Carolyn M. Youssef-Morgan

• PhD
• Chair at Bellevue University

The now recognized core construct of psychological capital, or simply PsyCap, draws from positive psychology in general and positive organizational behavior (POB) in particular. The first-order positive psychological resources that make up PsyCap include hope, efficacy, resilience, and optimism, or the HERO within. These four best meet the inclusio...

Although there is substantial support for the relationship between mentoring and work performance, empirical research has yet to fully explore the plausible positive psychological explanatory mechanisms of this relationship. This four‐year study examines the effects of mentoring on protégés' psychological capital (PsyCap; a higher‐order psychologic...

ABSTRACT This study investigates the relationship between academic engagement, psychological capital (PsyCap) resources (efficacy, hope, optimism, resilience) and academic performance. Data were collected in two different universities, one in Spain (N=389) and another in Portugal (N=243). Undergraduate students completed self-report questionnaires...

Entrepreneurship involves numerous risks and uncertainties. Positive psychological resources such as courage, as well as confidence, hope, optimism, and resilience (collectively referred to as psychological capital), can be valuable for entrepreneurs. This study examines that relationship between entrepreneurs’ courage, psychological capital, and l...

Positive psychology interventions (PPI) aim to enhance positive aspects, activities, abilities, and well-being (Lyubomirsky & Layous, 2013). Interventions focused on development, positive change and performance improvement are not new to the workplace. However, organizational scholars and practicing managers have recently begun to build upon these...

There is growing empirical support for the benefits of developing psychological capital (PsyCap), and the effectiveness of PsyCap interventions (PCIs) in the workplace. However, to-date, PCI delivery modes have not been compared. The first study in this article compares a face-to-face to an online PCI. The second study compares an online PCI to a m...

This study explores gratitude as a multidimensional and work-specific construct. Utilizing a sample of 625 employees from a variety of positions in a medium-sized school district in the United States, we developed and evaluated a new measure, namely the Work Gratitude Scale (WGS), which encompasses recognized conative (intentional), cognitive, affe...

Psychological Capital is a construct that is experiencing strong growth within the framework of Positive Psychology. In work contexts, it has been related to employee performance, wellbeing, attitudes, and behaviors. In educational contexts, particularly non–English–speaking contexts, there is hardly any research on this topic, mostly due to the la...

Psychological capital (PsyCap) is a multidimensional psychological resource that has emerged in the organizational literature and received notable attention due to its solid theoretical foundation, valid and reliable measures, impact on work-related outcomes, and evidence of malleability and developmental potential. However, to-date, positivity in...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the individual and contextual antecedents of authentic leadership (AL) proposed in the authentic leadership development (ALD) theory. Design/methodology/approach Survey data were collected from 74 leaders from two Midwestern organizations. Surveys were used to collect AL, psychological capital (Psy...

This chapter presents evidence supporting gratitude as an antidote to work stress and a viable approach for promoting employee well-being. Gratitude has received increased attention because of the renewed interest in positive psychology. Conceptualizations of gratitude are presented, including gratitude as a virtue, a trait, an affective state, and...

Psychological capital (PsyCap) is a composite positive psychological state that is theory and evidence based, measurable, developmental, and related to work outcomes. Hope, efficacy, resilience, and optimism (summarized by the acronym HERO), are the four constituent psychological resources of PsyCap. After a brief historical perspective and a summa...

Over the years, both management practitioners and academics have generally assumed that positive workplaces lead to desired outcomes. Unlike psychology, considerable attention has also been devoted to the study of positive topics such as job satisfaction and organizational commitment. However, to place a scientifically based focus on the role that...

Psychological capital;Physical health;Psychological well-being

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to extend the boundaries of positive organizational behavior (Luthans, 2002a, b) to North Africa and the Middle East. Specifically, the relevance of Psychological Capital (PsyCap et al. , 2007), composed of the positive psychological resources of hope, efficacy, resilience and optimism, is conceptualized and t...

This article traces the progression of psychological capital (PsyCap) research from its emergence to its current state, now after a decade, including a recent meta-analysis and a critical review of the PsyCap literature. PsyCap is presented here as an example of initializing, building, expanding, generalizing, and applying a new research stream in...

In this chapter, we make the case for the value of and the critical contributions positive constructs can make in leveraging multiculturalism in the workplace. The chapter starts with an overview of diversity in the workplace. We then introduce workplace positivity in general, and more specifically several work-related positive constructs and appro...

Many people, especially organizational leaders, find today’s environment both depressing and overwhelming. The depressing part is the seemingly uncontrollable downward spirals of negativity. For example, put yourself in the shoes of Dawn Hochsprung, principal of Sandy Hook Elementary in New-town, Connecticut. How could any leader stay level-headed...

A key assumption of effective international human resource management (IHRM) is that global leaders influence and serve as role models for their followers, regardless of the inherent distance (physical and frequency of interaction) between them in today's global context or the quality of the relationship. Although considerable attention has been de...

The conventional wisdom that “happy workers are productive workers” goes back to the beginning of the field of organizational behavior and human resource management. However, there has generally been a lack of rich theoretical development and supporting empirical research testing this hypothesis until the stimulation provided by the positive psycho...

Increasing recognition is being given to the role that employee overall well-being plays in desired outcomes of today’s organizations. To help organizational leaders searching for understanding and answers, we propose that the positive core construct of psychological capital (or simply PsyCap), consisting of the positive psychological resources of...

Positive organizational scholars define positivity as “elevating processes and outcomes” (Cameron & Caza, 2004, p. 731). Thus, a better understanding of positive processes requires the investigation of the explanatory mechanisms that can account for the manifestation of “intentional behaviors that depart from the norm of a reference group in honora...

In the wake of increasing globalization, today's organizational leaders are faced with unprecedented complexity. To help meeting the challenge, this article proposes a new positive approach to global leadership. After first providing the background on positivity, positive global leadership is carefully defined and its similarities and differences w...

This paper argues that firms need to develop specific measurement frameworks for human capital with empirically testable measures for validating causal claims of human capital’s impact on strategic success. Firms often declare human capital as a valuable contributor to strategic success in business social responsibility reports and other public non...

Although the value of positivity has always been recognized, only in the past decade has there been renewed interest and a refocus in both psychology as a whole and in organizational studies. This chapter summarizes the theory-building and research findings to date on positive organizational behavior (POB) and psychological capital (PsyCap). The ch...

This study drew from two distinct paradigms: the social cognitively based emerging field of positive organizational behavior or POB and the more established behaviorally based area of organizational behavior modification or OB Mod. The intent was to show that both can contribute to complex challenges facing today's organizations. Using a quasi-expe...

This chapter begins with an assessment of where we are with the theory, research, and application of positivity in the workplace in general and positive organizational behavior (POB)/ psychological capital (PsyCap) in particular. Special attention is initially given to the traditional role of positivity in organizational research. It then presents...

Much like the Abominable Snowman whose footprints are everywhere but is nowhere to be seen, discussion of human, social and psychological capital continues to proliferate in management literature and within corporate annual reports. Unfortunately, evidence for the existence of and return on investment (ROI) in these and other related forms of human...

Conventional wisdom and recent research have supported the importance of employee positivity. However, empirical analysis has not yet demonstrated potential added value of recently recognized psychological capital over the more established positive traits in predicting work attitudes and behaviors. This study found that psychological capital was po...

Taking positive psychology to the workplace, a core construct of psychological capital or PsyCap (consisting of efficacy, hope, optimism, and resiliency) has recently received considerable attention. After summarizing this literature, the chapter is mainly devoted to presenting an integrated model of PsyCap to meet the challenges of further develop...

Psychological Capital is introduced as an important asset that can be leveraged to enhance the virtuousness of organizations. Psychological capital is defined as a state of development characterized by self-efficacy, optimism, hope and resilience, though there are many other similar resources. The authors examine empirical studies showing promise t...

This article examines positive organizational behavior in the work environment. Particular focus is given to the impact and effects of optimism, resilience and hope. The authors, implement the foundation of positive psychology and organizational behavior, investigate the impact of positive behavior on desired work-related outcomes, such as employee...

Although the value of positivity has been assumed over the years, only recently has it become a major focus area for theory building, research, and application in psychology and now organizational behavior. This review article examines, in turn, selected representative positive traits (Big Five personality, core self-evaluations, and character stre...

This book draws from a foundation of positive psychology and recently emerging positive organizational behavior (POB). Its purpose is to introduce the untapped human resource capacity of psychological capital, or simply PsyCap. This PsyCap goes beyond traditionally recognized human and social capital and must meet the scientific criteria of theory,...

Psychological capital: Investing and developing positive organizational behavior Several years ago, a growing number of psychologists became concerned that the field had overemphasized the negative at the sacrifice of the positive. In seeking the illusive solutions of healing mental illness and dysfunctional behavior, both academic and practicing p...

In this chapter, we draw from the emerging positive organizational behavior movement to describe the role that hope can play in the effectiveness of Egyptian organizational leaders. After providing a brief review of the theory and research on hope, we suggest ways that hopeful Egyptian organizational leaders can be developed and "hopefully" thrive...

There is growing evidence that human resources are crucial to organizational success, and may offer the best return on investment for sustainable competitive advantage. The purpose of this article is to analyze what constitutes competitive advantage from traditionally recognized sources. We then turn to treating human resources as a capital investm...

The need for understanding the development of resilient organizations, leaders and employees—those able to adapt, bounce back, and flourish despite adversity—has never been greater. Although receiving attention in clinical psychology, to date little is known about resiliency in organizational settings. Drawing from the positive psychology, positive...

Behaviorism is a theoretical foundation in psychology that emphasizes observable, measurable behavior as the primary unit of analysis and scientifically investigates the relationships between behavior and its environmental contingencies.