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Organisational Psychology Masters, University of the Witwatersrand THE ROLE OF IMPLICIT PERSON THEORIES AND PSYCHOLOGICAL CAPITAL IN WORKPLACE THRIVING Ronit Levy 557932 Research Supervisor: Karen Milner A research report submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of MA by Coursework and Research Report in the field of Organisational Psychology in the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, on 8 February 2016 PLAGIARISM DECLARATION I, Ronit Batya Levy, declare that this research project is my own, unaided work. It has not been submitted before for any other degree or examination at this or any other university. Signed: ________________________ Date: __________________________ i ABSTRACT The aim of the current study was to investigate two possible mechanisms that might facilitate thriving in the workplace, namely implicit person theories and psychological capital. These variables were chosen because of their potential to operate in accordance with Barbara Fredrickson’s broaden and build hypothesis, with implicit person theories working to broaden thought-action repertoires, and psychological capital working to build personal resources. The study employed a quantitative, non-experimental, correlational, and cross sectional design. A sample of 226 working adults living in South Africa volunteered to participate in the study. They completed four online questionnaires: a demographic questionnaire; the Thriving at Work Scale; the Implicit Person Theories Scale; and the Psychological Capital Questionaire -24 (PCQ-24). To test the hypothesis that implicit person theories and psychological capital jointly facilitate the experience of workplace thriving, a series of correlations, regressions, and mediation analyses were conducted. The results indicated that psychological capital does indeed mediate the relationship between implicit person theories and workplace thriving. Word Count: 31 362 ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation to the following people, without whom the completion of my research report would not have been possible:  First and foremost, my research supervisor, Karen Milner, for her time, guidance, feedback, and expertise throughout the year.  My mother Fiona, whose love and support has been unwavering throughout this year and always – regardless of how difficult I may have been. My love and gratitude for this special woman cannot be put into mere words.  My boyfriend, friends and classmates who went out of their way to distribute my questionnaires for this report, and who stood by my side throughout this entire process.  Finally, the participants in my study who selflessly gave of their time to assist me in my research – there would be no study without them! iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Plagiarism Declaration ................................................................................................................ i Abstract ...................................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................. iii List of Tables ........................................................................................................................... vii List of Figures ........................................................................................................................ viii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION AND LITERATURE REVIEW .................................... 1 Positive psychology and the broaden and build hypothesis....................................................... 2 Positive organisational behaviour and psychological capital .................................................... 6 Self-efficacy ................................................................................................................... 7 Hope ............................................................................................................................... 8 Optimism........................................................................................................................ 9 Resilience ..................................................................................................................... 11 PsyCap: A higher order construct ................................................................................ 12 Workplace thriving .................................................................................................................. 14 Thriving and self-determination theory ....................................................................... 15 Evidence of the benefits of thriving at work ................................................................ 20 Implicit person theories/mindset .............................................................................................. 22 Changing mindsets ....................................................................................................... 27 Mindset and organisational behaviour ......................................................................... 28 Rationale for the current study ................................................................................................. 30 The context of the current study .............................................................................................. 32 RESEARCH HYPOTHESES ............................................................................................... 34 CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY ....................................................................................... 35 Research Design....................................................................................................................... 35 Procedure ................................................................................................................................. 35 Sampling and Sample .............................................................................................................. 36 Instruments ............................................................................................................................... 38 Demographic Questionnaire ........................................................................................ 38 Psychological Capital................................................................................................... 39 Thriving at Work.......................................................................................................... 39 Implicit Person Theories (IPT) .................................................................................... 40 iv Ethical Considerations ............................................................................................................. 40 Data Analysis ........................................................................................................................... 41 CHAPTER 3: RESULTS ...................................................................................................... 45 Factor analysis of the IPT scale ............................................................................................... 45 Reliabilities .............................................................................................................................. 47 Descriptive statistics and normality ......................................................................................... 48 Correlations .............................................................................................................................. 50 The relationship between mindset and psychological capital ...................................... 50 The relationship between psychological capital and workplace thriving .................... 52 The relationship between mindset and workplace thriving ......................................... 52 The mediation models .............................................................................................................. 53 Step 1: IV-DV .............................................................................................................. 54 Step 2: IV-MED ........................................................................................................... 55 Step 3: MED-DV ......................................................................................................... 56 Step 4: MEDIATION ................................................................................................... 57 Multicollinearity ...................................................................................................................... 62 Summary of findings as they relate to the study’s hypotheses ................................................ 62 CHAPTER 4: DISCUSSION ................................................................................................ 64 Psychometric properties of the instruments ............................................................................. 64 Key variables in the sample ..................................................................................................... 65 The relationship between implicit person theories and psychological capital ......................... 65 The relationship between psychological capital and workplace thriving ................................ 67 The relationship between implicit person theories and workplace thriving ............................ 68 The mediation models .............................................................................................................. 69 Step 1: IV-DV .............................................................................................................. 69 Step 2: IV-MED ........................................................................................................... 69 Step 3: MED-DV ......................................................................................................... 71 Step 4: MEDIATION ................................................................................................... 72 Psychological capital as a mediator of the relationship between implicit person theories and workplace thriving – overall explanation and discussion of the mediation findings ............... 73 Implications for facilitating workplace thriving by ‘broadening’ mindsets and ‘building’ psychological capital ................................................................................................................ 77 Limitations of the study ........................................................................................................... 79 Directions for future research .................................................................................................. 81 A final comment on positive psychology and the utility of psychological capital .................. 83 v Conclusion ............................................................................................................................... 83 REFERENCE LIST………………………………………………………………………...84 Appendix A: Demographic Questionnaire............................................................................. 100 Appendix B: Psychological Capital Questionnaire -24 (PCQ-24) ........................................ 101 Appendix C: Thriving at Work Scale .................................................................................... 103 Appendix D: Implicit Person Theories Scale (IPT) ............................................................... 104 Appendix E: Sample information .......................................................................................... 105 Appendix F: Ethics clearance certificate ............................................................................... 107 Appendix G: Participant Information Sheet .......................................................................... 108 Appendix H: Histograms ....................................................................................................... 110 Appendix I: Correlation tables ............................................................................................... 116 Appendix J: Effect size conversions ...................................................................................... 117 Appendix K: Regression tables .............................................................................................. 118 Appendix L: Diagrams representing the mediation models .................................................. 120 Appendix M: Managing Human, Social and Psychological Capital ..................................... 124 vi LIST OF TABLES Table 1 - Demographic characteristics of the sample .............................................................. 37 Table 2 - Eigenvalues for the IPT scale ................................................................................... 46 Table 3 - Rotated factor pattern for the IPT scale .................................................................... 47 Table 4 - Internal consistency reliabilities for the main variables and their subscales ............ 48 Table 5 - Descriptive statistics and normality for the main variables ...................................... 49 Table 6 - Correlations between IPT total and subscales ........................................................ 116 Table 7 - Correlations between PsyCap total and subscales .................................................. 116 Table 8 - Correlations between workplace thriving total and subscales ................................ 116 Table 9 - Relationship between IPT and PsyCap..................................................................... 51 Table 10 - Significant Pearson’s correlations (r) between IPT and PsyCap, and their equivalent Cohen’s d effect sizes ............................................................................................................ 117 Table 11 - Relationship between PsyCap and workplace thriving .......................................... 52 Table 12 - Relationship between IPT and workplace thriving ................................................ 53 Table 13 - Prediction of workplace thriving by IPT ................................................................ 55 Table 14 - Prediction of PsyCap by a growth mindset ............................................................ 56 Table 15 - Prediction of PsyCap by IPT ................................................................................ 118 Table 16 - Prediction of workplace thriving by all PsyCap variables ..................................... 57 Table 17 - Prediction of workplace thriving by PsyCap ........................................................ 119 Table 18 - Overall psychological capital, self-efficacy, hope, and resilience as mediators of the relationships between growth mindset and workplace thriving ............................................... 58 Table 19 - Overall psychological capital, self-efficacy, hope, and resilience as mediators of the relationships between growth mindset and vitality .................................................................. 60 Table 20 - Sobel Tests.............................................................................................................. 62 vii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Conceptual Model .................................................................................................... 33 Figure 2: Scree plot for the factor analysis of the IPT scale .................................................... 46 Figure 3: Distribution of IPT scale total scores ..................................................................... 110 Figure 4: Distribution of IPT fixed subscale total scores ...................................................... 110 Figure 5: Distribution of IPT growth subscale total scores ................................................... 111 Figure 6: Distribution of workplace thriving scale total scores ............................................. 111 Figure 7: Distribution of workplace thriving learning subscale total scores ......................... 112 Figure 8: Distribution of workplace thriving vitality subscale total scores ........................... 112 Figure 9: Distribution of PCQ24 total scores ........................................................................ 113 Figure 10: Distribution of PCQ24 self-efficacy subscale total scores ................................... 113 Figure 11: Distribution of PCQ24 hope subscale total scores ............................................... 114 Figure 12: Distribution of PCQ24 resilience subscale total scores ........................................ 114 Figure 13: Distribution of PCQ24 optimism subscale total scores ........................................ 115 Figure 14: Psychological capital as a mediator of the relationship between a growth mindset and workplace thriving .......................................................................................................... 120 Figure 15: Self-efficacy as a mediator of the relationship between a growth mindset and workplace thriving ................................................................................................................. 120 Figure 16: Hope as a mediator of the relationship between a growth mindset and workplace thriving ................................................................................................................................... 121 Figure 17: Resilience as a mediator of the relationship between a growth mindset and workplace thriving ................................................................................................................. 121 Figure 18: Psychological capital as a mediator of the relationship between a growth mindset and vitality ............................................................................................................................. 122 Figure 19: Self-efficacy as a mediator of the relationship between a growth mindset and vitality ................................................................................................................................................ 122 Figure 20: Hope as a mediator of the relationship between a growth mindset and vitality ... 123 Figure 21: Resilience as a mediator of the relationship between growth mindset and vitality ................................................................................................................................................ 123 viii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION AND LITERATURE REVIEW Today’s workplace is characterised by intense global competition spurred by considerable technological advances and access to information on a global level (Robbins & Judge, 2013). It is an environment that requires flexibility, innovation, and spee-dto-market with the result that survival, let alone success, demands higher-than-average performance (Luthans & Youssef, 2007; Luthans, Luthans, & Luthans, 2004). However, success cannot be attained simply by trying to fix weaknesses (Luthans & Youssef, 2007). Rather, there is a need for a more balanced approach that takes into consideration both the positive and the negative, both developing strengths and trying to improve weaknesses (Luthans & Youssef, 2007). Building on the positive psychology literature, organisational and management scholars have started to recognise the potential benefits of integrating positive psychological principles to enhance the corporate experience (Mills, Fleck, & Kozikowski, 2013). An important component of the employee experience is the idea of workplace thriving, which is characterised by the experience of learning and vitality (Porath, Spreitzer, Gibson, & Garnett, 2012). The experience of thriving is argued to impact on important outcomes such as development, health, and performance (Boyd, 2015). Given the potential importance of workplace thriving, it is therefore important to understand what might lead to this experience. The primary aim of this study was therefore to investigate two possible mechanisms that facilitate thriving in the workplace, namely implicit person theories (Dweck & Leggett, 1988) (known as ‘mindsets’ in 1 the contemporary literature on the topic ) and psychological capital (Luthans, Youssef, & Avolio, 2007). The relationships between these variables is explored within the framework of Fredrickson’s broaden and build theory which suggests that positive emotions broaden individuals’ thought - action repertoires and build their enduring personal resources which they can then draw on at a later time to help them to survive and thrive (Fredrickson, 2001). In particular, the broaden aspect was operationalised as implicit person theories (mindset) an d the build aspect was operationalised as psychological capital. The specific argument advanced in this research report is that psychological capital mediates the relationship between mindset and workplace thriving. 1 The ontology of implicit theories and mindset is identical and therefore the terms will be used interchangeably in this research report. 1

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