What Will :They Think? People that give-up on a passion overestimate the negativity of observers' judgments

Abstract: Pursuing a passion has become ubiquitous career advice, and can lead to many benefits, but passionate people are often exploited and can face a host of negative workplace conditions. Why then do passionate people stay in their jobs? We argue that given passion’s identity relevance, that passionate people think that who they are must fundamentally change as a result of giving-up on their passion, which prompts them to anticipate negative social judgments. Across five studies (N = 3,364), we find that people anticipate being judged by others for giving-up on their passion, because they think that who they are must change as a result of giving-up. However, we show that observers are much more charitable in their judgments, showing broader consideration for the factors that complicate passion pursuit.

Keywords: passion, identity, morality

Topic: MORAL   |   Format: Extended Abstract