joap-theory-and-hypotheses
Use when building the theoretical model and hypotheses for a Journal of Applied Psychology (JAP) manuscript. JAP demands a genuine I-O theoretical contribution with an explicit mechanism, directional hypotheses, and a clear confirmatory/exploratory split — theory stated before the data, not after. Structures the argument; it does not run analyses.
Profile →npx skills add brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills --skill joap-theory-and-hypotheses --agent claude-code
Same command for any agent — swap --agent for codex, cursor, copilot.
Weekly change comes from our own snapshots, not the repository page — it measures attention, not adoption.
# Theory & Hypotheses (joap-theory-and-hypotheses) JAP is theory-first. A paper lives or dies on whether it makes a **theoretical contribution to I-O science** — a new **mechanism**, **boundary condition**, **integration of frameworks**, or **construct clarification** — and whether the **hypotheses follow from that theory**. The cardinal honesty rule: **state theory and confirmatory hypotheses before the data**, and label anything generated after seeing data as exploratory. ## When to trigger - Building the theoretical model and deriving hypotheses - Writing a preregistration / pre-analysis plan - Reconciling what you predicted with what you found - A reviewer flagged the work as "atheoretical," "post hoc," "HARKed," or "no contribution" ## Build the argument 1. **Name the mechanism.** What process links X to Y, and why — grounded in I-O theory (e.g., social exchange, conservation of resources, self-determination, JD-R, affective events, justice). The mechanism is the contribution's core, not decoration. 2. **Specify the level(s).** State whether each construct and relationship is at the individual, dyad, team, or organization level, and whether effects are cross-level (e.g., 1-1-1
- When to trigger
- Build the argument
- What counts as a JAP theoretical contribution
- Worked micro-example — theory to hypothesis status (illustrative)
- Theory-stage reviewer pushback and the venue fix
- Theory calibration anchors
- Anti-patterns
- Output format
- Supplementary resources
What does the joap-theory-and-hypotheses skill do?
Use when building the theoretical model and hypotheses for a Journal of Applied Psychology (JAP) manuscript. JAP demands a genuine I-O theoretical contribution with an explicit mechanism, directional hypotheses, and a clear confirmatory/exploratory split — theory stated before the data, not after. Structures the argument; it does not run analyses.
How do I install it?
Run `npx skills add brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills --skill joap-theory-and-hypotheses --agent claude-code` — it drops the skill into your project so the agent can pick it up. Swap the --agent value for codex, cursor or copilot if you use one of those.
Where does this skill come from?
From brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills, a repository with 909 stars. We read it straight from the repository tree rather than a submitted listing, so what you see here is what is actually published.
Is a popular skill a good skill?
Not necessarily. Stars measure attention, not adoption — a repository can trend for a week and be abandoned. That is why we show the weekly change from our own snapshots next to the total, instead of a single flattering number.