Over the last five decades, leader compensation has risen substantially, with the median CEO:worker pay ratio skyrocketing from 20:1 to around 268:1. This has raised concerns for both internal and external stakeholders. However, observational studies have difficulty isolating the causal impact of leader pay on employees and other stakeholders due to endogeneity issues. To address this, the present research synthesized findings from 23 experimental studies (11 third-person evaluative tasks, 7 first-person hypothetical scenarios, 5 immersive experiments) to examine how information about leader pay causally influences employee and stakeholder responses. Results indicate that higher leader pay has a significant negative effect on employee outcomes (g = −0.53, 95%CIs [−0.68, −0.38], kstudies = 12, neffect sizes = 83) as well as on external stakeholder outcomes (g = −0.38, 95%CIs [−0.51, −0.26], kstudies = 11, neffect sizes = 57). These negative effects did not depend on whether pay is presented in absolute terms or relative to employee pay. Counterintuitively, providing justification for high pay was ineffective in eliciting more positive responses. Dose-response analysis indicated that detrimental responses appear even at low pay ratios with no evidence of an incrementally compounding penalty. These findings highlight the need to do a better job of balancing the interests and demands of leaders with those of the broad range of stakeholders that they are notionally striving to lead.

Purpose While the relational demography literature has explored the consequences of surface-level (visible traits like ethnicity and gender) and deep-level (underlying attributes such as work experience) dissimilarity, it remains unclear how being dissimilar across multiple specific dimensions concurrently relates to employees' perceived inclusion. This study addresses that gap by examining how dissimilarity on specific dimensions relates to perceived inclusion and whether employees perceive less inclusion when they perceive dissimilarity on more dimensions. Additionally, we investigate whether these relationships are contingent on perceptions of organizational climate for inclusion. Design/methodology/approach We conducted a large-scale survey study comprising 6,319 employees from a Dutch public service organization. Findings Respondents most frequently reported perceiving dissimilarity from their coworkers in terms of personality, followed by ethnicity/culture, age, work experience, religion, sexual orientation, disability, education level, political orientation and gender (in descending order). Although dissimilarity on some dimensions was unrelated to perceived inclusion, we observed that dissimilarity on a greater number of dimensions was negatively related to perceived inclusion. Moreover, we found that the negative relationships between perceived dissimilarity and perceived inclusion were often mitigated by a positive perception of the organizational climate for inclusion. Originality/value This is the first study to assess how the multifaceted nature of dissimilarity on a broad range of dimensions interplays with perceptions of inclusion and organizational climate, highlighting key factors influencing workplace inequality and employee well-being.

The topic of CEO pay has become increasingly prevalent in public discourse. In this paper, we explore whether perceptions that a CEO is relatively highly paid affect evaluations of the moral character of the CEO and of the organisation that they represent. Using a time-separated survey of employees’ perceptions of the pay and moral character of their CEO (N = 306; pre-registered), we found that CEOs who were perceived to be relatively well paid were also evaluated as relatively immoral. Their employees also reported that corrupt behaviour was more normative in their organisation and that they were more likely to engage in counterproductive workplace behaviour. To test the causal role of CEO pay in these findings, we ran two experiments (combined N = 647; one pre-registered) that manipulated a fictional CEO’s pay relative to other CEOs. These experiments revealed that the general public evaluated the highly (versus modestly) paid CEO as more immoral and as more likely to engage in unethical behaviour. They also expected that the highly paid CEO’s firm would have more immoral organisational norms. These findings suggest that perceptions of CEO pay may have reputational costs for CEOs and their firms.

The aim of this research was to examine the effects of a cooperative and deterrent style, portrayed through regulatory letters, on motivation and compliance. Study 1 examined a general sample (N = 492) in an online experiment, to assess motivation and compliance-intentions. Study 2 focused on non-compliant financial service providers (N = 2803), assessing objective compliance in a field experiment. Both studies tested the impact of letters written in three different styles (i.e., neutral, cooperative, or deterrent), which did or did not include a procedural justice paragraph (resulting in six different letters). As hypothesized, the cooperative style as well as the deterrent style increased compliance (intentions), but results pointed to different motivational processes driving this effect. Whereas the cooperative style evoked internalized types of motivation through perceptions of a cooperative regulator, the deterrent style evoked external motivation and amotivation through perceptions of a deterrent regulator. In this context, procedural justice did not influence motivation or compliance (intentions). Thus, regulators that aim to stimulate internal motivation to comply, are advised to adopt a cooperative style when writing to regulatees.

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? Across two studies, we investigated responses during and after group sessions with a motivational speaker, in which behavioral exercises encouraged positive risk-taking behavior. In Study 1, we investigated the moderating role of challenge and threat appraisals on the relationship between discomfort and positive risk-taking intentions among 133 employees of 3 organizations. We hypothesized that the relationship between experienced discomfort and positive risk-taking intentions would be positive (negative), if the discomfort was evaluated as a challenge (threat). In Study 2, we experimentally manipulated the type of discomfort (“control,” “self-experienced discomfort,” “observed discomfort”) and measured positive risk-taking behavior before, immediately after, and 3 weeks after the event among 146 university students. Results revealed that challenge appraisals significantly predicted positive risk-taking intentions and long-term behaviors. Notably, these effects were obtained regardless of whether discomfort was experienced personally or observed in others. Our research highlights the importance of challenge appraisals in motivating immediate and long-term positive risk-taking in group contexts. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.

To address societal challenges - such as combating climate change - people have to invest in collective goals rather than pursuing selfish objectives. However, prior neuroscientific research has often revealed that reward-motivation is enhanced for self-relevant gains. Here, we draw on social psychological research showing that people have a strong desire to be moral, to examine whether the motivation for investing effort toward collective goals can be increased by appealing to people's desire to be a morally responsible person. We conducted an ERP study examining how a moral appeal influences motivated performance and neural markers of reward processing. After reading either a moral or a non-moral appeal about one's responsibility toward climate action, participants (N = 70) completed a time estimation task where they could earn monetary rewards for themselves or a climate-friendly charity. We compared behavioral and ERP responses on self-gain, charity-gain, and no-gain trials between appeal conditions. Results showed significant interactions in both behavioral and ERP measures. Participants performed better on self- and charity-gain trials, compared to no-gain trials, following the moral appeal, whereas no trial-type differences emerged after the non-moral appeal. Confirmatory ERP analyses revealed no effects on the SPN or FRN. Exploratory analyses revealed enhanced Cue-P3, Feedback-P3, and LPP amplitudes for charity-gain trials following the moral appeal, while the CNV was more negative overall in the moral than non-moral appeal condition. In the non-moral appeal condition, Feedback-P3 and LPP amplitudes were more positive for self-gain than no-gain trials. These findings suggest that a moral appeal can enhance the reward value of pro-environmental outcomes and increase anticipatory preparation, potentially helping to promote positive behavior change.

Women remain underrepresented in leadership, particularly in traditionally masculine work settings. At the same time, the visibility of this imbalance has led to growing calls for diversifying leadership. This research examines how both men and women contribute to the preservation or disruption of gender inequality in masculine organizational contexts. Men remain the gatekeepers of change-deciding who rises to the top and under what conditions-while women face the strategic dilemma of fitting in by downplaying inequality (supporting the status quo, sometimes called 'queen bee behaviour') or 'rocking the boat' by advocating social change (challenging the status quo). Across five experimental studies (total N = 887), we examined how evaluators assessed male and female leadership candidates who either supported or challenged the status quo. Results revealed that although men favoured female over male candidates, they consistently preferred women who reinforced the status quo over those who advocated equality. By contrast, male candidates who supported the status quo were penalized, and female evaluators showed no such preferences. These findings highlight subtle mechanisms through which gendered power dynamics are maintained, underscoring both the strategic trade-offs women must navigate to advance and the conditional nature of men's support for gender equality.

People often protect public goods by sanctioning free riders. This occurs in simple situations in which protecting the public good does not conflict with other moral considerations. How do people navigate situations in which protecting the public good comes at the expense of helping someone? We theorized that people would prioritize the needs of the public or another individual on the basis of the individual’s group membership. To test this theory, we conducted a field experiment with male confederates approaching adult male travelers passing through check-in gates at Dutch train stations. The confederates requested to follow the travelers without checking in themselves. We observed whether travelers sanctioned the free rider by rejecting and disapproving of this request or helped by opening the gates. At three train stations, 801 travelers were approached by 10 different confederates. Group membership was varied by having five native-majority and five ethnic-minority confederates. Robust evidence was found for travelers being more likely to help native-majority free riders and to sanction ethnic-minority free riders.

Societies need cooperation that is sustainable. We argue that understanding the mechanisms of sustainable cooperation requires a connection between current analyses of individual interactions and their institutional contexts, and studies of long-term patterns of cooperation at the societal level. We propose a focus on where institutional level arrangements connect with individual level decision making, namely where people interact in families, communities, and organizations, i.e. the “meso-level” of society. Focusing on the impact of external threats, spillover effects and vicious cycles, our transdisciplinary approach highlights the importance of understanding when and how individual and institutional dynamics can undermine cooperation at this intermediate level and what is needed to secure cooperation sustainability in society.

Whistleblowers reporting misconduct often trigger defensive responses within organizations. We attribute this to the experience of social identity threat, a phenomenon that prevents organizational learning and improvement. Theory and research highlight three types of barriers people in organizations need to overcome before responding to potential problems. They have to accept: (1) the validity of the concern (2) their responsibility to act and (3) their ability to address it. We connect these into an integrative framework that offers a new perspective to understand willful ignorance in organizations. It specifies what managers, regulators, and employees can do to deal more constructively with early signals of organizational problems and offers an agenda for how future studies might extend existing knowledge on organizational responsiveness.

Refugee aid organizations depend to a large extent on volunteers. These organizations have difficulties retaining volunteers. The question then is: what can refugee aid organizations do to keep their' volunteers inside? Prior work suggests that satisfaction with the organization and motivations to continue volunteering may be of particular importance for volunteer retention. Therefore, this article assesses (1) which organizational factors contribute to satisfaction with the volunteer organization and (2) what personal factors contribute to volunteers' willingness to continue doing this work. Based on analyses of data from volunteers at a Dutch refugee aid organization (N = 1090) to both open-ended and close-ended questions, we find that volunteers who feel more valued for their work express stronger organizational connectedness. Moreover, we found that a bridge function that volunteers are theorized to be motivates them: volunteers are motivated to continue because they contribute to the facilitation of refugee inclusion and to increasing societal tolerance toward refugees. Further, work conditions need to be in place to prevent volunteers from leaving the organization. Moreover, the experienced appreciation for their work turned out to be a crucial factor for organizations to retain volunteers. These results give refugee aid organizations and volunteer managers concrete steps on what they can do to retain volunteers. This paper discusses these results and their practical implications as well as the limitations of the study.

Social norms influence homophobic behavior, yet these norms are often misperceived. We study the extent to which friendship ties and group memberships are related to misperceptions of opinions towards homosexuality, and how these misperceptions are sustained in social networks through opinion sharing. We find that misperceptions lead individuals to be less willing to share their opinions with ethno-religious ingroup members, non-friends or with individuals whom they perceive to hold different opinions. Although differences observed in the context of this study are relatively small, they may add up over time. These results offer scope for interventions that try to reduce norm misperceptions between groups - as a way to stimulate social change towards a more tolerant society.

Anti-bias interventions do not always have the intended results and can even backfire. In light of research on the psychology of morality, we examined whether confronting people with evidence of their own (group’s) bias causes a (psychophysiological) threat response, and how to overcome this. We focused on an intervention addressing gender bias in teacher evaluations. After assessing their own teaching evaluations, we presented student research participants (N = 101; 71.3% female), in Part 1 of the intervention, with evidence of bias displayed in such teaching evaluations. This evidence either did (self-implied condition) or did not (self not-implied condition) include participants’ own ostensibly biased evaluations. In Part 2 of the intervention, we asked participants to reflect on the issue of gender bias, and compared the impact of two experimental instructions. In the promotion condition, instructions referred to emphasizing how the university could try to achieve the ideal of promoting fair and just evaluations of teachers. In the prevention condition, instructions referred to highlighting the university’s obligation to prevent unfair and unjust teacher evaluations. While participants verbally reflected on the intervention, during both phases (in Part 1 and Part 2) we measured their psychophysiological responses using indices of cardiovascular ‘threat vs. challenge’. Then, we used self-report measures to examine participants’ explicit responses to the different parts of the intervention. Results revealed that implicating the self in the occurrence of bias (Part 1) raises a psychophysiological threat response. However, emphasizing the future ideal of promoting fair evaluations of teachers (rather than the obligation of preventing biased evaluations; Part 2) resulted in a psychophysiological challenge response and increased perceived coping abilities to combat such bias. The implications of these findings are discussed.

People perceive social groups along stereotype dimensions. Several models of social evaluation identify so-called horizontal (relational, warmth, communion) and vertical (achievement, competence, agency) judgments, also known as the Big Two. Each has two facets, respectively indicating perceived morality and friendliness for horizontal judgments plus ability and assertiveness for vertical judgments. Perceivers also locate groups within sociopolitical structures, such as socioeconomic status and ideological beliefs. These six commonly used stereotype dimensions (morality, friendliness, ability, assertiveness, status, and beliefs) each predict specific and pragmatic behaviors toward (members of) groups, including approach, investment, cooperation, and inclusion. Overall, the trait dimensions correlate positively (e.g., the two respective facets of each of the Big Two), but contextual goals can override general patterns. For example, when people encounter two unequal groups and strive for social justice, harmony and positive identity, the horizontal and vertical judgments correlate negatively. Contextual goals and transient motives also moderate the importance of the stereotype dimensions. We conclude by suggesting avenues for future research.

Aim/Purpose: The aim of this paper is to demonstrate that PhD candidates’ social safety is a complex, systemic matter that requires a systemic solution. Background: Numerous studies and reports highlight that academia is not always a safe working environment for PhD candidates. They, in particular, face heightened vulnerability due to dependent working relationships, temporary contracts, and the often competitive and hierarchical nature of academic institutions. Although attempts are being made to address this issue, current interventions appear to be insufficiently effective. Methodology: A conceptual, multilevel framework of PhD candidates’ social safety is provided by integrating three major theoretical perspectives: Social Safety Theory, Team Psychological Safety, and Psychosocial Safety Climate. Next, through a non-systematic literature review of studies about PhD candidates’ experiences, potential risk factors for their social safety are identified. Finally, the paper outlines how this knowledge can inform universities to develop a strategy to promote social safety among PhD candidates and beyond effectively. Contribution: This paper proposes a shift in perspective – rather than treating the lack of social safety as an isolated problem, university leaders must adopt a systemic approach. This paper demonstrates the complexity of social safety, enabling a better understanding of both risk factors and the formulation of an effective strategy to foster social safety. Findings: The social safety of PhD candidates exists at three levels (individual, team, and organizational) and is influenced by risk factors within the structure, culture, and system of the academic environment. This paper proposes that a systemic approach is needed to address these issues, rather than focusing on individual interventions alone. Recommendations for Practitioners: University leaders should conduct a thorough assessment of their organizational structure, culture, and system to identify risks to PhD candidates’ social safety. This information should be used to develop a comprehensive safety strategy to promote and monitor the social safety of PhD candidates. Recommendation for Researchers: This paper recommends that researchers acknowledge and adopt a more comprehensive approach when studying social safety. Impact on Society: Improving social safety for PhD candidates can lead to improved mental health outcomes, reduced attrition rates, and higher academic performance. It will also contribute to healthier work environments across higher education. Future Research: Future studies should focus on empirical exploration of the three theoretical perspectives on social safety. Additionally, alternative measures to assess social safety could be explored, such as including neurophysiological measures, as feeling socially unsafe can impact an individual’s cognition and emotions.