Date of Award
8-2019
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
Psychology
Committee Member
Cynthia L.S. Pury, Committee Chair
Committee Member
Patrick Rosopa
Committee Member
Mary Anne Taylor
Abstract
With the current research, I further clarify the factors that influence concealable identity disclosure in the workplace. The predictive nature of variables relating to an individual's concealable identity as well as the variables relating to the individual's general disposition were tested using an online sample of MTurk workers. Participants (N = 371) were given a definition of what a concealable identity is and then were asked to self-identify if they had a concealable identity. Those who indicated that they had a concealable identity (n = 150) completed an additional portion of the survey that assessed: their disclosure level at work, General Tendency for Self-Disclosure, Workplace Social Courage, Perceived Risk of Disclosure, Identity Centrality, Authenticity and their Identity Perceptions. It was determined that General Tendency for Self-Disclosure was a significant covariate for disclosure. It was also found that Identity Perceptions are not unidimensional - an individual's overall perception of their identity is not simply a sum of their positive and negative perceptions. Positive and Negative Identity Perceptions were found to be two separate factors that relate to Openness to Identity-Disclosure, with Positive Identity perceptions more predictive of Openness to Identity-Disclosure than Negative Identity Perceptions. There were also significant findings regarding the Life and Job Satisfaction of individuals with a concealable identity. It was concluded that while having a concealable identity is not directly related to reported levels of Job Satisfaction, individuals who disclose their identity at work did have higher levels of Life and Job Satisfaction. It was also concluded that knowing other co-workers with the same or similar concealable identity was more positively correlated with Life and Job Satisfaction than just knowing anyone with the same or similar identity. Along with this, knowing others at work with the same or similar identity was the single largest correlated of Openness to Identity-Disclosure and Explicit Identity-Disclosure.
Recommended Citation
McIntyre, Brandon Reid, "The Mixed Motives of Identity Disclosure: Concealable Identity Disclosure in the Workplace" (2019). All Theses. 3148.
https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_theses/3148