Trailblazing Motivation and Marginalized Group Members: Changing Expectations to Pave the Way for Others

Abstract

Employees from marginalized groups frequently face low performance expectations based on group membership. Although past research shows several different reactions to these types of expectations, such as stereotype threat and stereotype reactance, scholars still know little about when and why low expectations spur individuals to not only try to prove themselves, but to seek to change expectations and opportunities for others like them. Addressing this discrepancy, I introduce trailblazing motivation, which captures the desire to set new precedents that open doors for others. I integrate self-determination theory and regulatory focus theory to identify group-based low expectations, moderated by a sense of belonging with one’s broad marginalized group, and core self-evaluations as key antecedents of trailblazing motivation. I hypothesize that trailblazing motivation will lead to not only greater persistence in one’s work—as with stereotype reactance—but also potentially riskier behaviors aimed at changing expectations for one’s broad group on a larger scale, including advocacy for other marginalized group members and diversity, equity, and inclusion–related issue selling. I test and find support for these hypotheses across a time-lagged survey study and a preregistered experiment. I also establish discriminant validity for trailblazing motivation from other responses to group-based low performance expectations. This research advances our understanding of the behavior of marginalized individuals at work by helping to explain (1) when and why people facing group-based low expectations go beyond seeking to prove their own abilities and also strive to effect change for their marginalized group as a whole and (2) how a closer connection to one’s marginalized group can drive people to increase opportunities for that broad group. Funding: This research was funded by a grant from The Leadership Center at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania [Grant 2000-0267] as well as through Post-doctoral Fellowship research funds allocated by The Tuck School, Dartmouth College.