenship Behavior Rating Discrepancies Between Supervisor-Subordinate Dyads, Alexandra Kandah

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), defined as behavior that is discretionary and not directly or explicitly recognized by the formal reward system, has gained significant interest in the literature over the past few decades. Recent OCB research has begun to address more specialized facets of citizenship behavior that target behaviors that support specific strategic goals in the organization. One form of OCB encompasses those behaviors that assist with the implementation of new practices or innovations in the organization, above and beyond typical implementation. This study extends both the general OCB literature and the newer literature on implementation citizenship by examining factors …

The Effect Of Personality On Performance Under Change, Sydney Mazur

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the relationship between personality and performance under changing circumstances. Specifically, this paper analyzes how the personality trait of optimism, and a moderator of ambiguity tolerance, affects performance under changes in an Air-Traffic Control Simulation. Previous studies have not examined the effect that optimism has on performance under change. Results indicated that personality does not correlate significantly with performance. This study was completed due to interest in a positive attitude and how it may relate to performing in the workplace

Stress Appraisals Of Organizational Change: The Role Of Adaptability And Communication, Wheeler Nakahara

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

This two-part study used a field study and experimental vignette design to investigate predictors (extent of change, adaptability, and communication) of threat, hindrance, and challenge appraisals of change. The field study also examined employee well-being, job attitudes, and behaviors as outcomes of these appraisals. Drawing from stress appraisal theory, the primary goal of the study was to add to our knowledge of how personal characteristics and contextual factors relate to positive and negative appraisals of change and how those appraisals manifest in employee related outcomes. I hypothesized that adaptability and high-quality communication would function as resources that promote positive appraisals, …

A Re-Evaluation Of Stuart's Police Officer Stigma Scale, Zachery D. Burzee

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Stigma about mental illness is often identified as one of the most prominent obstacles to seeking mental health services. This seems to be particularly true among first responders. Unfortunately, the research regarding stigma in first responders is lacking. This may be due, in part, to the absence of appropriate measurement tools to allow such research. Stuart’s Police Officer Stigma Scale (POSS) has recently been developed to address this issue, but its psychometric properties have gone largely untested. Therefore, this study sought to identify the underlying factor structure and internal consistency of the POSS. This paper used a sample of one …

Break The No Lunch Break Habit, Mayleen Gonzalez

Honors Undergraduate Theses

A plethora of extant research focuses on the positive outcomes of recovering from the workday. However, since the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been more of a focus on how employees can recover during the workday as individuals are regularly experiencing pressure from the workplace. This thesis explicitly explores the relationship between various lunch break habits (e.g., eating during one's lunch break, not eating during one's lunch break, multitasking during one's lunch break) and psychological wellbeing, physiological strain, and counterproductive work behaviors (CWB). To add to the current research, the impact of ego depletion on the relationship is also studied. A …

Zombie At Work (Aggressive) Zombie At Home: The Relationship Between Work Boredom And Romantic Partner Undermining And Disengagement, Kenzie Dye

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Work boredom is an understudied topic within Industrial/Organizational psychology, and studies have yet to examine work boredom in the context of the work-nonwork interface. The present study reviewed the current work boredom literature and then examined two pathways by which boredom may be related to employees' behavior at home. It proposed that negative affect, in the form of frustration, is a link between work boredom and undermining behaviors toward one's romantic partner. The cognitive pathway connecting work boredom with romantic partner disengagement, was proposed to be affective rumination. These pathways were expected to be buffered with a high work-nonwork segmentation …

Leadership Emergence: Is There A Dark Side To Leadership Claiming Behavior?, Haroon Pervez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

This study is framed in DeRue & Ashford's (2010) theory of Leadership Identity Construction which states that leadership emergence is a mutual-influence process that exists between individuals claiming leadership and the other members of the group granting leadership. Although this theory and subsequent research details how and in what ways leadership claiming behaviors can be made to emerge as a leader, the literature is relatively silent on how (or if) too much or too little claiming behaviors will affect follower's granting of leadership, and if a "sweet-spot" of leadership claiming behaviors exists where followers are most likely to grant leadership. …

Development And Validation Of A Counterproductive Work Behavior Situational Judgment Test With An Open-Ended Response Format: A Computerized Scoring Approach, Saba Tavoosi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Due to the many detrimental effects of counterproductive work behavior (CWB), it is important to measure the construct accurately. Despite this, there are some limitations inherent to current CWB measures that are somewhat problematic, including that they contain items that do not apply to all jobs while missing items that are important for other jobs (Bowling & Gruys, 2010). The current study tackles these issues by drawing on the benefits associated with open-ended response situational judgment tests (SJTs), such as them having the potential for more insight from respondents (Finch et al., 2018), to develop an open-ended response CWB SJT. …

Examining The I In Team: The Relationship Between Narcissism And Team Decision-Making, Krisztina Szabo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

The study investigated the relationship between team-level narcissism, team processes, decision-making constructs, and outcomes. Specifically, the study aimed to examine the impact of team-level narcissism on information sharing and the mediating role of relationship conflict. The study also investigated the direct and indirect impact of team-level narcissism on team-level decision making constructs (i.e., staff validity, hierarchical sensitivity, and team informity) proposed by Hollenbeck et al. (1995). Lastly, it examined whether the core team-level decision-making constructs explained significant variance in team decision-making accuracy. The sample included 62 teams from SONA and Prolific samples. Evidence was found for the negative impact of …

The Dialectics Of Ambivalent Identification In The Supervisor-Subordinate Dyad, Barret Vermilion

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Ambivalent interpersonal relationships in organizations are known to have deleterious effects on employee health and wellbeing, work performance, counterproductive work behaviors, and more. However, little research has examined ambivalent relationships in the supervisor-subordinate dyad. In the present study, I contribute to the supervisor-subordinate literature by examining the interaction between abusive supervision and supervisor support. Furthermore, I extend past findings by investigating the mediating role of ambivalent supervisor identification, hypothesizing that support in an otherwise abusive supervisor relationship will lead to ambivalent supervisor identification and, consequently, negative health outcomes. Finally, I explore the role of dialectical thinking style, an Eastern mode …

Addressing Sexual Harassment (Sh) At Work: Examining The Role Of Social Identity On Observer Intervention Behavior, Tisnue Jean-Baptiste

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Sexual Harassment (SH) has been a prevalent issue within the workplace. Observer behavior is when employees are trained to identify and intervene in situations of SH. The traditional SH framework has focused on the legal compliance of employees rather than appealing to their moral reasoning. Furthermore, in most SH training typically depicts an SH situation with a white man who identifies as heterosexual as the perpetrator and a white woman as the victim. The Sex-Based Harassment (SBH) framework aims to address various intersections of racial, sexual, and gender identity within the context of SH. The current study examined the role …

Team Virtuality And Psychological Safety: An Experiment, Moses Rivera

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Working from home as part of a virtual team has become the status quo for many workers due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, modern organizations require teams skilled at complex problem-solving, innovation, and adaptability. Psychological safety enhances these skills, by means of fostering an environment in which team members can fully engage and learn. Given the theoretical possibility that team virtuality may dampen the development of team psychological safety, the present study empirically investigated relationship between these two constructs. A hypothesized model was tested, in which team virtuality has an indirect effect on team psychological safety, via intrateam perceived other-to-self …

The Mediating Effect Of Surface Acting On Mistreatment-Exhaustion And Mistreatment-Sabotage Relationships, Jiani Fan

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Although ample research has been conducted to explore employee emotional labor and customer incivility at the workplace, there is limited literature examining the role of surface acting in the stressor-strain relationships associated with customer incivility. The current study focuses on the mediating effect of surface acting between customer mistreatment-emotional exhaustion and customer mistreatment-service sabotage relationships. Based on several theoretical models regarding mental and emotional resources, including the Conservation of Resources Theory and Ego Depletion Theory, it is hypothesized that a significant mediating effect of surface acting can be identified in the customer mistreatment-emotional exhaustion and customer mistreatment-service sabotage relationships. A …

Can Feeling Like An Imposter Be Favorable? A Qualitative Study On The Role Of Appraisal In Harnessing The Imposter Phenomenon For Growth, Emily Hill

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

The imposter phenomenon is a psychological experience characterized by feelings of self-doubt and personal incompetence that persist despite evidence of achievement and success. Employees with these imposter-like thoughts feel as if they ended up in notable roles and positions not because of merit, but from oversight or luck. Research and popular press articles have portrayed the imposter phenomenon as a negative experience, bringing costs to the individual's well-being and work life. Yet, recent research has revealed that perhaps a favorable trajectory to the imposter experience might exist. To address this question, participants were identified and interviewed using a two-phase, sequential …

An Examination Of Gender-Based Differences In Perceptions Of Supervisor Support, Ann Schlotzhauer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Perceived supervisor support and particularly emotional support possess conceptual overlap with stereotypes of femininity. The present study extends understanding of perceived supervisor support by applying the agency and communality framework of gender stereotypes and role congruity theory. This study employed a vignette research design to examine differential ratings of male and female supervisors who were depicted engaging in (a) no support, (b) instrumental support, (c) emotional support, or (d) instrumental and emotional support. Results suggest that supportive supervision is indeed viewed as feminine in nature. Further, findings suggest that female supervisors engaging in emotional support behaviors are preferred over equivalently …

Killing Two Birds With One Stone: An Examination Of The Role Of Three-Dimensional Energy In The Relationship Between Health Behaviors And Job Performance., Nina Steigerwald

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

The positive effects of health behaviors on job performance have been reported. Specifically, there is evidence to suggest that getting adequate quantity and quality sleep, staying physically active, and following a nutritious diet, are linked to enhanced functioning and work-related outcomes. Although some studies have examined the role of energy in relation to health behaviors and performance, research looking at energy as an underlying mechanism in the health behaviors – performance link is both scarce and fragmented. The present study examines the role of energy as a potential mediator, devoting particular attention to its emotional, mental, and physical component. Using …

Creativity As A Resource: How Creativity Influences The Appraisal Of Work Stressors And Subsequent Strain, Alyssa Perez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Although creative behaviors are known to have positive effects on general well-being, little research has looked at the relationship between an individual's creativity and stress within the context of work. This research explored how creativity may work as a buffer against the strain of job stressors. In study 1, six vignettes were developed using Role Stressor Theory (Kahn et al., 1964) and the Challenge/Hindrance Framework of stress (Cavanaugh et al., 2000). A sample of 164 undergraduate students responded to the vignettes and results showed that trait-level creativity was directly related not only to the creativity of the solutions the participants …

The Effect Of Covid-19 Risk-Enhancing Job Characteristics On Emotional Exhaustion, Zoe Politis, Ignacio Azcarate, Michael Distaso

The Pegasus Review: UCF Undergraduate Research Journal

The COVID-19 pandemic has posed heightened threats to worker well-being. We know that different jobs pose different levels of risk to employees. Physical proximity and exposure to disease/illness are job characteristics that present threats to employee physical health. Based on cognitive theories of stress, we hypothesized that these job characteristics also pose a threat to employees’ emotional well-being. Our sample of 177 participants was made up of working students coming from the University of Central Florida, Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, and healthcare professionals recruited using a snowball sampling method. These participants consisted primarily of healthcare workers, food service workers, teachers/ …

The Usage Of Social Media To Fulfill Social Needs In Introverts, Nathaly Rayo

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the relationship between being introverted and the need to affiliate with others. Specifically, I sought to find out whether social media can be used as a replacement for face-to-face interactions. Previous studies have remained inconclusive on whether social media can be seen as a beneficial tool for individuals who tend to be more introverted. In the study, multiple measures were utilized to determine the correlation between social media usage and need fulfillment. The results indicated that individuals with social anxiety had a propensity towards being more introverted and having an increased amount …