Project info
Work package
- Work
Sustainability threat
- Feedback Cycles
Challenge
- Identity flexibility and sustainable cooperation
- Shared responsibility and sustainable cooperation
Study info
Description of Study
Engaging in behavior to facilitate personal growth or collective change is a form of “positive risk-taking.” Going against the status quo entails a risk of social disapproval and can raise discomfort. When will this impede or benefit the achievement of behavioral change? For this research project, we aimed to find out more about the motivating role of experienced discomfort on positive risk-taking intentions. We were especially interested in the role of cognitive discomfort appraisals (threat and challenge) and feelings of psychological safety as possible psychological mechanisms.
In this first study, a motivational speaker gave a presentation on ‘the role of discomfort for personal growth’. This presentation consisted of conveying knowledge about feelings of discomfort, psychological safety and personal growth. This was complemented by a series of practical exercises in which the audience was encouraged to experience some discomfort themselves (e.g., dancing together on stage, engaging in prolonged eye contact, shouting statements out loud). Positive risk-taking intentions were measured after the presentation and three weeks later.
Our results showed that there was a positive relationship between challenge appraisals of discomfort and positive risk-taking intentions. Thus, independent of the level of experienced discomfort, the more people evaluated their discomfort as a challenge, the higher their positive risk-taking intentions. Additionally, we found a positive relationship between psychological safety and challenge appraisals. The more participants felt that the others in the group had good intentions towards them, the more they also perceived their discomfort as a challenge. The relationship between psychological safety and threat appraisals was negative: The more participants felt that the others in the group had good intentions towards them, the less they perceived their discomfort as a threat. Taken together, our results point to the importance of appraising one's discomfort as a challenge to motivate people to engage in positive risk-taking behaviors. Psychological safety may play a role in facilitating challenge appraisals and inhibiting threat appraisals.
Study research question
1) Do cognitive discomfort appraisals moderate the relationship between experienced discomfort and positive risk-taking intentions?
2) What is the relationship between psychological safety and cognitive discomfort appraisals (threat and challenge)?
Collection provenance
- Collected during project
Collection methods
- Questionaire
Personal data
No
External Source
Source description
File formats
- Both raw and cleaned datasets were stored as .xlx documents on the University O-drive.
Data types
- Structured
- Unstructured
Languages
- Dutch
Coverage start
Coverage end
30/01/2025
18/04/2024
Spatial coverage
Utrecht and surroundings
Collection period start
30/01/2025
Collection period end
18/04/2024
Variables
Unit
Unit description
Sample size
Sampling method
Individuals
employees age range of 21-74
133
company clients of motivational speaker
Hypothesis
Theory
Perceiving discomfort as a positive challenge or negative threat will moderate the relationship between experienced discomfort and positive risk-taking intentions and long term behaviors. Specifically, for people who experience their discomfort as a challenge (threat), we expected a positive (negative) relationship between discomfort and positive risk-taking.
For somebody experiencing discomfort, and perceiving this discomfort as a challenge, the benefits of positive risk-taking behavior should become more salient, which would likely increase positive risk-taking intentions and behaviors. On the other hand, for somebody experiencing discomfort and perceiving it as a negative threat, the potential costs of the risk-taking behavior might be dominant (Frings et al., 2014), potentially triggering feelings of anxiety, and thereby inhibiting positive risk-taking intentions and behaviors.
Psychological safety significantly positively (negatively) relates to perceiving discomfort as a challenge (threat).
We are focusing on one specific situational resource, namely the feeling of psychological safety, which is the confidence that behaving in line with one’s values, beliefs, and motivation will not have any negative interpersonal consequences such as being laughed at, embarrassed, or rejected by others (Edmondson, 1999). We propose that if people feel psychologically safe, they are enabled to focus their attention to possible behavioral benefits and away from potential risks, thereby perceiving their discomfort as a challenge.
Variable type
Variable name
Variable description
Dependent variable
Positive Risk-Taking Intentions
The level of motivation or willingness to engage in positive risk-taking behaviors. This was measured with 7 items on a 5-point Likert scale such as "After this presentation, I dare to express my thoughts, feelings, and ideas more often."
Independent variable
Experienced Discomfort
The degree to which participants experienced discomfort during the session. This was measured with three items that captured feelings, thoughts, and physical symptoms of discomfort such as: “To what extent did you worry about what others could think of you?”
Independent variable
Cognitive Discomfort Appraisals
A distinction was made between perceptions of discomfort as a positive challenge or perception of discomfort as a negative threat. Cognitive discomfort appraisals were measured with two items on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree) such as “During this presentation, I felt my discomfort as a positive challenge”.
Independent variable
Psychological Safety
The confidence that behaving in line with one’s values, beliefs, and motivation will not have any negative interpersonal consequences such as being laughed at, embarrassed, or rejected by others (Edmondson et al., 1999). Psychological safety was measured with seven items on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree) adapted from Edmondson (1999) such as “During the presentation, I thought that other participants had good intentions towards me” or “During the presentation, I thought that I could bring up problems and issues.”
Control variable
Presentation Enjoyment
The degree of enjoyment of the music, humor and way of presentation was measured with three items on a 5-point Likert scale such as "To what extent did you enjoy the music?"
Discipline-specific operationalizations
Conflict of interest
no
Data packages
Challenge Appraisals as Key Drivers of Immediate and Long-Term Behavior Change: Evidence from Real-Life Group Contexts/Data
Data package DOI
DOI 10.17605/OSF.IO/FHZN4
Description
This data file contains the data file and metadata table for an explanation of included variables.
Accessibility
Open Access
Repository
OSF
User license
CC-By Attribution 4.0
Retention period
10
Publications
Challenge Appraisals as Key Predictors of Immediate and Long-Term Behavior Change: Evidence from Real-Life Group Contexts.
Rieder, L., Strick, M., Buskens, V., & Ellemers, N. (2025). Challenge Appraisals as Key Predictors of Immediate and Long‐Term Behavior Change: Evidence From Real‐Life Group Contexts. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, jasp.70040. https://doi.org/10.1111/jasp.70040
Documents
Filename
Description
Date
Ethics
Ethical assessment
Yes
Ethical committee
Ethics Review Board of the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences