Chapter 4 Study Guide PDF

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Chapter 4 – Emotions and Moods What are Emotions and Moods: o Affect – a broad range of feelings that people experience. o Affect is a broad term that encompasses emotions and moods. o Emotions – Intense feelings that are directed at someone or something. o Moods – Feelings that rend to be less intense than emotions and that lack a contextual stimulus. o Emotions are more likely to be caused by a specific event and are more fleeting than moods. o Emotions may be more action-oriented (they may lead us to some immediate action), while moods may be more cognitive (they may cause us to think or brood for a while). The Basic Emotions o Hard to define and are interpreted differently in different cultures. o Cultures have norms that govern emotional expression, so the way we experience an emotion isn’t always the same as the way we show it. o There are 6 universal emotions: anger, fear, sadness, happiness, disgust, and surprise. Moral Emotions o Our experiences of emotions are closely tied to our interpretations of events. o Moral emotions – Emotions that have moral implications (because of our instant judgement of the situation that evokes them). o Ex) sympathy for the suffering of others. o Moral disgust – The disgust we feel about violations of moral norms. o Moral disgust is different from disgust (it offends your sense of right and wrong). o Our responses to moral emotions differ from our responses to other emotions. Moral emotions are learned, so they are not universal like innate emotions. o People who behave ethically are at least partially making decisions based on their emotions and feelings. o Emotions can be fleeting (brief), but moods can endure for quite a while. The Basic Moods: Positive and Negative Affect o Emotions are classified into 2 categories: positive and negative. When we group them, they become mood states. o Positive emotions express a favorable evaluation or feeling. o Negative emotions express the opposite. o Emotions CAN’T be neutral. o Positive affect – a mood dimension that consists of specific positive emotions such as excitement, enthusiasm, and elation at the high end (high positive affect). o Negative affect – a mood dimension that consists of emotions such as nervousness, stress, and anxiety at the high end (high negative affect). Experiencing Moods and Emotions o For most people, positive moods are more common than negative moods. o Positivity offset – the tendency of most individuals to experience a mildly positive mood at zero input (when nothing in particular is going on). o The degree to which people experience positive and negative emotions vary across cultures. o An individual’s experience of emotions appears to be culturally shaped. o Ex) some cultures embrace negative emotions, such as Japan and Russia, while others embrace positive emotions, such as Mexico and Brazil. The Function of Emotions 1. Do emotions make us irrational? – o Our emotions actually make our thinking more rational. Because our emotions provide important information about how we understand the world around us and they help guide our behaviors. For instance, individuals in a negative mood may be better able to discern truthful from accurate information than are people in a happy mood. 2. Do emotions make us ethical?o Our beliefs are actually shaped by our groups, which influence our perception of others, resulting in unconscious responses and a feeling that our shared emotions are “right.” Unfortunately, this feeling sometimes allows us to justify purely emotional reactions as rationally “ethical.” Sources of Emotions and Moods: Personality o Some people have built-in tendencies to experience certain moods and emotions more frequently than others do. o Affect intensity – Individual differences in the strength with which individuals experience their emotions. o Affectively intense people experience both positive and negative emotions more deeply; when they’re sad, they’re really sad. Time of Day o Moods vary by the time of day. o Levels of positive affect tend to peak in the late morning (10am – noon) and then remain at that level until early evening (around 7pm).

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Starting about 12 hours after waking, positive affect begins to drop until midnight, and then for those who remain awake, the drop accelerates until the positive mood picks up again after sunrise. Positive affect increases before it declines at midnight. Negative affect fluctuates less than positive affect, but the general trend is for it to increase over the course of a day – so that it is lowest in the early morning and highest late in the evening.

Day of the Week o US adults tend to experience their highest positive affect on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, and their lowest on Monday. o Monday is the highest negative-affect day across most cultures. Weather o Weather has little effect on mood. o Illusory correlation – the tendency of people to associate 2 events when in reality there is no correlation. o This is why people tend to think weather influences them. Stress o Stressful events at work negatively affect moods. o The effects of stress build overtime. Mounting levels of stress can worsen our moods, as we experience more negative emotions. Social Activities o For most people, social activities increase a positive mood and have little effect on a negative mood. o People in positive moods seek out social interactions AND social interactions cause people to be in good moods. o Activities that are physical, informal, or epicurean (eating with others) are more strongly associated with increases in positive mood than events that are formal or sedentary (watching TV with friends). Sleep o Sleep quality affects moods and decision making. o Poor or reduced sleep also make it difficult to control emotions. o Increased regular sleep enhances creativity, performance, and career success. Exercise o Exercise enhances peoples’ positive moods. o The effects are strongest for those who are depressed. Age o Negative emotions occur less as people get older. o For older people, periods of highly positive moods lasted longer, and bad moods faded more quickly. Sex o Women experience emotions more intensely, tend to “hold onto” emotions longer than men and display more frequent expressions of both positive and negative emotions, except anger. o Men use higher levels of powerful emotions like anger, whereas women use more powerless emotions like sadness and fear. Emotional Labor: o Emotional labor – a situation in which an employee expresses organizationally desired emotions during interpersonal transactions at work. o Emotional labor a key component of effective job performance. o The way we experience an emotion is not always the same as the way we show it. o We can divide emotional labor into 2 components: 1. Felt emotions – an individual’s actual emotions. 2. Displayed emotions – emotions that are organizationally required and considered appropriate in a given job.  They are not innate (inherited), they are learned, and they may not may not coincide with felt emotions.  Ex) In US workplaces, it is expected that employees display positive emotions and suppress negative emotions.  Employees under very high or very low display rules do not perform as well in sales situations as employees who have moderate display rules and a high degree of discretion in their roles.  Surface acting – hiding one’s inner feelings and forgoing emotional expressions in response to display rules. Ex) a worker who smiles as customers even when they don’t feel like it.  Deep acting – trying to modify one’s true inner feelings based on display rules. Deep acting deals with felt emotions while surface acting deals with displayed emotions. Deep acting has a positive relationship with job satisfaction and job performance (also less emotional exhaustion) compared to surface acting. o Emotional dissonance – inconsistencies between the emotions people feel and the emotions they project. o Bottled-up feelings or frustration, anger, and resentment can lead to emotional exhaustion. o Mindfulness – objectively and deliberately evaluating the emotional situation in the moment. o This is negatively correlated with emotional exhaustion and positively correlated job satisfaction. Affective Events Theory: o Active events theory (AET) – a model that suggests that workplace events cause emotional reactions on the part of employees, which then influence workplace attitudes and behaviors. o Ex) Found out your company is downsizing – you may experience a variety of negative emotions.

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Work events trigger positive or negative emotional reactions, to which employees’ personalities and moods predispose them to respond with greater or lesser intensity. Those who score low on emotional stability are more likely to react to strongly to negative events. Emotions influence a number of performance and satisfaction variables, such as OCB, organizational commitment, level of effort, intention to quit, and workplace deviance. 2 important messages: (1) emotions provide valuable insights into how workplace events influence employee performance and satisfaction, (2) employees and managers shouldn’t ignore emotions or events that cause them because they accumulate.

Emotional Intelligence: o Emotional intelligence (EI) – the ability to detect and to manage emotional cues and information. This also includes knowing how to regulate his or her emotions accordingly. o Those who are good at identifying and distinguishing among their own feelings were able to make more profitable investment decisions. Small positive correlation with job performance. Emotion Regulation: o Emotion regulation – when you try to cheer yourself up when you’re feelings down, or calm yourself when you’re feelings angry. o The central idea is to identify and modify the emotions you feel. Emotion Regulation Influences and Outcomes o Diversity in work groups increases the likelihood that you will regulate your emotions. o Also, if diversity is low, the minority will engage in emotion regulation, perhaps to “fit in” with the majority race as much as possible; if diversity is high, the majority race will engage in emotion regulation, perhaps to integrate themselves with the whole group. o Con: trying to change an emotion can actually make the emotion stronger. o Avoiding negative emotional experiences is less likely to lead to positive moods than does seeking out positive emotional experiences. Emotion Regulation Techniques 1. Emotional Suppression – suppressing initial emotional responses to situations. a. It is helpful only when a strongly negative event would illicit a distressed emotional reaction in a crisis situation. Ex) a soldier in battle may suppress emotional distress after a shooting and thus be able to make clearer decisions about how to proceed. b. Unless you’re truly in a crisis situation, acknowledging rather than suppressing our emotional responses to situations, and re-evaluating events after they occur, yield the best results. 2. Cognitive reappraisal – reframing our outlook on an emotional situation, is another way to effectively regulate emotions. a. It is the most helpful to individuals in situations where they cannot control the sources of stress. b. Cognitive reappraisal may allow people to change their emotional responses, even when the subject matter is highly emotionally charged. c. Mindfulness also increases the ability to shape our behavioral responses to emotions. 3. Social Sharing – venting. a. The open expression of emotions can help individuals to regulate their emotions, as opposed to keeping emotions “bottled up.” Ethics of Emotion Regulation o Some people argue that controlling your emotions is unethical because it requires a degree of acting, while other people might argue that all emotions should be controlled so you can take a dispassionate perspective. o Acting like you are in a good mood might put you in a good mood. OB Applications of Emotions and Moods: Selection o Employees should consider emotional intelligence (EI) as a factor in hiring employees, especially for jobs that demand a high degree of social interaction. Decision Making o Positive emotions and moods seem to help people make sound decisions, and also can enhance problem-solving, so positive people find better solutions. o People who are saddened by events may make the same decisions as before, while people who are angered by events might make stronger (though not necessarily better) choices than before. Creativity o People in good moods tend to be more creative, produce more ideas and more options. o Yet, other researches think that people in positive moods are more relaxed and do not engage in the critical thinking necessary to perform creative tasks. o All the activating moods (anger, fear, or elation), whether positive or negative, seem to lead to more creativity, whereas deactivating moods (sorrow, depression or serenity) lead to less. Motivation o A cycle can be created in which positive moods cause people to be more creative, leading to positive feedback from those observing their work. The feedback further reinforces the positive mood, which makes people perform even better, and so on.

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So, a manager may enhance employee motivation and performance by encouraging good moods.

Leadership o Leaders who focus on inspirational goals generate greater optimism, cooperation, and enthusiasm in employees, leading to more positive social interactions with coworkers and customers. o Leaders are perceived as more effective when they share positive emotions, and followers are more creative in a positive emotional environment. o Leader displays of sadness increased the analytic performance of followers, perhaps because followers attended more closely to tasks to help the leaders. Negotiation o A negotiator who feigns anger has an advantage over an opponent. Because then a negotiator shows anger, the opponent concludes the negotiator has conceded all he or she can and so gives in. o Anger should be used selectively in negotiation: angry negotiators who have less information or less power than their opponents have significantly worse outcomes. o Displaying a negative emotion (anger) can be effective, but feeling bad about your performance appears to impair future negotiations. o The best negotiators are those who remain emotionally detached because they’re not likely to overcorrect when faced with negative outcomes. Customer Service o Emotional contagion – the process by which peoples’ emotions are caused by the emotions of others. o Customers who catch the positive moods or emotions of employees shop longer. o High-quality customer service makes demands on employees because it often puts them in a state of emotional dissonance, which can be damaging to the employee and the organization. Job Attitudes o Job attitudes are affected by work and home events. o A positive mood at work can spill over to your off-work hours, and a negative mood at work can be restored to a positive mood after a break. Deviant Workplace Behaviors o People who feel negative emotions are more likely than others to engage in short-term deviant behavior at work, such as gossiping or surfing the Internet, though negative emotions can also lead to more serious forms of CWB. o Anger correlates with more aggressive CWBs such as abuse against others and production deviance, while sadness did not. o Neither anger nor sadness predicted workplace withdrawal; employees may stay with an organization and continue to act aggressively toward others. o Managers need to stay connected with their employees to gauge emotions and emotional intensity levels. Safety and Injury at Work o Individuals in negative moods tend to be more anxious, which can make them less able to cope effectively with hazards. o Negative moods can also make people more distractible, and distractions can lead to carless behaviors.

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