Institut für Bildung, Arbeit und Gesellschaft

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Prosocial propensity and water-saving behaviour: a study in Jordan and Germany / Propensión prosocial y comportamiento de ahorro de agua: un estudio en Jordania y Alemania
(2026) Neef, Nicolas E.; Zietlow, Kim; Otto, Siegmar; Neef, Nicolas E.; Department Sustainable Development and Change, University of Hohenheim; Zietlow, Kim; Faculty of Life Sciences, Humboldt-University; Otto, Siegmar; Department Sustainable Development and Change, University of Hohenheim
This study investigates how a prosocial propensity, an inherent human attribute characterized by the willingness to incur personal costs for the benefit of others, functions as the foundation of water-conservation behaviour in Jordan and Germany — countries with starkly different water availability. We utilized survey data from university students and applied item response theory and linear regression. The prosocial propensity was indicated in line with previous studies via Honesty-Humility. However, against our expectations, the relationship between prosocial propensity and water-saving behaviour was not observed in Jordan ( N = 428), a nation facing severe water scarcity. In contrast, in Germany ( N = 540), where water is relatively abundant, our findings demonstrate a weak but clear relation between prosocial propensity and water-saving behaviour. The results suggest that a prosocial propensity manifests itself under some circumstances in water-saving behaviour but that this relation might depend on the local and cultural context. Thus, the study underscores the complexity of behaviours towards natural resources as they intersect with personality, cultural backgrounds and resource availability.
Lernen, Lehren, Arbeiten und Leben mit Künstlicher Intelligenz
Schmerzhaftes Erwachen in neuen Lebenswelten verhindern!
(2025) Sembill, Detlef; Kärner, Tobias; Friederichs, Edgar; Seeber, Susan; Seifried, Jürgen
Der Beitrag beleuchtet die tiefgreifenden Veränderungen, die Künstliche Intelligenz (KI) für Bildung, Arbeit und Gesellschaft mit sich bringt, und versteht diese als zentrale Zivilisationsfrage. Er zeigt die Ambivalenzen der KI zwischen technologischem Fortschritt, gesellschaftlicher Kontrolle und humaner Verantwortung auf und warnt vor der Gefahr einer technokratischen Entmündigung des Menschen. Im Mittelpunkt steht die Bildung als Schlüssel zur Entwicklung von Reflexionsfähigkeit, ethischem Urteilsvermögen und demokratischer Teilhabe. Auf der Grundlage interdisziplinärer Analysen plädiert der Text für eine humanistisch-demokratische Neuausrichtung von Lern- und Arbeitswelten, die Technologie nicht als Selbstzweck, sondern als Werkzeug für ein menschenwürdiges Zusammenleben begreift. Ziel ist eine kritisch-reflektierte Gestaltung technologischer Zukunft, die Aufklärung, Verantwortung und Humanität in das Zentrum gesellschaftlicher Entwicklung rückt.
Partizipation in der Berufsausbildung aus der Perspektive von Auszubildenden
Validierung eines Fragebogens
(2025) Kärner, Tobias; Jüttler, Michael
Der Beitrag zielt auf die Validierung eines Fragebogens zur Erfassung von Partizipationsmöglichkeiten in der betrieblichen Ausbildung. Die Daten stammen aus einer bundesweiten Studie mit 713 Auszubildenden. Die Ergebnisse zeigen gute psychometrische Eigenschaften des Instruments sowie plausible deskriptive Skalenausprägungen und erwartungskonforme Zusammenhänge mit Drittvariablen wie der Motivation. Wird Ausbildung partizipationsoffen und wenig fremdbestimmt erlebt, geht dies positiv mit intrinsischer und identifizierter Motivation einher. Das Instrument erlaubt eine differenzierte empirische Analyse partizipativer Einflussnahme und unterstützt Ausbildungsbetriebe dabei, Sichtweisen der Auszubildenden systematisch zu erfassen.
Conquering knowledge exchange barriers with age differences: a stress appraisal perspective on the consequences of upward social comparisons
(2025) Rinker, Laura; Fasbender, Ulrike; Gerpott, Fabiola H.; Burmeister, Anne
Knowledge exchange is crucial for organizations, but interpersonal dynamics can entail stress, affecting whether and how knowledge flows. Integrating social comparison and stress appraisal research, we propose that upward social comparison can be appraised as challenging or hindering. We suggest a dual pathway model involving an approach pathway via challenge appraisal and an avoidance pathway via hindrance appraisal with consequences on three knowledge exchange behaviours (i.e., knowledge sharing, knowledge seeking and knowledge hiding). Additionally, we examine age differences (vs. no age differences) to the comparison target as a buffer. We conducted two preregistered experimental online studies with employees (NStudy 1 = 206, NStudy 2 = 414), utilizing a 2 (social comparison; upward, lateral) × 3 (target age; younger, same‐age, older) between‐subject design. Participants received bogus task performance feedback (Study 1: cognitive ability test; Study 2: typing ability test). Both studies show that upward social comparison (but not other social comparison directions) fosters knowledge hiding via hindrance appraisal. This effect is weakened by an age difference (vs. no age difference) to the comparison target. However, our results do not support the approach pathway via challenge appraisal. Our research highlights social pitfalls in knowledge exchange and emphasizes the benefits of age differences between colleagues.
HCI driving alienation: autonomy and involvement as blind spots in digital ethics
(2024) Jungtäubl, Marc; Zirnig, Christopher; Ruiner, Caroline
The ongoing development and adoption of digital technologies such as AI in business brings ethical concerns and challenges. Main topics are the design of digital technologies, their tasks, and competencies in organizational practice, and their collaboration with humans. Previous guidelines on digital ethics mainly consider technological aspects such as the nondiscriminatory design of AI, its transparency, and technically constrained (distributed) agency as priorities in AI systems, leaving the consideration of the human factor and the implementation of ethical guidelines in organizational practice unclear. We analyze the relationship between human–computer interaction (HCI), autonomy, and worker involvement with its impact on the experience of alienation at work for workers. We argue that the consideration of autonomy and worker involvement is crucial for HCI. Based on a quantitative empirical study of 1989 workers in Germany, the analysis shows that when worker involvement is high, the effect of HCI use on alienation decreases. The study results contribute to the understanding of the use of digital technologies with regard to worker involvement, reveal a blind spot in widespread ethical debates about AI, and have practical implications with regard to digital ethics in organizational practice.
Public agreement with misinformation about wind farms
(2024) Winter, Kevin; Hornsey, Matthew J.; Pummerer, Lotte; Sassenberg, Kai
Misinformation campaigns target wind farms, but levels of agreement with this misinformation among the broader public are unclear. Across six nationally quota-based samples in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia (total N = 6008), over a quarter of respondents agree with half or more of contrarian claims about wind farms. Agreement with diverse claims is highly correlated, suggesting an underlying belief system directed at wind farm rejection. Consistent with this, agreement is best predicted (positively) by a conspiracist worldview (i.e., the general tendency to believe in conspiracy theories; explained variance Δ R² = 0.11–0.20) and (negatively) by a pro-ecological worldview (Δ R² = 0.04–0.13). Exploratory analyses show that agreement with contrarian claims is associated with lower support for pro-wind policies and greater intentions to protest against wind farms. We conclude that wind farm contrarianism is a mainstream phenomenon, rooted in people’s worldviews and that poses a challenge for communicators and institutions committed to accelerating the energy transition.
Spillover in sustainable consumer behavior: a matter of commitment
(2025) Henn, Laura; Kaiser, Florian G.; Adler, Maximilian; Elf, Patrick; Gatersleben, Birgitta; Henn, Laura; University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany; Kaiser, Florian G.; Otto‐von‐Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany; Adler, Maximilian; Otto‐von‐Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany; Elf, Patrick; Middlesex University, London, UK; Gatersleben, Birgitta; University of Surrey, Guildford, UK
Consumers express their commitment to environmental protection by engaging in a variety of environmentally protective behaviors. We thus suggest that strengthening consumers' commitment to environmental protection will cause behavioral spillover, which is the joint change in multiple environmentally protective behaviors. This idea differs from other spillover notions that draw on psychological processes that follow a change in a specific behavior. By reanalyzing data from a pre‐post treatment‐control quasi‐field experiment with customers of a retail company in which one group was exposed to a multiple‐component intervention over the course of 8 months, whereas the other was not, we corroborated a significant commitment gain in the experimental group ( n = 81) that did not occur in the control group ( n = 152). This commitment gain manifested in the expected spillover effect that mirrored the Rasch‐model‐implied likelihood gains in increasingly favorable behavioral expressions of people's commitment to environmental protection. This research complements existing models of behavioral spillover by providing theoretical and empirical arguments that strengthening consumers' commitment to environmental protection can result in spillover. In practical terms, focusing on people's commitment to environmental protection could thus be a promising avenue for directly promoting sustainable lifestyles.
Does a smarter ChatGPT become more utilitarian?
(2026) Pfeffer, Jürgen; Krügel, Sebastian; Uhl, Matthias; Pfeffer, Jürgen; Technical University of Munich, TUM School of Social Sciences and Technology, Munich, Germany; Krügel, Sebastian; Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Sciences, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany; Uhl, Matthias; Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Sciences, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany
Hundreds of millions of users interact with large language models (LLMs) regularly to get advice on all aspects of life. The increase in LLMs’ logical capabilities might be accompanied by unintended side effects with ethical implications. Focusing on recent model developments of ChatGPT, we can show clear evidence for a systematic shift in ethical stances that accompanied a leap in the models’ logical capabilities. Specifically, as ChatGPT’s capacity grows, it tends to give decisively more utilitarian answers to the two most famous dilemmas in ethics. Given the documented impact that LLMs have on users, we call for a research focus on the prevalence and dominance of ethical theories in LLMs as well as their potential shift over time. Moreover, our findings highlight the need for continuous monitoring and transparent public reporting of LLMs’ moral reasoning to ensure their informed and responsible use.
Educational ideals affect AI acceptance in learning environments
(2026) Richter, Florian; Uhl, Matthias; Richter, Florian; Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt, Eichstätt, Germany; Uhl, Matthias; University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany
AI is increasingly used in learning environments to monitor, test, and educate students and allow them to take more individualized learning paths. The success of AI in education will, however, require the acceptance of this technology by university management, faculty, and students. This acceptance will depend on the added value that stakeholders ascribe to this technology. In two empirical studies, we investigate the hitherto neglected question of which impact educational ideals have on the acceptance of AI in learning environments. We find clear evidence for our study participants’ conviction that humanistic educational ideals are considered less suitable for implementing AI in education than compentence-based ideals. This implies that research on the influence of teaching and learning philosophies could be an enlightening component of a comprehensive research program on human-AI interaction in educational contexts.
The interaction discrepancy model: a theoretical framework for understanding person-environment interactions
(2025) Umbra, Robin; Fasbender, Ulrike; Fasbender, Ulrike; Chair of Business and Organizational Psychology, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany
This manuscript introduces the Interaction Discrepancy Model (IDM), a theoretical framework designed to enhance our understanding of person-environment interactions. Traditional models often overlook the dynamic, iterative, and feedback-driven nature of these interactions, typically focusing on episodic and isolated psychological processes and conscious mechanisms. The IDM addresses these limitations by integrating the dynamics of cognitive, affective, and behavioral processes at both conscious and non-conscious levels. The model outlines an eight-stage process: (1) perception, (2) interaction construal, (3) verification, (4) congruence/discrepancy, (5) appraisal, (6) autoregulatory response, (7) action plan, and (8) feedback. This comprehensive approach seeks to explain the varied responses observed in empirical research and real-life scenarios. The IDM’s applicability extends across multiple contexts, including aggression, delinquency, conflict management, and industrial-organizational psychology, emphasizing the critical role of perceived discrepancies in triggering affective and behavioral responses. By incorporating contextual factors and providing a structured framework for falsifiability, the IDM offers a robust tool for future research and practical applications. This model significantly advances the theoretical literature on person-environment interactions, providing a holistic understanding that captures the complexity of human experience.
Motivational framing strategies in health care information security training: randomized controlled trial
(2025) Keller, Thomas; Warwas, Julia Isabella; Klein, Julia; Henkenjohann, Richard; Trenz, Manuel; Thanh-Nam Trang, Simon
Background: Information security is a critical challenge in the digital age, especially for hospitals, which are prime targets for cyberattacks due to the monetary worth of sensitive medical data. Given the distinctive security risks faced by health care professionals, tailored Security Education, Training, and Awareness (SETA) programs are needed to increase both their ability and willingness to integrate security practices into their workflows. Objective: This study investigates the effectiveness of a video-based security training, which was customized for hospital settings and enriched with motivational framing strategies to build information security skills among health care professionals. The training stands out from conventional interventions in this context, particularly by incorporating a dual-motive model to differentiate between self- and other-oriented goals as stimuli for skill acquisition. The appeal to the professional values of responsible health care work, whether absent or present, facilitates a nuanced examination of differential framing effects on training outcomes. Methods: A randomized controlled trial was conducted with 130 health care professionals from 3 German university hospitals. Participants within 2 intervention groups received either a self-oriented framing (focused on personal data protection) or an other-oriented framing (focused on patient data protection) at the beginning of a security training video. A control group watched the same video without any framing. Skill assessments using situational judgment tests before and after the training served to evaluate skill growth in all 3 groups. Results: Members of the other-oriented intervention group, who were motivated to protect patients, exhibited the highest increase in security skills (ΔM=+1.13, 95% CI 0.82-1.45), outperforming both the self-oriented intervention group (ΔM=+0.55, 95% CI 0.24-0.86; P=.04) and the control group (ΔM=+0.40, 95% CI 0.10-0.70; P=.004). Conversely, the self-oriented framing of the training content, which placed emphasis on personal privacy, did not yield significantly greater improvements in security skills over the control group (mean difference=+0.15, 95% CI –0.69 to 0.38; P>.99). Further exploratory analyses suggest that the other-oriented framing was particularly impactful among participants who often interact with patients personally, indicating that a higher frequency of direct patient contact may increase receptiveness to this framing strategy. Conclusions: This study underscores the importance of aligning SETA programs with the professional values of target groups, in addition to adapting these programs to specific contexts of professional action. In the investigated hospital setting, a motivational framing that resonates with health care professionals’ sense of responsibility for patient safety has proven to be effective in promoting skill growth. The findings offer a pragmatic pathway with a theoretical foundation for implementing beneficial motivational framing strategies in SETA programs within the health care sector.
Guidelines for using financial incentives in software-engineering experimentation
(2024) Krüger, Jacob; Çalıklı, Gül; Bershadskyy, Dmitri; Otto, Siegmar; Zabel, Sarah; Heyer, Robert
Context: Empirical studies with human participants (e.g., controlled experiments) are established methods in Software Engineering (SE) research to understand developers’ activities or the pros and cons of a technique, tool, or practice. Various guidelines and recommendations on designing and conducting different types of empirical studies in SE exist. However, the use of financial incentives (i.e., paying participants to compensate for their effort and improve the validity of a study) is rarely mentioned Objective: In this article, we analyze and discuss the use of financial incentives for human-oriented SE experimentation to derive corresponding guidelines and recommendations for researchers. Specifically, we propose how to extend the current state-of-the-art and provide a better understanding of when and how to incentivize. Method: We captured the state-of-the-art in SE by performing a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) involving 105 publications from six conferences and five journals published in 2020 and 2021. Then, we conducted an interdisciplinary analysis based on guidelines from experimental economics and behavioral psychology, two disciplines that research and use financial incentives. Results: Our results show that financial incentives are sparsely used in SE experimentation, mostly as completion fees. Especially performance-based and task-related financial incentives (i.e., payoff functions) are not used, even though we identified studies for which the validity may benefit from tailored payoff functions. To tackle this issue, we contribute an overview of how experiments in SE may benefit from financial incentivisation, a guideline for deciding on their use, and 11 recommendations on how to design them. Conclusions: We hope that our contributions get incorporated into standards (e.g., the ACM SIGSOFT Empirical Standards), helping researchers understand whether the use of financial incentives is useful for their experiments and how to define a suitable incentivisation strategy.
Autonomous weapons: considering the rights and interests of soldiers
(2025) Haiden, Michael; Richter, Florian
The development of autonomous weapons systems (AWSs), which would make decisions on the battlefield without direct input from humans, has the potential to dramatically change the nature of war. Due to the revolutionary potential of these technologies, it is essential to discuss their moral implications. While the academic literature often highlights their morally problematic nature, with some proposing outright banning them, this paper highlights an important benefit of AWSs: protecting the lives, as well as the mental and physical health of soldiers. If militaries can avoid sending humans into dangerous situations or relieve drone operators from tasks that lead to lifelong trauma, this obviously appears morally desirable – especially in a world where many soldiers are still drafted against their will. Nonetheless, there are many arguments against AWSs. However, we show that although AWSs are potentially dangerous, criticisms apply equally to human soldiers and weapons steered by them. The combination of both claims makes a strong case against a ban on AWSs where it is possible. Instead, researchers should focus on mitigating their drawbacks and refining their benefits.
Navigating the social dilemma of autonomous systems: normative and applied arguments
(2025) Bodenschatz, Anja
Autonomous systems (ASs) become ubiquitous in society. For one specific ethical challenge, normative discussions are scarce: the social dilemma of autonomous systems (SDAS). This dilemma was assessed in empirical studies on autonomous vehicles (AVs). Many people generally agree to a utilitarian programming of ASs, but do not want to buy a machine that might sacrifice them deterministically. One possible way to mitigate the SDAS would be for ASs to randomize between options of action. This would bridge between a socially accepted program and the urge of potential AS users for some sense of self-protection. However, the normativity of randomization has not yet been evaluated for dilemmas between self-preservation and self-sacrifice for the “greater good” of saving several other lives. This paper closes this gap. It provides an overview of the most prominent normative and applied arguments for all three options of action in the dilemmas of interest: self-sacrifice, self-preservation, and randomization. As a prerequisite for inclusion in societal discussions on AS programming, it is ascertained that a normative argument can be elicited for each potential course of action in abstract thought experiments. The paper then progresses to discuss factors that may shift the normative claim between self-sacrifice, self-preservation, and randomization in the case of AV programming. The factors identified in this comparison are generalized into guiding dimensions for moral considerations along which all three options of action should be evaluated when programming ASs for dilemmas involving their users.
Digital educational escape rooms as a novel approach to cybersecurity education: An empirical study on learner perceptions of usefulness and usability
(2025) Keller, Thomas; Guggemos, Josef; Warwas, Julia
With the increasing number and severity of cybersecurity incidents, programs for security education, training, and awareness (SETA) have become essential components of organizational and educational strategies to promote information-secure behavior at the workplace. While traditional training is often perceived as uninspiring and tedious, digital educational escape rooms (DEERs) are a promising tool that combines immersive, game-based learning with authentic problem scenarios to improve cybersecurity skills. Despite their growing popularity in cybersecurity education, key acceptance factors of DEERs have not been systematically investigated. This study applies the technology acceptance model (TAM) to examine how perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use affect the intentions of target learner groups to engage with DEERs in SETA programs. A total of 217 participants, comprising trainees, students, and employees, played one randomly selected DEER from a set of three on password management, privacy and data security, and social engineering. After completion, participants evaluated the learning environment using a standardized TAM-based questionnaire. Structural equation modeling revealed that perceived usefulness was the strongest predictor of learners’ intentions to engage with DEERs. Perceived ease of use influenced engagement intention directly and indirectly by positively affecting perceived usefulness. Multigroup analysis revealed no significant differences across age, gender, professional background, or DEER scenario. These findings highlight the importance of balancing ease of use with the extent to which learners perceive the content to be meaningful, important, and relevant to their professional context in order to ensure acceptance and effective integration of DEERs into SETA programs.
Between trust and ambivalence: how does trainee teachers’ perception of the relationship with their mentors explain how trainee teachers experience their work?
(2024) Maué, Elisabeth; Goller, Michael; Bonnes, Caroline; Kärner, Tobias
The study aims to identify profiles of trainee teachers in terms of their stress and work experiences and to uncover profile differences in regard to dropout intentions and perceived relationships between trainee teachers and their mentors. Based on data from 1,756 German trainee teachers, three distinct stress and work experience profiles could be identified. Trainee teachers with high levels of stress and negative work experiences exhibit higher dropout intentions and experience their relationship with their mentors as less transparent, fair and trusting, and more ambivalent compared to trainee teachers with low levels of stress and positive work experiences. The results underline the importance of the relationship between mentors and trainee teachers for the professional development of future teachers.
Belief in a norm‐consistent climate policy conspiracy theory and non‐normative collective action
(2025) Pummerer, Lotte; Ditrich, Lara; Winter, Kevin; Sassenberg, Kai
Believing in conspiracy theories is connected to support for non‐normative collective action. One explanation might be that this is due to both being non‐normative. Alternatively, it might be the case that non‐normative action appears justified based on what conspiracy theories alleging harm to a personally relevant group due to powerholders’ secret actions imply about social reality. To test this assumption, we focus on the belief in a norm‐consistent (i.e., popular and plausible) climate policy conspiracy theory alleging that powerful groups (i.e., politicians and the business sector) act without public oversight, leading to climate policies that suit their interests but are harmful to the public. Across three studies—one using a quota‐based German sample and two preregistered replications (Ntotal = 1257)—we investigate how the belief in such a theory relates to the endorsement of non‐normative collective action, and test whether this relationship also emerges for the belief in a norm‐inconsistent (i.e., implausible and unpopular) climate policy conspiracy theory suggesting a similar social reality (Study 3). Our data show that beliefs in both norm‐consistent and norm‐inconsistent climate policy conspiracy theories correlate positively with support for non‐normative collective action, while only the belief in a norm‐consistent climate policy conspiracy theory was related to normative collective action. In contrast, a stronger predisposition to believe in conspiracy theories (i.e., conspiracy mentality), albeit positively correlated with belief in a norm‐consistent climate policy conspiracy theory, was related to lower support for non‐normative collective action serving climate protection.
The double-edged dynamics of social comparisons: micro-level drivers of employees’ knowledge behaviors
(2025) Rinker, Laura; Fasbender, Ulrike
Amidst worldwide developments such as globalization, workforce aging, and the accelerating pace of advancements, organizations depend on effective knowledge flows to maintain competitive and enable innovation. Because interpersonal knowledge exchange is central to organizational knowledge management, organizations must gain an understanding of what drives individual knowledge behaviors. This cumulative dissertation offers a timely investigation of social comparisons as critical socio-cognitive underpinnings of such knowledge behaviors. The underlying research seeks to deepen the understanding of the micro-level drivers of knowledge behaviors by tracing them back to employees’ social comparison experiences. The first manuscript combines the identification-contrast model of social comparisons with informal workplace learning theorizing to examine the social-cognitive roots of workplace learning. Specifically, it considers how employees’ emotionally charged (un)favorability perceptions of their social comparisons guide their daily engagement in narrow and broad informal learning behaviors through reflection processes focusing on successes or failures. The hypothesized model is tested using a ten-day experience sampling study (NLevel 2 = 175 employees, NLevel 1 = 1,256 employee-day observations). Results demonstrate that the different types of reflection translate both favorable and unfavorable social comparison experiences into learning-oriented knowledge behaviors. The findings additionally stress the moderating influence of organizational support. The second manuscript joins social comparison and stress appraisal theories to investigate the ambivalent potential of upward comparisons as work stressors. Drawing from the challenge-hindrance stress framework, it probes a dual pathway model connecting upward social comparisons with different knowledge behaviors through an approach pathway (via challenge appraisal) and an avoidance pathway (via hindrance appraisal). The hypotheses are tested based on two experimental studies with employees (NStudy 1 = 206, NStudy 2 = 414). Finding no support for the approach pathway, the research identifies hindrance appraisals as a cognitive mechanism to explain how upward comparisons harm knowledge flows. However, these adverse effects are mitigated by an between the focal employee and the comparison target. The third manuscript integrates social comparison frameworks and affective events theory to examines the daily emotional complexities of social comparisons. It seeks to clarify how the multiple facets of daily social comparisons can lead to both facilitative and harmful behavioral reactions, probing the mediating effect of discrete social comparison-induced emotions. The findings from a ten-day experience sampling study (NLevel 2 = 155 employees, NLevel 1 = 960 employee-day observations) demonstrate that daily social comparisons are linked to knowledge behaviors via inspiration, envy, and sympathy. In addition, the results reveal the complementary effects of the two cardinal social comparison axes (i.e., horizontal and vertical). In conclusion, this dissertation establishes social comparisons as a multi-faceted socio-cognitive antecedent of employees’ knowledge behaviors, providing novel insights into cognitive and emotional underpinnings and multi-level boundary conditions. Offering a more holistic perspective of social comparisons and their impact on knowledge behaviors, this work opens avenues for scholars to develop a deeper understanding of the socio-cognitive roots of organizational behavior. Moreover, the findings equip practitioners with actionable insights to utilize social comparisons as micro-level drivers, instead of barriers, of knowledge flows.
Teacher well-being — a conceptual systematic review (2020–2023)
(2025) Kurrle, Laura Maria; Warwas, Julia; Kaiser, Till; Reintjes, Christian
Teacher well-being (TWB) is increasingly recognized as being influential on educational outcomes, teacher retention, and overall school performance. However, despite a growing body of empirical research, TWB remains conceptually ambiguous, with multiple, often conflicting definitions and models, which hinders the comparability of findings. The essential question ( What are the conceptual models of TWB that form the basis of studies? ) is answered with a Conceptual Systematic Review (CSR), analyzing 168 recent publications, to synthesize the usage and frequency of TWB-related terms. The CSR identifies three perspectives—Conditions, Components, and Outcomes—each comprising multiple categories and subcategories that often show overlaps or inconsistencies. Our review reveals that within a widely shared notion of TWB as a psychological construct with positive cognitive and affective connotations, certain sets of factors, in particular individual factors such as beliefs/evaluations and emotions/affect, are proposed as conditions in some studies and as components in other studies. These results call for clearer distinctions between TWB’s constitutive elements and its (hypothetically) determining elements. By offering a systematic framework for understanding and sorting research on TWB, the reported review provides a foundation for future studies. Ultimately, a precise conceptualization could inform future interventions and policies aiming to foster TWB.
The daily relations between workplace anger, coping strategies, work outcomes, and workplace affiliation
(2025) Umbra, Robin; Fasbender, Ulrike
This study examines the daily relations among workplace anger, coping strategies, work outcomes, and employee dispositions using a conceptual framework based on affective events theory and cognitive perspectives on emotions. A sample of 214 full-time employees took part in a two-week study, contributing 1,611 daily observations through an experience sampling approach. Contrary to the assumption that workplace anger always detrimentally relates to work outcomes, the results showed a nonsignificant relation between workplace anger and workplace resource depletion, as well as a positive link between workplace anger and goal achievement. These relations were dependent on the coping strategies used by employees in response to anger-inducing situations, as well as their attitudes toward workplace affiliation. These findings suggest the need to expand affective events theory to include coping strategies as a mediator between affective responses and work outcomes. They also highlight the importance of integrating employee-level factors into organizational research models.

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