LAY THEORIES OF INSTRUMENTAL RELATIONS: EXPLAINING INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN DISPOSITIONAL SIMILARITY-ATTRACTION

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Kuwabara, Ko; Cao, Jiyin; Cho, Soomin; Ingram, Paul
• 署名单位: INSEAD Business School; The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen; The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen; Columbia University
• 刊物名称: ACADEMY OF MANAGEMENT JOURNAL
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0001-4273
• DOI: 10.5465/amj.2020.0770
• 发表日期: 2023
• 页码: 667-687
• 关键词: DEEP-LEVEL DIVERSITY; IMPLICIT THEORIES; PERSON-ORGANIZATION; work; performance; beliefs; demography; culture; surface; interventions

摘要

The growing diversity in today's workplace requires engaging with people who not only look different but also think different. Yet, research on workplace relations has treated similarity-attraction as a human universal and paid limited attention to individual dif-ferences in who respects or tolerates different views and values, and why. We address this gap by examining how lay theories people hold about instrumental relations affect dispositional similarity-attraction. Because people who hold a fixed (versus growth) theory of instrumental relations believe that relationships form primarily on the basis of natural compatibility (versus effort), they should be particularly prone to similarity -attraction on the basis of dispositional similarity in values, attitudes, and personality traits. To test our arguments, we first develop a lay theories of instrumental relations scale, which we use to demonstrate that holding a growth theory decreases (moderates) people's tendency to avoid dispositionally dissimilar partners in a naturally occurring network (Field Study) and a dyadic task (Experiment 1). Finally (Experiment 2), we manipulate lay theories to show that inducing growth theories increases people's satis-faction with a task partner who is dispositionally dissimilar. We conclude by discussing theoretical and practical implications for building diverse yet cohesive workplaces.