Appraising as Opportunity yet as Threat: Dynamics of Paradoxical Tensions on Performance

Individual’s daily work life is imbued with paradoxical experiences. A little is known about the cognitive appraisals and human motivational process associated with paradoxical experiences. In this paper, I theorize the appraisal-motivational responses to paradoxical experiences that unfold at the episodic level. Drawing on paradox theory, I postulate that individuals appraise paradoxical experiences both as opportunity and as threat, which in turn have mixed effect – positive and negative on one’s performance. The dual effects are further explained by intermittent role of controlled motivation and contingency – individual’ adaptability – cross situation variability of behaviors. Results from eight-wave weekly repeated measures study spanning for two months (N=178, total observations = 1355) supports the proposed theoretical model. By elaborating the nuanced intra- individual psychological processes, this study contributes novel insights for the micro-foundations of paradox research.