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  • July 2019
  • Article
  • Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes

The Gravitational Pull of Expressing Passion: When and How Expressing Passion Elicits Status Conferral and Support from Others

By: Jon M. Jachimowicz, Christopher To, Shira Agasi, Stéphane Côté and Adam D. Galinsky
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Abstract

Prior research attributes the positive effects of passion on professional success to intrapersonal characteristics. We propose that interpersonal processes are also critical because observers confer status on and support those who express passion. These interpersonal benefits of expressing passion are, however, contingent on several factors related to the expresser, perceiver, and context. Six studies, including entrepreneurial pitches from Dragons’ Den and two preregistered experiments, establish three key findings. First, observers conferred status onto and increased their support for individuals who express passion; importantly, expressing passion affected how admired—but not how accepted—someone was. Second, these effects were weaker when passion was expressed in an inappropriate manner/context and when observers disagreed with the target of expresser’s passion. Third, in competitive contexts, expressing passion became threatening and decreased the support individuals received from others. These results demonstrate that passion’s effects travel, in part, through the gravitational pull exerted by expressing passion.

Keywords

Passion; Admiration; Support; Emotions; Communication; Perception; Status and Position; Success; Situation or Environment; Competition

Citation

Jachimowicz, Jon M., Christopher To, Shira Agasi, Stéphane Côté, and Adam D. Galinsky. "The Gravitational Pull of Expressing Passion: When and How Expressing Passion Elicits Status Conferral and Support from Others." Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 153 (July 2019): 41–62.
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About The Author

Jon M. Jachimowicz

Organizational Behavior
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More from the Authors

    • June 2025
    • Administrative Science Quarterly

    Riding the Passion Wave or Fighting to Stay Afloat? A Theory of Differentiated Passion Contagion

    By: Emma Frank, Kai Krautter, Wen Wu and Jon M. Jachimowicz
    • April 2025
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    Giving Up on a Passion: Elizabeth Rowe at the Boston Symphony Orchestra

    By: Jon M. Jachimowicz, Maisie Wiltshire-Gordon and Alexis Lefort
    • September 2024
    • Social Psychological & Personality Science

    A Potential Pitfall of Passion: Passion Is Associated with Performance Overconfidence

    By: Erica R. Bailey, Kai Krautter, Wen Wu, Adam D. Galinsky and Jon M. Jachimowicz
More from the Authors
  • Riding the Passion Wave or Fighting to Stay Afloat? A Theory of Differentiated Passion Contagion By: Emma Frank, Kai Krautter, Wen Wu and Jon M. Jachimowicz
  • Giving Up on a Passion: Elizabeth Rowe at the Boston Symphony Orchestra By: Jon M. Jachimowicz, Maisie Wiltshire-Gordon and Alexis Lefort
  • A Potential Pitfall of Passion: Passion Is Associated with Performance Overconfidence By: Erica R. Bailey, Kai Krautter, Wen Wu, Adam D. Galinsky and Jon M. Jachimowicz
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