Human Resource Management Review 26 (2016) 270281

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Human Resource Management Review

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The role of positive illusions in employment relationships

Jonathan E. Biggane a,, David G. Allen b, Lumina S. Albert c
a
b
c

Department of Management, California State University, Fresno, Fresno, CA, United States
School of Management & Labor Relations, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08854, United States
Department of Management, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, United States

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history:
Received 12 December 2014
Received in revised form 18 January 2016
Accepted 17 March 2016
Keywords:
Organizational commitment
Organizational shocks
Positive illusions
Turnover
Withdrawal

a b s t r a c t
Drawing from existing research and concepts in social psychology, we identify positive illusions as an important construct for understanding long-term, stable, and satisfying employment relationships. We argue that the cognitive processes that modify the way in which
individuals view their world can aid in promoting and enhancing the quality of employment
relationships. These largely non-conscious processes often aid in the construction of positively
distorted beliefs, referred to as positive illusions, which act to diffuse feelings of uncertainty,
and drive satisfaction and commitment in close relationships. Our theoretical analysis suggests
the relevance of positive illusions in the context of employment relationships, and highlights its
role specically during negative organizational shocks. We explore theoretical connections and
offer testable propositions on the role of positive illusions in understanding employment
relationships. These propositions have important theoretical and practical implications for the
(a) applicant stage of employment, (b) organizational entry and socialization, and
(c) adapting to organizational change.
2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Life is seldom as unendurable as, to judge by the facts, it ought to be.

[Brooks Atkinson.]
Why is it that some relationships seem to be immune to the vicissitudes of time while others are dissolved by even the
slightest hardship? One explanation for this phenomenon is that individuals have a system of cognitive processes that can help
them to modify their views about the world in which they live, and the relationships that they form (Sharot 2011; Wilson &
Gilbert 2005). These largely non-conscious processes often promote positively distorted perceptions, known as positive illusions,
which act to diffuse feelings of uncertainty and drive satisfaction and commitment in close relationships (Murray, Holmes, &
Grifn 2003; Taylor 1983). We propose that positive illusions may also be important from an organizational perspective
because such perceptions may endow individuals with important resources that can enhance the stability of the employment
relationship. Without them, it is likely that both the employing organization as well as the individual employee would be left
more vulnerable to the psychological, physical, and nancial costs incurred in the event of employment dissolution.
Although a vast body of research has examined and identied varying constructs concerned with psychological attachment to
organizations, to the best of our knowledge, no research has examined the presence of positive illusions in the context of employment relationships. Positive illusions are cognitive biases that color even mundane relationships, often causing them to be
perceived in a more positive light than objectivity would permit. We suggest that these cognitive biases exist in employment
Corresponding author at: Department of Management, California State University, Fresno, Fresno, CA, 93740, United States.
E-mail addresses: jbiggane@csufresno.edu (J.E. Biggane), david.allen@rutgers.edu (D.G. Allen), Lumina.Albert@business.colostate.edu (L.S. Albert).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.hrmr.2016.03.003
1053-4822/ 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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relationships as well, and play a unique role in determining their stability and quality. In this paper, we seek to examine the
nature of such biases and their effects on employment relationships. We reason that these biases may be important determinants
of long-term, stable and satisfying employment relationships (Murray, Holmes, & Grifn 1996a; Taylor 1983).
Utilizing research and theory on positive illusions in the context of the employment relationship helps us to make several important contributions to organizational scholarship. First, our conceptualization of positive illusions in the context of employment
relationships extends understanding of the development, maintenance, and stability of such relationships. Although many aspects
of organizational life, such as unmet expectations, unsatisfying work, mistreatment, and radical change can and do lead to the
dissolution of the employment relationship, often these circumstances do not end the relationship (e.g. most people who report
job dissatisfaction and even turnover intentions do not immediately exit, Allen, Bryant, & Vardaman 2010). Second, we identify
organizational conditions when positive illusions are likely to be most salient and important; for example, we discuss the role
of positive illusions in dealing with the uncertainties of organizational entry and in promoting successful coping in response to
organizational shocks (i.e., particularly jarring events that trigger the intrapsychic analyses involved in quitting; Lee & Mitchell
1991). Third, we discuss how this research may help us integrate disparate ndings relating to the role of transparency in
organizations (e.g., why and when transparency can have potentially negative repercussions). Finally, we discuss the extent to
which positive illusions are potentially benecial to employees' organizational lives.
In what follows, we begin with a review of existing theory and research in the area of positive illusions and dene it in the
context of employment relationships. Next, we discuss how it is similar and different from several major constructs in organizational scholarship. Third, we explore the theoretical underpinnings of positive illusions, drawing from interdependence theory to
explain how they promote stability in employment relationships. We then progress to a discussion of how they help individuals
to overcome negative organizational shocks by drawing from Taylor's (1983) seminal work on cognitive adaptation theory. Fifth,
we address the counterintuitive possibility that organizational transparency, meant to reduce uncertainty and act as a signal of
trust, may reach an inection point at which it is no longer benecial to employment relationships. Sixth, we consider what happens when positive illusions are shattered and how this can affect stability in employment relationships. Throughout, we offer
propositions to guide future empirical investigation, and we conclude with a discussion of theoretical and practical implications,
provide some guidance on empirically testing positive illusions in an organizational context, and consider opportunities for future
research.
1. Positive illusions: seeing what one wants to see
Extant scholarship on positive illusions provides a theoretical and empirical context for understanding how individuals experience satisfaction in close relationships and cope with major negative life-events (Murray, Holmes, & Grifn 1996a; Taylor &
Armor 1996). Positive illusions- a term coined by Taylor (1983), evolved to capture the phenomenon of positively distorted beliefs
emerging in the face of ambiguity or threat. They are constructed, story-like narratives and cognitive representations meant to
diffuse feelings of uncertainty or doubt (Murray & Holmes 1993).
Scholarship in the area of positive illusions provides a compelling case that when individuals idealize their relationships and
their circumstances, they often experience realities that become a reection of their desires and expectations (e.g., Murray,
Holmes, & Grifn 1996b). This research suggests that it is not necessarily accurate and objective representations of one's employment relationship that shape the nature of these relationships and employee behavior within them. Rather, it is the lens through
which individuals view their employment relationships that denes their perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors, and which
ultimately determines relationship outcomes.
When individuals view their employment relationships through the rosy lens of positive illusions, this has the potential to
transform their experiences and lead to more positive outcomes for employees and their organizations. For instance, positive
illusions have been shown to predict an individual's adjustment to stressful encounters and threatening events, foster satisfaction,
quality, and stability in interpersonal relationships, and positively inuence mental health and psychological and emotional wellbeing (Spacapan & Thompson 1991; Taylor 1983; Taylor & Brown 1988).
Positive illusions are said to occur when individuals' ratings on specic features are more positive than those that reect a
more objective or realistic perspective (Taylor & Brown 1988). Early research in this area assumed that normal mental
functioning meant that one would have an accurate perception of the world. As Lazarus (1998: 1) stated:
...to be sophisticated [meant] accepting accurate reality testing as the hallmark of mental healthEveryone knew that
self-deception was tantamount to mental disorder.
However, work in the area of social psychology has conrmed the counter-intuitive possibility that positive illusions, and not
accurate perceptions, tend to promote adjustment to threatening events and enhance relationship stability even in the face of
uncertainty (e.g. Taylor 1983, Taylor, Kemeny, Reed, Bower, & Gruenewald 2000). That is not to say that positive illusions require
one to deny reality or lack understanding. Instead, individuals tend to distort their cognitions and beliefs about reality by mentally
linking less desirable aspects of one's relationships to more important virtues, without necessarily denying or masking them.
In a study of romantic relationships, Murray, Holmes, & Grifn (2003) demonstrated that individuals tend to nd redeeming
features in a partner's weaknesses, constructing yes, but refutations that minimize faults, and link virtues to faults within
more integrated, general mental models. Such evaluative integration in cognition (i.e., nding good in the bad) predicted greater
levels of satisfaction and stability in these relationships. Positive illusions thus seem to involve the type of forgiving acceptance of
a partner's shortcomings that is utilized in more effective therapeutic treatments for relationship distress (Jacobson, Christensen,
Prince, Cordova, & Eldridge 2000).

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As with other types of relationships, we believe positive illusions play a role in the formation, maintenance, and dissolution of
employment relationships as well. In the context of organizations, we dene positive illusions as upwardly biased perceptions of an
employment relationship demonstrated by embellishing positive attributes and minimizing or dismissing negative characteristics of the
employment relationship (e.g., regarding the organization, its employees, job characteristics, and working conditions).
2. Construct comparisons
Although there is no known research that has directly examined the effect of positive illusions on the employment relationship, several perspectives warrant discussion in order to differentiate positive illusions from similar constructs already measured
in organizational scholarship. In particular, we differentiate positive illusions from two relatively stable traits that predispose
individuals to assess situational features more positively, and which enhance the ability of individuals to respond to threats
more positively: core self-evaluations (CSEs) and trait positive affect (trait PA).
Core self-evaluations (CSEs) represent the fundamental appraisals that individuals make about their own capabilities and selfworth (Chang, Ferris, Johnson, Rosen, & Tan 2012), while trait positive affect (trait PA) has been dened as an individual's level of
pleasurable engagement with the environment (Watson 1988). It reects stable individual differences in subjective experiences of
positive moods or emotions such as enthusiasm, optimism, interest, alertness, and joy (Watson, Clark, & Tellegen 1988). CSEs are
similar to positive illusions insofar as they involve fundamental evaluations of one's self and sense of control, and individuals high
on CSEs would be more likely to positively assess their ability to deal with ambiguity, challenge, and threat. Similarly, trait PA also
holds some conceptual overlap with positive illusions in that both are associated with optimism, and that individuals who are
high in trait PA tend to consistently experience positive moods over time. Individuals higher in trait PA reect a generalized
sense of well-being, tend to view situations more favorably and to be more optimistic about dealing with challenges. However,
positive illusions differ in important ways.
Perhaps the most critical difference is that core self-evaluations, including broad evaluative traits such as self-esteem and generalized self-efcacy, and trait PA are both trait-like individual difference variables remaining relatively stable over time and
across situations. Positive illusions, on the other hand, are conceptualized as state-like; they are situation specic and exible
over time (Taylor & Gollwitzer 1995). A related distinction is that individuals tend to be relatively higher or lower on CSEs and
trait PA, whereas all healthy individuals have the capacity to develop positive illusions and research suggests most individuals
regularly experience them (Sharot 2011; Taylor & Armor 1996). So, for example, students entering college do so with a set of
relatively stable traits such as CSEs and trait PA that will inuence their perceptions and reactions throughout their college career
in relatively stable ways, some positively and some negatively depending on the levels of these traits. However, research on
positive illusions suggests all students will also routinely develop positive illusions as they encounter new or challenging
circumstances (e.g., participating in an engaging class project, attending class with an enthusiastic professor, etc.), and that
these illusions will shift throughout their college career (Taylor & Armor 1996). Of course, it is possible that certain individual
differences systematically affect the development or stability of positive illusions, a point we return to later.
Because of these differences, positive illusions are also more malleable than CSEs or positive affect. For example, research
suggests that it is possible to create a situation in which no participants demonstrate positive illusions. Taylor & Gollwitzer
(1995) found that positive illusions largely disappear when individuals carefully deliberate a course of action or a challenge.
This deliberative mind-set involves careful appraisal of one's situation, weighing of pros and cons, and consideration of outcome
feasibility. Subsequently, a relatively accurate assessment is derived and positive illusions are constrained.
Positive illusions are also distinct in that CSEs and to some extent trait PA, are focused on the self and how individuals see
themselves, whereas positive illusions go beyond appraisals of the self and associated emotional experiences, to how individuals
see the world around them, and likely pertain to all aspects of the employment relationship. For instance, individuals may have
positive illusions relating to personal capabilities, but they may also have illusions about the ethicality of their employer. We now
turn to considering the primary organizational conditions when positive illusions are most likely to play an important role in
inuencing the employment relationship.
3. Idealization of the employment relationship: entry and maintenance
A growing body of empirical research on close personal relationships suggests that, in the initial stages of relationships, the
allure of a partner's apparent virtues and positive characteristics creates feelings of condence, hope, and positive anticipation,
which then motivate the individual to invest more heavily into the relationship (McNulty, O'Mara, & Karney 2008; Murray,
Holmes, & Grifn 1996a). Similarly, researchers have demonstrated that when individuals rst enter a new organization they
begin their employment relationship with a honeymoon effect (Boswell, Boudreau, & Tichy 2005). During the recruitment
and entry stage, organizations and their representatives often present their most favorable and brightest sides to new members
(Van Maanen 1975). This portrayal of the organization and its jobs in an excessively positive light contributes to creating high
expectations and positive anticipation in the minds of newly recruited employees. This represents an important phase when
individuals are drawn into employment relationships by the positive promise, apparent virtues, and assets of their new position
and organization.
Murray, Holmes, & Grifns (1996b) work on close personal relationships suggests that positive illusions play an important
role at this stage by helping to maintain a sense of security in the relationship, allowing individuals to reach some cognitive
resolution between hopes and doubts about their new employer. For instance, expecting an employer to be unsuitable to work

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for in the long-term would be of little comfort when entering into a new employment relationship; so, to avoid such cognitive
dissonance, individuals weave an elaborate ction to assure themselves that they have made a good choice in employer selection.
Such a stance toward the new employing organization helps the individual begin the new relationship with a sense of positive
anticipation and excitement.
As any relationship progresses beyond the honeymoon stage, relational participants get to know one another more, and
there arises greater opportunity for conict. Specically, in the employment relationship, as employees become more familiar
with their organization, they begin to experience the shortcomings, limitations and discouragement caused by real organizational
life, such as dysfunctional conict, politics or the news of impending layoffs. At this point, however, barriers to dissolution are
often higher because partners have invested a great deal into the relationship. Therefore, an employee will be more likely to
weather the storm and remain with his or her employer despite the setbacks.
Grounded in interdependence theory (Kelley & Thibaut 1978; Thibaut & Kelley 1959), this research suggests that employees
and employers become dependent on one another to the extent that valuable resources are invested into the relationship.
These investments are likely enhanced by the presence of positive illusions (e.g., expectations of a raise, a promotion, recognition,
being valued by the organization, sense of belongingness, etc.). With an increase in interdependence comes a sense of commitment often referred to as allegiance that is established to the source of one's dependence, (Rusbult, Coolsen, Kirchner, &
Clarke 2006, p. 624). Subsequently, committed exchange partners (i.e., employees & employers) believe that an ongoing relationship is so important as to warrant maximum efforts at maintaining it (Morgan & Hunt 1994).
These efforts manifest in the form of direct (e.g., energy & time) and indirect (e.g., sharing social networks) investments that
act to strengthen ties and prevent dissolution. Moreover, such investments promote resilience in relationships, preventing them
from deteriorating and repairing damage that has occurred as a result of difcult challenges (Dindia & Baxter 1987). The use of
these behaviors is said to be an indicator of relationship quality, and individuals that fail to engage in them are likely to deescalate or terminate their relationships (Guerrero, Eloy, & Wabnik 1993). Moreover, research on interpersonal relationships
has shown that throughout any stable relationship, a signicant amount of felt security is created and maintained by the presence
of positive illusions (e.g., Murray & Holmes 1993).
In short, positive illusions color the employment relationship with positive expectations about the security and quality of the
relationship, acting as a safe haven amidst the uncertainties, trials and storms that are inevitable in any relationship. In the
absence of positive illusions, employees may not feel uniquely valued by their employer or anticipate positive benecial outcomes
from the relationship. Therefore, without positive illusions, it is possible that many employment relationships would fail to endure
for a long enough period for signicant investments to be made and for commitment to be nurtured.
To summarize the above discussed theory and research, positive illusions play an important benecial role in relationship
stability during the early stages of the employment relationship, above and beyond the objective aspects of the employment
relationship. They help individuals to feel a sense of security and be more optimistic about the relationship, which may lead to
more long-term, stable and satisfying employment relationships.
Proposition 1. : Positive illusions in the early stages of an employment relationship help establish and maintain a sense of felt
security within the individual. Subsequently, a mutual dependence is fostered that increases concurrently with the investment
of valued resources. Positive illusions will increase the likelihood of forming a more stable employment relationship, and decrease
the likelihood of quickly ending the relationship when the honeymoon phase begins to fade.

4. Positive illusions and overcoming negative shocks

A growing body of research demonstrates that individuals in organizations often experience jarring events that initiate reconsideration of the employment relationship, and that these shocks often lead to relationship dissolution (Burton, Holtom, Sablynski,
Mitchell, & Lee 2010). Although these shocks can be negative or positive (e.g., Morrell 2005), negative shocks are likely to be more
threatening to individuals; thus, positive illusions are likely most relevant in the face of negative shocks. It may also be the case
that many positive shocks that lead to organizational exit (e.g. being admitted to a prestigious graduate program) are associated
with turnover that is unavoidable from the organization's perspective (e.g., Morrell, Loan-Clarke, & Wilkinson 2004), whereas
many negative shocks may be more malleable for organizations.
To explicate the role of positive illusions in response to negative organizational shocks, we turn to the seminal work conducted
by Taylor (1983) on cognitive adaptation theory (CAT). CAT provides a theoretical and empirical context for understanding how
people cope with stressful events. According to CAT, successful adaptation to a negative shock is preceded by a series of efforts
colored by mildly positive cognitive distortions, consistent with our denition of organizational positive illusions: embellishing
positive and minimizing negative elements of one's circumstances. Specically, this theory suggests that positive illusions shape
successful adaptation to a threatening or negative event in the life of an individual. Although the stress process model suggests
that shocks may foster a sense of profound insecurity and hopelessness, which may subsequently threaten psychological functioning and well-being (e.g., Pearlin 1999), the presence of positive illusions, evokes an entirely different adjustment process according to CAT.
Typically, positive illusions bring about three responses (a) search for meaning, (b) attempt to regain mastery or control over
the event, and (c) restoration of self-regard. A threatening event that occurs in the context of the employment relationship, such
as a merger, acquisition, or an impending lay-off, may represent the ideal backdrop for a pattern of adjustment as suggested by

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CAT. Importantly, the extent to which one successfully engages in the above mentioned three themes of adjustment rests fundamentally on the formation and maintenance of positive illusions (Taylor & Brown 1994). Below we detail the nature of each adjustment response and explicate the mechanisms by which positive illusions shape them.
Search for meaning
The search for meaning refers to an individual's attempt to formulate an understanding of why he or she is facing a particular shock. Generally, individuals facing a stressful event contemplate the signicance of the event in their lives or what its impact
has been. Attribution theory maintains that after a threatening event, individuals make attributions to make sense of the event,
and to predict and control their environment (Wong & Weiner 1981). This often results in the development of an explanation
for why the event occurred in their life or the signicance of the event in their life (Taylor 1983).
Carver & Scheier's (1982) control theory suggests that when individuals become aware of a potentially threatening situation,
an assessment process is initiated. Taylor (1983) suggests that when the situation is ambiguous and the individual has limited
knowledge of all aspects of the particular shock, the assessment process is more or less similar to a search for a solution or understanding of the event. In as much as positive illusions are present, they inuence and inform this process, thereby triggering a
positive search for meaning. Positive illusions evoke a strong belief that the current situation may be a blessing in disguise, and
that there is a silver lining within this cloud. This helps individuals to search for this silver lining with hope and optimism, and to
discover a deeper meaning for their experience of the shock. Positive illusions inuence the attributional process of searching for
positive meaning by helping individuals perceive the situation in a positive light, assigning positive attributions, and therefore
providing individuals with solace in the otherwise undesirable situation.
Thus, positive illusions during shocks prompt individuals to reappraise their lives and relationships positively, and derive positive meaning from their experience. The absence of positive illusions would, in contrast, provide a different slant to the
individual's perspective wherein their suffering would appear devoid of meaning and be perceived as senseless (Taylor,
Kemeny, Reed, Bower, & Gruenewald 2000). This may then foster a sense of frustration and hopelessness within the individual,
which in turn threatens the individual's psychological and emotional well-being (Pearlin 1999).
Moreover, positive illusions result in individuals' reordering their priorities such as giving low priority to mundane concerns
such as quarrels and conicts and assigning higher priority to more important aspects such as relationships with spouses, friends
and children. For instance, in a study of breast cancer patients, Taylor, Lichtman, & Wood (1984), found that many participants
reported that they had found new meaning in their lives, and that their lives have been altered in many ways for the better. Similarly, Afeck and his colleagues (Afeck, Tennen, & Croog, 1987) found that when heart attack survivors were able to perceive
positive meaning from the event they were less likely to have a subsequent attack. Positive illusions thus motivate individuals
to engage in a deeper reection of their life's circumstances, and discover a positive and genuine meaning for their experiences,
which in turn lead to positive outcomes for the individual.
In the context of the employment relationship, negative shocks may lead to a de-escalation and ultimate dissolution of the
relationship. However, positive illusions trigger a different dynamic in the face of trial. The individual realizes that the relationship
does not cease to hold meaning, and that there is hope at the end of the tunnel. This triggers a genuine reection on the meaning
and purpose of the relationship and a discovery of this deeper meaning in the face of adversity. This may, in turn, lead to a
renewal of commitment to the relationship with more benecial outcomes such as relationship stability and commitment. As
Murray, Holmes, & Grifn (1996b) state, love is not blind, but prescient. Positive illusions in the context of relationshipseven
in the face of conicts and doubtsmay be lead to a self-fullling prophecy wherein relational participants are able to create the
relationships they imagine in real-life. For example, Murray, Holmes, & Grifns (2003) found that positive illusions of relationships enabled individuals to be optimistic in their search for meaning, which shaped their beliefs about their circumstances in
such a way that made them feel secure, safe, and condent, and which promoted relationship stability.
We expect that positive illusions regarding the employment relationship may elicit a similar dynamic in response to negative organizational shocks. In the face of negative shocks, the natural response of any employee tends to be feelings of
anger and frustration (Brockner, Tyler, & Cooper-Schneider, 1992). Evidence suggests that employees facing mass lay-offs,
for example, experience considerable stress, depression, resentment and hostility (Albert & Moskowitz 2014). However, positive illusions in individuals facing such crises may elicit a positive search for meaning, and optimistic expectations of the
future, despite trial and adversity. Thus, positive illusions encourage employees to see their challenging or tragic-seeming
shocks in a positive light.
Under such circumstances, individuals assign high priority to their relationships, and less priority to their conicts, quarrels,
and squabbles. Positive illusions about the employment relationship, will enable employees to persist through the crisis, recommit
to their relationship, and enable them to see their relationship in more meaningful ways with overall benecial effects and outcomes. Thus there is a greater sense of loyalty and a lower likelihood of negative emotions such as anger or fear. This is particularly important from a negative organizational shock perspective, since the meaning that one derives from the shock has been
found to determine an individual's subsequent emotions (Kiefer 2005), coping (Scheck & Kinicki 2000), and employee withdrawal
(Fugate, Prussia, & Kinicki 2012).
Proposition 2a. : In the face of negative organizational shocks, positive illusions will trigger an attributional process leading to a
positive search for meaning in the employment relationship. This search will be associated with positive outcomes for the individuals such as positive emotions, coping and adjustment, and stability of the employment relationship. In the absence of positive
illusions, employees are more likely to experience negative affect and insecurity, which may ultimately lead to the dissolution of
the employment relationship.

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5. Attempt to regain mastery

A sudden threatening event can easily undermine a person's sense of control within one's relationship, their job and their life
in general (e.g., Lachman & Weaver 1998). Accordingly, a second theme of the adjustment process is for employees to attempt to
regain control over the event, to manage it, and to prevent it from happening again (Taylor 1983). How one attempts to regain
mastery is, in great part, a function of the way in which one interprets the event. Positive illusions trigger a perspective that emphasizes the positive over the negative, and provide individuals with the motivation to attempt to gain mastery over their situation. For some, this may involve redoubling efforts at work, as well as engaging in positive psychological techniques such as
imaging, self-hypnosis, meditations, and, most commonly, positive thinking. In Taylor's (1983) study, individuals attempted to
be cheerful, affable, and to avoid criticism. Consequently, these individuals tended to adjust better to their new situation and
were more likely to engage in positive behaviors. These behaviors may help individuals to gain mastery over the situation.
Of course, there are circumstances in which uncertainties, threats, and challenges cannot be controlled or are, indeed, inevitable. This is a possibility in the context of employment relationships as well. Yet, positive illusions may still help the individual to
respond positively to the event, have an optimistic view of the situation, and sometimes create an advantage for the individual
through their capacity to think and act positively in the situation. Interestingly results of research on positive illusions demonstrate that even in the face of failure, attempts to regain mastery were strongly associated with overall positive adjustment,
and mental health (Taylor 1983; Taylor, Lerner, Sherman, Sage, & McDowell 2003). Mastery represents an important resource
that protects and promotes individuals' physical and mental health and well-being against the destructive effects of trial and
shocks (Lachman & Weaver 1998). In contrast, the absence of positive illusions will result in a sense of deep-seated insecurity
and hopelessness which will threaten psychological, emotional, and physical health and well-being.
In sum, positive illusions aid employees when they are facing negative organizational shocks by encouraging efforts to regain
mastery over the situation and to be persistent in their behaviors, even in the face of objectively uncontrollable circumstances
(e.g., Taylor, Kemeny, Reed, Bower, & Gruenewald 2000). These positive behaviors may include recommitting to their goals, mastering new techniques, opening up to new experiences, making new relationships on the job, or simply recommitting to the employment relationship. Without positive illusions, it is likely that employees would engage in fewer and less successful coping
strategies in response to negative shocks, experience more stress and frustration, and ultimately attempt to withdraw from the
relationship. In the context of the employment relationship, this could mean the difference between exiting an organization directly after experiencing a negative shock or enduring through the shock and making positive efforts to control it. Therefore, positive illusions encourage individuals to regain mastery over the situation through behavioral persistence, and consequently protect
the employment relationship. Positive illusions will promote continued commitment and stability of the employment relationship
even during stressful times.
Proposition 2b. Employees facing shocks in their employment relationship often perceive a loss of control over their environment. Positive illusions encourage individuals to regain mastery over the situation in the form of behavioral persistence and
problem solving coping responses. These behaviors are positively related to the stability of the employment relationship, as
well as better physical and psychological well-being and functioning.
6. Restoration of self-regard
The third theme in the adjustment process is the restoration of one's self-esteem. Researchers exploring a broad range of
threatening events from going on welfare (Briar 1966) to the death of one's child (Chodoff, Friedman, & Hamburg 1964) have
identied the signicant toll that such shocks can take on the self regard of the individual. Even when these negative events
clearly occur due to external forces beyond an individual's control, there is often a precipitous drop in the individual's selfregard. After experiencing such a shock, however, individuals often attempt to restore a positive self-image through cognitive
efforts.
In the context of the employment relationship, negative organizational shocks, even externally imposed, may threaten one's
self-image. Positive illusions may manifest in this process in at least two ways. One is that individuals often evaluate their circumstances in comparison to the circumstances of relevant others.
Those with stronger positive illusions (i.e. emphasizing positives and minimizing negatives) may be motivated to identify
others who when they compare themselves with, the comparison makes their own circumstances appear more positive than
they actually are. For example, Taylor's (1983) work on cognitive adaptation nds that individuals tend to compare their situation
to those who are successfully coping despite facing ostensibly graver circumstances than themselves. By making such comparisons, individuals emphasize their own blessings, resources, and giftedness, which thereby enhances their self-esteem and helps
them adjust to challenges more effectively.
Another manifestation is that, when a suitable comparison is not available, it is simply manufactured. For example, an employee facing the prospect of being laid off in response to a merger might see his or her objectively better off colleagues as being in a
worse situation for having to potentially endure the organizational change and uncertainty that comes with it. Thus, positive
illusions motivate individuals to seek out or to create appropriate comparisons which bolster their self-regard, while ignoring
those that might reduce their self-regard (Taylor 1983).
In the context of the employment relationship, negative organizational shocks will threaten one's sense of self within the
employment relationship. Research on relational models suggests that individuals have mental models of others and themselves

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within the context of each specic relationship that they are part of (Murray, Holmes, & Grifn 1996b; Pierce & Lydon 2001).
These models are relevant in work contexts, and inuence behavioral tendencies and outcomes at work (Albert, Reynolds, &
Turan 2014). Although negative shocks usually corrode an individual's sense of self and may threaten their sense of being
valued and cared for in the employment relationship, positive illusions will help employees to reframe their situations, and bolster
their self-regard within the context of the employment relationship.
Alternatively, when individuals lack positive illusions in the context of shocks in employment relationships, there will be a
lower likelihood of self-regard restoration within the specic employment relationship, and an increased likelihood of employee
withdrawal. Hence, we expect that positive illusions will lead to the restoration of the individual's sense of self within the
employment relationship, which thus protects the relationship, prevents its dissolution, and leads to its stability. In short, when
faced with a negative shock, positive illusions motivate individuals to engage in strategies that bolster their self-regard in their
employment relationship. They lead employees to perceive themselves as being important, unique, valued and cared for in the
employment relationship. Consequently, they hinder dissolution of the employment relationship.
Proposition 2c. : Positive illusions enhance one's sense of self in the face of negative organizational shocks by helping individuals
to positively reframe their situation and identify or create appropriate comparisons that will improve their own self-regard. This
ultimately leads to greater stability of the employment relationship and prevents its dissolution due to the organizational shock.

7. The downside of organizational transparency

Considering the possible benets of positive illusions in an organizational context (e.g., promoting mutual dependence in the
face of ambiguity and helping individuals to overcome negative shocks), it would seem that strategies aimed at fostering such
illusions may be desirable. However, a great deal of scholarship has advocated the use of open and honest communication
when dealing with situations involving ambiguity that seem specically intended to inhibit individuals from forming overly
positive assessments (e.g., implementing realistic job previews to manage employee expectations; socialization tactics to ease
newcomer adjustment; extensive communication plans during periods of intense organizational change, etc.). Although there is
an abundance of support for the benets of such strategies, there may be instances where transparency is harmful and where
allowing employees to formulate their own perceptions of their environment may help foster or at least not inhibit the development of positive illusions. Put differently, a curvilinear relationship may exist such that too much transparency can be as deleterious to maintaining positive illusions and, more broadly, the employment relationship as too little.
Pierce & Aguinis (2013) describe this paradoxical outcome as the too-much-of-a-good-thing effect (TMGT effect), arguing that
ordinarily benecial antecedents reach inection points after which their associations with desired outcomes cease to be linear
and positive. In this meta-theoretical account of eight seemingly unrelated bodies of scholarly work, the authors found that variables such as conscientiousness, job enrichment, and experience (often believed to be monotonically and positively related to desired organizational outcomes) could lead to negative consequences such as waste or inefciency, and possibly more undesirable
outcomes such as decreased individual or organizational performance. The philosophical tenet underlying this phenomenon is
that too much of any good thing is ultimately bad an adage that has found its way into many languages of the world and is
thought to pervade all aspects of life, from the physical (e.g., nourishment) to the social (e.g., power).
We are particularly interested in this phenomenon because organizations that are overly transparent, especially with regard to
information that may be perceived as negative or threatening, may inadvertently temper positive illusions or prevent them from
developing altogether. This type of transparency provides more information about the likelihood of undesirable outcomes and
may trigger the type of careful appraisal process that ultimately constrains positive illusions and robs individuals of their psychological (e.g., optimism), social (e.g., impression management), and behavioral (e.g., persistence) benets (e.g., Taylor & Gollwitzer
1995). In other words, too much transparency may present individuals with hard and cold facts that could destroy the idealized
images constructed by employees and crush their presumptive world of apparent employment intimacy and support. As more
representative experiences and objective reality replace their idealistic aspirations, employees may no longer reap the benets associated with such positive cognitive distortions.
Perhaps the most damaging aspect of this type of transparency is to the behavioral benets of positive illusions. Such illusions
help individuals to cope with uncertainty because it bestows them with a sense of optimism and hope, which can result in positive individual outcomes such as behavioral persistence. Without the associated belief that one is competent, can beat the odds,
and is valued in the relationship more than objectivity would dictate, these individuals would be more likely to withdraw from
the situation (i.e., employment relationship) that is causing such uncertainty. Therefore, organizational transparency may have
the opposite of its intended effect, ultimately encouraging employees to leave rather than stay.
For instance, providing information about a potential merger may deliver useful information to employees and serve as a signal of organizational honesty (Allen 2006). However, providing extensive details about the possible impact on specic individuals
may interrupt the individual's unique idealized constructions of the employment relationship, interfere with their feelings of psychological safety, and inhibit cognitive distortions and behavioral strategies needed to navigate the impending turbulence. Even in
the instance that a negative event (e.g. job loss) does not materialize, this level of transparency may negatively impact employee
well-being and permanently damage the quality of their employment relationship.
In sum, we expect that the relationship between transparency and stability of the employment relationship will not be always
positive as previously hypothesized. At a particular inection point, the relationship will cease to be linear and positive. We expect

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this change to occur in the face of transparency that involves the sharing of particularly negative or personally threatening
information, which may temper the employee's positive illusions regarding the employing organization.
Proposition 3a. : The relationship between transparency and stability of the employment relationship will be positive up to a
certain inection point, beyond which it ceases to be positive and begins to be negative.
Proposition 3b. : The effect of positive illusions on employment relationship stability may be weakened by sharing overly
negative or personally threatening information.

8. Shattered illusions
When individuals bend reality to their own will instead of being conned to the sometimes-disappointing realities, there is a
risk of being completely disillusioned when the nal realization of truth occurs. So, questions arise such as: Are positive illusions
ultimately benecial or do they leave people vulnerable to inevitable disappointment and despair? In a similar vein, can positive
illusions distort reality too much? And what happens when positive illusions are shattered or disconrmed by actual events?
In the event of the substantial uncertainty of forming a new relationship or in the face of a negative organizational shock, such
as the news of impending layoffs, those holding the most idealized impressions of the employment relationship seem to be most
at risk from disconrmation of those beliefs. However, considerable research evidence has shown that positive illusions need not
lead to disappointment because both the social world and cognitive-processing mechanisms impose constraints on the extent to
which one formulates idealized beliefs (Murray, Holmes, & Grifn 2003; Taylor 1983; Taylor & Brown 1988).
In fact, Taylor, Kemeny, Reed, Bower, & Gruenewald (2000) found no evidence that when these beliefs were disconrmed,
participants were left worse off for their overly positive perceptions. Many times individuals simply changed their story or shifted
causal attribution and they were still more likely to cope positively to their new-found circumstances for having had positive
illusions. For instance, a participant in Taylor's (1983) study felt that she could prevent future recurrences of breast cancer by controlling her diet. Among other things, she had consumed large quantities of pured asparagus to increase her Vitamin A intake.
Unfortunately, she faced a dramatic disconrmation of her positive illusions when she discovered a second malignancy a year
and a half later. However, when asked how she felt she simply shrugged and said that she was wrong. Afterward she decided
to focus on areas of her life that she could control by quitting her mundane job and using her remaining time to pursue her
life-long dream- writing short stories.
Further, individuals typically distort feedback in a self-serving manner, often isolating negative information and representing it
in as unthreatening a manner as possible (Taylor & Brown 1988). Therefore, even when positive illusions about certain aspects of
the employment relationship are shattered, many of the idealized beliefs that developed up to that point may remain intact.
Individuals may still continue to think positively, view themselves positively, cognitively adapt to their new circumstances, and
return to their original levels of relationship satisfaction and stable levels of life satisfaction. Therefore, it seems that while
shattering positive illusions may weaken their positive effects, those who held these idealized beliefs are still better off than if
the illusions had never developed.

Fig. 1. A conceptual framework for the inuence of positive illusions in employment relationships.

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Proposition 4. : Even when positive illusions are shattered, individuals who have had positive illusions will nd ways to positively interpret the changes and describe the existing features of their employment relationship in a positive light. Therefore, their
levels of positive affect and satisfaction will be higher than those who never held positive illusions.
Fig. 1 summarizes our conceptualization of positive illusions in employment relationships.
9. General discussion
The goal of this research is to provide insight into how theory and empirical research regarding positive illusions may inform
and enrich our understanding of the formation, maintenance, and dissolution of employment relationships. Our propositions provide theory-based initial justication for the possibility that positive illusions shape and impact behaviors in the work context.
Specically, our propositions suggest that positive illusions inuence the quality and stability of employment relationships. In
the larger context, positive illusions promise to be one important factor explaining why employment relationships endure despite
conditions that have been traditionally theorized as inhibiting stability.
This work contributes to research in the eld of human resource management in several ways. We introduce positive illusions as
an underlying mechanism that can operate to stabilize and strengthen employment relationships. In so doing, we were able to draw
from the literature on positive illusions to elucidate how a commonly occurring cognitive bias affects various aspects of the employment relationship. Our research also provides some insight into why individuals may choose to stay in employment relationships
even in the face of negative organizational shocks. Our theorizing suggests that employees remain loyal because they perceive
their employment relationship as better than objectivity permits, and they believe that the future holds even greater promise.
Moreover, our current work contributes to the adaptation and coping literature in organizational contexts by providing a link
between positive illusions and adjustment using Taylor's (1983) cognitive adaptation theory. CAT has received little attention in
organizational scholarship, but it provides a unique perspective in demonstrating the ways in which positive illusions lead to successful adaptation. That is, individuals often cope with negative shocks by searching for meaning, attempting to regain mastery,
and enhancing their self-regard. The extent to which individuals are able to successfully cope is heavily dependent on their ability
to formulate positive illusions which trigger each of these aspects of coping.
Furthermore, we provide an account of the dynamics underlying the too-much-of-a-good-thing (TMGT) effect with the role
of transparency as it relates to the employment relationship. While early theorists mostly attended to the positive organizational
outcomes of transparency, our research builds upon Pierce & Aguinis (2013) work, indicating an inection point at which it is no
longer benecial, and has the potential to produce negative outcomes. In the section below, we discuss specic implications of our
research for several areas of management theory and practice.
10. Implications for management theory and practice
10.1. Applicant stage of employment
One primary way in which we expect positive illusions to contribute to theory relates to the applicant stage of employment and
the use of realistic job previews (RJPs). RJPs are intended to provide applicants with realistic and balanced information about a job
(e.g., Barber 1998) through the use of programs, materials, and/or presentations (Earnest, Allen, & Landis 2011). Prior research has
shown that job seekers facing incomplete information will use any available information as signals about job and organizational attributes (Rynes 1991). Specically, RJPs have been shown to act as a signal of organizational honesty, thereby reducing uncertainty
and increasing trust (Earnest, Allen, & Landis 2011). However, meta-analyzing data from roughly 17,000 participants across 52 studies, Earnest, Allen, & Landis (2011) found a modest relation between voluntary turnover and RJPs (r = 0.07).
It is quite possible that too much transparency can be a bad thing, as indicated by the too-much-of-a-good-thing effect (Pierce &
Aguinis 2013). This meta-theoretical explanation suggests that scholarship on RJPs would benet from the specication of a nonlinear relation and the precise location of an inection point. That is, if we are to truly understand at which point transparency
becomes harmful, we need to specify the precise point on the X (organizational honesty) continuum where the XY (voluntary
turnover) relation turns asymptotic and positive.
Intuitively, it seems that the consequence of such a specication would show that RJPs would be most suited to situations involving individuals having such strong illusions (due to a lack of social feedback or cognitive mechanisms intended to constrain
such behavior) that they will bring about signicant shock and disorientation when facing the harsh truths of reality. On the other
hand, they may be harmful for employees with a predisposition for negative affect, particularly when these previews include
negative or harsh information. In this case, applicants will likely withdraw from such a seemingly negative situation, preventing
the employment relationship from continuing. Unfortunately, there is a paucity of research demonstrating how to create RJPs that
signal organizational honesty, motivate coping mechanisms, and allow for self-selection without being so realistic as to prevent
newcomer positive illusions (making it more difcult for enduring bonds to form).
10.2. Organizational entry and newcomer socialization
Positive illusions may also play an important role in the way in which we think about newcomer socialization and employee withdrawal. When individuals enter a new organization, they attempt to cognitively map out and nd structure in the new psychological

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eld (Allen 2006). Socialization tactics help to shape this process by inuencing proximal antecedents of turnover such as job satisfaction and organizational commitment (Ashforth & Saks 1996). However, inadequate socialization tactics are a primary driver of
withdrawal (Allen 2006). Therefore, it may be benecial to consider the types of socialization tactics used (e.g., collective, formal, sequential, xed, serial, and investiture) and how they might promote or inhibit the development of positive illusions. Incorporating
interdependence and eld theories would suggest that socialization tactics which allow employees and employers to develop their
own understanding of weaknesses or seemingly less favorable characteristics of one another, may lead to idealized beliefs and a willingness to invest valued resources into the relationship. Subsequently, partners become more dependent upon and committed to
each other, increasing barriers to exit and creating a virtuous circle between dependency and positive illusions.
10.3. Adapting to organizational change
As mentioned above, positive illusions may be a useful resource in overcoming and adapting to organizational shocks, such as
when employees are facing major organizational changes. Although change paradigms have generally taken a macro-systems approach (Judge, Thoresen, Pucik, & Welbourne 1999), there is a growing body of research emphasizing the efcacy of individual
reactions to change (e.g. Rafferty & Restubog 2010, Wanous, Reichers, & Austin 2000). Our research adds to and extends this literature by identifying the role that positive illusions play in change management.
For instance, Rafferty & Restubog (2010) argue that formal and informal change communication can be used to inuence situational meaning and subsequently predict affective commitment to change. Similarly, Fugate, Prussia, & Kinicki (2012) argue that
communication can reduce appraisals of threat among employees dealing with organizational change. Integrating CAT into this
research would indicate that organizational communication involving overly negative information is likely to reduce optimism,
perceptions of control, behavioral persistence, feelings of self-worth, and identication with the organization. Moreover, this research also suggests that the obstruction of positive illusions may rob the individual of the ability to enjoy all the positive outcomes associated with them (the joy of anticipation, positive affect, emotional well-being, etc.). Therefore, more work is
needed to identify when certain types of information are benecial and how organizations can use change communication to promote positive illusions.
10.4. Measurement and other challenges
Our reconceptualization of how positive illusions operate in employment relationships emphasizes the need to articulate more
clearly how they may be measured and analyzed. Traditionally, individual observations have been compared with responses and observations from friends and strangers (Murray, Holmes, & Grifn 2003) or even relationship partners themselves (Murray, Holmes, &
Grifn 1996b). In a study of relationship dissolution, Murray, Holmes, & Grifn (1996b) asked couples to ll out initial and follow-up
questionnaires regarding (a) models of self and other, including measures of self-perceptions and perceptions of individual's own
partners, the typical partner, and the ideal partner, and (b) relationship well-being (e.g., satisfaction, ambivalence, and conict). Positive illusions were considered to exist when actors demonstrated idiosyncratic perceptions (i.e., what they saw in their partners that
their partners did not see in themselves). This residualized measure of illusion was obtained by partialing the effect of the partner's
reality out of the actor's perception (i.e., by controlling for the actor's understanding of the partner's self-image).
In another study of positive illusions about self, Robins & Beer (2001) asked participants to interact in groups of ve in a
decision-making task. Participants then ranked themselves and other group members on the extent to which each of them had
contributed to the overall effectiveness of the group. Ratings were composited across the four raters in each group and selfenhancement bias was calculated in terms of overestimation of performance relative to actual peer rankings and overestimation
relative to the perceived peer rankings. Specically, the self-rankings were regressed on the peer rankings and the residuals were
retained with positive values indicating positive illusions (over-estimation).
In a longitudinal investigation of the natural history of HIV infection and AIDS, Taylor and others (Taylor, Kemeny, Reed, Bower, &
Gruenewald, 2000) created a scale to measure realistic acceptance of terminal illness. This included items such as I tried to accept
what might happen, I prepare myself for the worst, I go over in my mind what I will say or do about this problem, and the reverse
coded item I refuse to believe that this problem has happened to me. This scale was used in tandem with self-reported health status,
physician reported health status, and responses to items tapping psychological adjustment, and psychological responses to HIV
(items based on Folkman & Lazarus [1980], Ways of Coping measure). Given that the life expectancy for all participants was short,
responses indicating that one did not accept his or her situation were said to provide a measure of positive illusions.
All of these methods indicate the need for some objective referent by which to compare one's perceptions against reality. In an
organizational setting, it is likely that such an objective referent will not always exist. However, there are many instances where
positive illusions can be accurately measured. For example, it may be possible to measure employee perceptions of their organization and position and compare these perceptions against more objective measures such as organizational performance, stability,
or individual job characteristics. These ratings can then be assessed and compared for their effects on a dependent variable of interest. A residualized measure of illusion can then be obtained by partialing the effect of the objective measure from the subjective
measure and the unique variance contributed by positive illusions to the dependent variable can be calculated over and above the
inuence of the objective measure. However, we recognize the measurement of positive illusions as a signicant challenge in
many instances and see it as a promising avenue for future research.
In addition to gaining a better understanding of the psychometric properties of positive illusions and measuring it in an
organizational context, there are several other challenges that need to be addressed in order to move this research forward.

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First, there is limited research that clearly addresses how positive illusions form within relationships outside of the context of
shocks. Taylor and Brown (1988) suggest that we have cognitive processing mechanisms that impose lters on incoming information that distort it in a positive direction and that this is vital to our well-being. Also, Sharot, Riccardi, Raio, & Phelps (2007) have
linked these illusions to enhanced activation in the amygdala and in the rostral anterior cingulate cortex, suggesting a role for
areas involved in monitoring emotional salience in mediating positive illusions.
Furthermore, it may be that certain individual differences could predispose some people to be more or less likely to form
positive illusions, or to hold positive illusions that are more or less resilient to disconrmation. For example, trait positive and
negative affect seem likely candidates, with individuals higher on trait PA more likely to form positive illusions compared with
individuals higher on trait NA. We also differentiated positive illusions from CSEs; however, it may be the case that high CSE
individuals form positive illusions that are more resistant to change because of inherent optimism and self-esteem. More work
is needed to better understand the underlying mechanisms that cause positive illusions to form.
Second, we have only considered three areas of management practice that may benet from this research (i.e., applicant stage,
organizational entry, and adapting to organizational change). Positive illusions likely pervade all aspects of the employment
relationship; as such, there are myriad avenues where this research could be conceivably applied. For instance, more specic
work areas such as stress, workplace conict, and work/life balance are promising avenues for research on positive illusions.
Such illusions have the potential to reduce stress, improve behavior toward others, and modify employee perceptions such that
work/life balance issues may exist for some time while being asymptomatic (Taylor & Brown 1988).
Third, we wish to point out that it is likely that some organizational shocks may trigger the type of deeper and deliberate
analysis that may ultimately constrain and prevent the emergence of positive illusions (e.g., Taylor & Gollwitzer 1995). However,
it must also be noted that many organizational shocks are characterized by a great deal of uncertainty and employees going
through these shocks have only limited knowledge and understanding about nature of these shocks and their possible consequences. Thus, it is likely that these situations do not contain all the facts required for an objective, even and deliberate analysis.
Thus, in as much as these shocks are ambiguous in nature, there is always room for imaginative expectations, and these situations
represent fertile grounds for positive illusions and their positive consequences. Future research will need to investigate and identify the types of shocks which constrain positive illusions and those that permit them.
Finally, we have proposed that positive illusions will help to foster stability in employment relationships, but illusions themselves
and their effects on relationship stability change over time (i.e., they are situation specic and subject to change). Although they may
help to sustain employment relationships through brief uctuations in relationship satisfaction and the positive adjustment outcomes
in the face of shocks, we do not expect them to act as an absolute barrier to employee withdrawal. Indeed, many relationships (personal and employment) ultimately end. Thus, positive illusions may help to explain temporal aspects of employee withdrawal
(e.g., why some individuals endure through negative events or take longer to withdraw), but they are not in opposition with extant
research, which suggests that many employees will ultimately withdraw after a shock (Holtom, Mitchell, Lee, & Inderrieden 2005).
Instead, our goal is to supplement existing research that seeks to identify ways to prevent good employees from leaving the
employment relationship (Allen et al., 2010), and to develop proactive strategies to intervene when these employees experience
a shock (Burton, Holtom, Sablynski, Mitchell, & Lee 2010; Holtom, Mitchell, Lee, & Inderrieden 2005; Lee & Mitchell 1991). Drawing from extant research in social psychology and personal relationships, we identify positive illusions as an important factor that
prevents and delays the dissolution of the employment relationship. Clearly, the concept of positive illusions holds great promise
and potential for future research that seeks to enhance the stability and quality of employment relationships.
11. Conclusion
In sum, we suggest that positive illusions enable individuals to experience a sense of security in their employment relationships and act as a critical stabilizing mechanism early on, allowing for investments to be made and for commitment to be nurtured. Furthermore, positive illusions are particularly relevant to negative organizational shocks. They trigger a positive search
for meaning, an attempt to regain mastery, and restoration of self-regard; all of which have been shown to be key determinants
of psychological and physiological adjustment in response to negative events. In addition, positive illusions may play an important
role in the applicant stage of employment, during socialization when organizations are most at risk of losing their employees, and
when employees are experiencing dramatic organizational change. We hope that by drawing from theoretical perspectives
outside of those traditionally used in the management literature, we can help complement existing research, and promote
long-term, stable and satisfying employment relationships.
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