Counteracting the effects of performance pressure on cheating: A self-affirmation approach.

Abstract

Pressure to perform is ubiquitous in organizations. Although performance pressure produces beneficial outcomes, it can also encourage cheating behavior. However, removing performance pressure altogether to reduce cheating is not only impractical but also eliminates pressure’s benefits. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to test an intervention to counteract some of the most harmful effects of performance pressure. Specifically, I integrate the self-protection model of workplace cheating (Mitchell et al., 2018) with self-affirmation theory (Steele, 1988) to demonstrate the utility of a personal values affirmation intervention to short-circuit the direct and indirect effects of performance pressure on cheating through anger and self-serving cognitions. Two experiments were used to test these predictions. In a lab experiment, when people affirmed core personal values, the effect of performance pressure on cheating was neutralized; as was pressure’s direct effect on anger and indirect effect on cheating via anger. A field experiment replicated the intervention’s ability to mitigate performance pressure’s direct effect on anger and indirect effect on cheating through anger. Altogether, this work provides a useful approach for combating the harmful effects of performance pressure and offers several theoretical and practical implications.

Supervisor Bottom-Line Mentality, Performance Pressure, and Workplace Cheating: Moderating Role of Negative Reciprocity

“…Further, it would help to conduct workshops and counseling sessions for employees to equip them with coping strategies to mitigate the amount of performance pressure they experience. A more balanced self-affirmation approach may be particularly useful in counteracting the impact of performance pressure on cheating (without dispelling its benefits), wherein employees make conscious efforts to reflect on their core personal values ( Spoelma, 2021 ). This would enable them to effectively deal with pressure-induced anger and self-serving cognitions, rather than acting defensively in self-interest.…”

The double-edged sword effect of performance pressure on public employees: The mediation role of mission valence

“…The former could yield positive consequences for individuals, creating an innate drive to pursue potential opportunities and advancement, while the latter refers to stressors that damage positive outcomes ( Cavanaugh et al, 1998 , 2000 ). Moderate pressure constitutes a high-performance system and stimulates the ability, motivation, and attitude of employees ( Takeuchi et al, 2009 ; Kehoe and Wright, 2013 ; Xu et al, 2020 ; Kloutsiniotis et al, 2021 ); while the pressure from a high-performance system has negative effects, which lead to cheating through anger and self-serving cognitions ( Kroon et al, 2009 ; Spoelma, 2021 ). According to the additive combinations of latent mechanisms proposed by Haans et al (2016) , the double-edged sword effect of performance pressure leads to an inverted U-shaped.…”

Affirming who I am: effects of intrinsic and extrinsic affirmations on responses to interpersonal offenses in the workplace

“…The affirmation domain has typically focused on a personally important value, trait or attainment (McQueen and Klein, 2006). For example, participants assigned to the self-affirmation condition were asked to identify their most important value or characteristic from the list provided and write an essay about why it was important to them (Albalooshi et al , 2020; Jessop et al , 2018; Spoelma, 2021). Other examples involved writing about a positive incident in which participants had demonstrated their cherished characteristics, achieved success or felt good about themselves (Cehajic-Clancy et al , 2011; Matz and Wood, 2005; Wiesenfeld et al , 2001).…”