Research
RESEARCH INTERESTS
My research primarily focuses on (1) the influences of emotions in the workplace, and (2) justice-related and ethical issues in the workplace. An important theme that cuts across all of my research is that I attempt to push back against various assumptions made by researchers and laypersons alike regarding what is "good" and what is "bad". For example, research that I conduct with my colleagues has illustrated that (a) people can react to envy constructively, despite it being an unpleasant emotion, (b) distractions can sometimes improve task performance, particularly when the task is simple, and (c) social support from coworkers can make highly cynical people less satisfied with their jobs. In doing so, I hope that my research will promote a more nuanced consideration of the work context, and lead to more targeted organizational interventions that foster a psychologically healthy and productive work environment.
EMOTIONS IN THE WORKPLACE
In my research on emotions, I examine a variety of questions including:
What causes certain emotions to occur (e.g., envy, anger, resentment)?
How do others react toward employees who express certain emotions at work (e.g., boredom, happiness, anger)?
What factors influence how people react to their own and others' emotions?
Much of this research follows a social-functional view of emotions: each emotion exists to help people navigate their social environments, and the broader context determines whether an emotion leads to favorable or unfavorable consequences for the self, others, and the organization. Studying emotions has allowed me to branch into various other research areas, such as personality, music and distraction, social comparison, and more.
JUSTICE ISSUES AT WORK
I study justice-related and ethical issues in the workplace. My interest in this area emerged from studying the complex relationship between envy and injustice. Currently, I am interested in fairness-related and ethical issues within hiring contexts, particularly those involving artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). My research suggests that job candidates are less likely to see the potential benefits of AI/ML than their organizational counterparts, and express concerns about the fairness of these systems. I am now actively investigating (a) what factors drive these perceptions of unfairness among job candidates, and (b) how organizations might address candidates' concerns about AI/ML.
PUBLICATIONS
Watts, L. L., Lefkowitz, J., Gonzalez, M. F., & Nandi, S. (2023). How Relevant is the APA Ethics Code to Industrial-Organizational Psychology? Applicability, Deficiencies, and Recommendations. Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice, 16(2), 143-165. (Preview)
Gonzalez, M. F., & Cheban, Y. M. (2022). “404 Error – Interdisciplinarity Not Found”: Removing Barriers to Technology Research in I-O Psychology. Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice, 15(3), 469-474. (Preview)
Gonzalez, M. F., Liu, W., Shirase, L., Tomczak, D. L., Lobbe, C. E., Justenhoven, R., & Martin, N. R. (2022). Allying with AI? Reactions toward human-based, AI/ML-based, and augmented hiring processes. Computers in Human Behavior (130), 107179. (Preview)
Gonzalez, M. F., Walle, E. A., Cohen-Charash, Y., & Shields, S. A. (2020). Editorial: How everyday emotion beliefs influence emotion processes and emotion theory. Frontiers in Psychology, 11(2819). (Preview)
Ellison, L., McClure Johnson, T., Tomczak, D., Siemsen, A., & Gonzalez, M. F. (2020). Game on! Exploring applicant reactions to game-based assessments. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 30(4), 241-254. (Preview)
Martin, N. R., Morgan, K., Capman, J. F., Boyce, A. S., Gonzalez, M. F., & Adler, S. (2020). New frontiers in cognitive ability testing: Working memory. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 30(4), 193-208. (Preview)
*Crusius, J., *Gonzalez, M. F., *Lange, J., & *Cohen-Charash, Y. (2020). Envy: An adversarial review and comparison of two competing views. Emotion Review, 12(1), 3-21. (Preview) 1
Gonzalez, M. F., & Aiello, J. R. (2019). More than meets the ear: Investigating how music affects cognitive task performance. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 25(3), 431-444. (Preview)
Gonzalez, M. F., Capman, J. F., Martin, N. R., McClure Johnson, T., Theys, E. R., Boyce, A. S. (2019). Personality and the ADA: Ameliorating fairness concerns and maintaining utility. Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice, 12, 151-156. (Preview)
Gonzalez, M. F., Capman, J. F., Oswald, F. L., Theys, E. R., & Tomczak, D. L. (2019). “Where’s the I-O?” Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Talent Management Systems. Personnel Assessment and Decisions, 5(3), 33-44. (Preview and open access download)
Larson, E., & Gonzalez, M. F. (2017). Social comparison theory. In S. G. Rogelberg, K. M. Shockley, & S. Tonidandel (Eds.). Encyclopedia of industrial and organizational psychology (2nd ed.). SAGE. (Preview)
SELECT PRESENTATIONS
Gonzalez, M. F., Cohen-Charash, Y., Lee, S., Johnson, K., & Spector, P. E. (2022, August). Envy Beyond Borders: A Meta-Analysis of National Culture and Reactions to Envy. In I.-H. Wu & M. F. Gonzalez (Chairs), Context Matters: The Implications of Workplace Envy Across Contexts. Paper presentation conducted at the 82nd annual meeting of the Academy of Management, Seattle, WA.
Gonzalez, M. F. (2021, April). B-B-B-Bad to the Bored: Examining Reactions Toward Subordinate Expressions of Boredom. In P. Alenick, S. Lee, Y. Cohen-Charash, & D. Fleyshmakher (Chairs), Got a Bad Reputation: Better Understanding Socially Undesirable Emotions. Symposium paper presented virtually at the 36th annual meeting of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology.
Cohen-Charash, Y., & Gonzalez, M. F. (2020, August). Loaded Language: Terminology Influences Attitudes Toward Emotions and People Expressing Them. Paper accepted for presentation at the 80th annual meeting of the Academy of Management. (Conference paper)
Gonzalez, M. F., Justenhoven, R., Lobbe, C., Liu, W., Shirase, L., Tomczak, D. L., & Martin, N. R. (2020, July). The human touch: Reactions to AI-based, human-based, and mixed selection processes. In O. S. Brandt (Chair), Artificial intelligence in recruitment – A closer look. Symposium paper to be presented at the 12th annual meeting of the International Testing Conference, Belval, Luxembourg. (Conference cancelled) (Conference paper)
Gonzalez, M. F., Liu, W., Shirase, L., Tomczak, D. L., Lobbe, C. E., Justenhoven, R., Brandt, O. S., Tschöpe, N., Martin, N. R., & Preuss, A. (2020, April). AI as an ally: Improving reactions to artificial intelligence. In M. Langer & J. Basch (Chairs), Interview technology and AI: Effects on applicants, evaluators, and adverse impact. Symposium paper to be presented at the 35th annual meeting of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Austin, TX. (Conference cancelled) (Conference paper)
Cohen-Charash, Y., Gonzalez, M. F., Larson, E. C., Lee, S., & Alenick, P. (2019, July). A contextual goal-based theory of envy and its outcomes. Paper presented at the biennial meeting of the International Society for Research on Emotions, Amsterdam, Netherlands. (Conference paper)
Gonzalez, M. F. (2019, July). Bored to the bone: A meta-analysis of individual differences associated with boredom. Paper presented at the biennial meeting of the International Society for Research on Emotions, Amsterdam, Netherlands. (Conference paper)
Gonzalez, M. F., & Cohen-Charash, Y. (2019, April). Unphased by Unfairness: An Investigation into Reactions to Envy. In England, K., & Grandey, A. (Chairs), Discrete Emotions at Work: An Array of Forms and Functions. Symposium paper presented at the 34th annual meeting of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, National Harbor, MD. (Conference paper)
Gonzalez, M. F., & Yu, P. P. (2018, April). Supported but unsatisfied: Cynical hostility, social support, and job satisfaction. Poster presented at the 33rd annual conference of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Chicago, IL. (Conference paper)