Specific, situated, intra-individual, dialectical, and open: New avenues to integrate and advance the research on passion for work
In almost two decades, the research on passion for work has produced a variety of definitions, measures, and models specifying components, predictors, and outcomes the construct. A challenge for the next generation of research studies will be the integration of these diverse theoretical and methodological approaches with each other and with other fields related to the study of motivation and emotion. This article proposes approaches that shall help to integrate and advance the research on passion for work by implementing recent innovations and insights from the research on related motivational and emotional constructs. The following solutions are proposed: (1) specifying the exact facets of passion for work in theoretical models and measures, (2) using psychometric network models to examine the relationships among the facets and the facets’ relationships with relevant predictors and outcomes, (3) formulating and testing process models that distinguish between state- and trait development and include recursive feedback loops, (4) examining the ambivalent motivation and mixed emotions accompanying passion for work with intra-individual methods, (5) working towards cumulative scientific insights by adopting multi-lab collaborations and other open science practices, and (6) distinguishing between the facets that drive affective thriving and those driving perseverance in the face of obstacles.