title: Exploring Selective Exposure and Confirmation Bias as Processes Underlying Employee Work Happiness: An Intervention Study.
abstract: Employee psychological capital (PsyCap), perceptions of organizational virtue (OV), and work happiness have been shown to be associated within and over time. This study examines selective exposure and confirmation bias as potential processes underlying PsyCap, OV, and work happiness associations. As part of a quasi-experimental study design, school staff (N = 69) completed surveys at three time points. After the first assessment, some staff (n = 51) completed a positive psychology training intervention. Results of descriptive statistics, correlation, and regression analyses on the intervention group provide some support for selective exposure and confirmation bias as explanatory mechanisms. In focusing on the processes through which employee attitudes may influence work happiness this study advances theoretical understanding, specifically of selective exposure and confirmation bias in a field study context.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Positive Psychology, Melbourne Graduate School of Education, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne VIC, Australia.
authors.forename: Paige
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.affiliation: Centre for Positive Psychology, Melbourne Graduate School of Education, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne VIC, Australia.
authors.forename: Margaret L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Kern
authors.affiliation: Centre for Positive Psychology, Melbourne Graduate School of Education, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne VIC, Australia.
authors.forename: Lea
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Waters
keywords: attitudes; confirmation bias; organization culture; organizational virtuousness; psychological capital; selective exposure; work happiness