4 Emotions and Moods Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall
Chapter Learning Objectives After studying this chapter, you should be able to: Differentiate emotions from moods, and list the basic emotions and moods. Discuss whether emotions are rational and what functions they serve. Identify the sources of emotions and moods. Show the impact emotional labor has on employees. Describe Affective Events Theory and identify its applications. Contrast the evidence for and against the existence of emotional intelligence. Apply concepts about emotions and moods to specific OB issues. Contrast the experience, interpretation, and expression of emotions across cultures. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall
Why Were Emotions Ignored in OB? The “Myth of Rationality” Emotions were seen as irrational Managers worked to make emotion-free environments View of Emotionality Emotions were believed to be disruptive Emotions interfered with productivity Only negative emotions were observed Now we know emotions can’t be separated from the workplace Historically the study of organizational behavior has not given much attention to emotions. Emotions were typically seen as irrational so managers tended to work to make the workplace emotion-free. Often managers viewed emotions as disruptive to the workplace and therefore a hindrance to productivity. However, when thinking about emotions, typically managers were focusing on negative emotions. Even though there are some negative emotions that could hinder productivity, there is no doubt that workers bring their emotions to the workplace. Therefore, any study in organizational behavior would not be complete without considering the roles of emotions in the workplace. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall (c) 2008 Prentice-Hall, All rights reserved.
What are Emotions and Moods? Affect is a generic term that covers a broad range of feelings people experience. This includes both emotions and moods. Emotions are intense feelings that are directed at someone or something. Moods are the feelings that tend to be less intense than emotions and that lack a contextual stimulus. See E X H I B I T 4-1 Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall (c) 2008 Prentice-Hall, All rights reserved.
The Basic Emotions While not universally accepted, there appear to be six basic emotions: Anger Fear Sadness Happiness Disgust Surprise All other emotions are subsumed under these six May even be placed in a spectrum of emotion: Happiness – surprise – fear – sadness – anger – disgust Not all psychologists agree; however, there do seem to be six basic emotions that emerge in studies: anger, fear, sadness, happiness, disgust, surprise. All other emotions fall under these six. Some psychologists even place these basic six on a spectrum of emotion. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall (c) 2008 Prentice-Hall, All rights reserved.
The basic emotions Cultures have norms that govern emotional expression, showing emotions is different than experiencing them. “Smile” is an expression of happiness, is it always true?! (USA vs. Middle east) In collectivist countries people believe that another’s emotional displays have something to do with the relationship with them (directed at them). (c) 2008 Prentice-Hall, All rights reserved.
Activity Cultures have different sets of emotions, what are the emotions set that is specific to Jordanian culture? Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall
Affection Anger Angst Anguish Annoyance Anxiety Apathy Arousal Awe Boredom Contempt Contentment Courage Curiosity Depression Desire Despair Disappointment Disgust Distrust Dread Ecstasy Embarrassment Envy Euphoria Excitement Fear Frustration Gratitude Grief Guilt Happiness Hatred Hope Horror Hostility Hurt Hysteria Indifference Interest Jealousy Joy Loathing Loneliness Love Lust Outrage Panic Passion Pity pleasure Pride Rage Regret Remorse Sadness Satisfaction Shame Shock Shyness Sorrow Suffering Surprise Terror Trust Wonder Worry Zeal Zest
Basic Moods: Positive and Negative Affect Emotions cannot be neutral. Emotions (“markers”) are grouped into general mood states. Mood states affect perception and therefore perceived reality. Our basic moods carry positive and negative affects, they cannot be neutral. Emotions are grouped into general mood states. These states impact how employees perceive reality and thereby the moods can impact the work of employees. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall (c) 2008 Prentice-Hall, All rights reserved.
Positive and negative emotions Positive emotions: feeling that arises spontaneously in response to the immediate moment Emotional center responds to universe with feelings. Negative emotions: arises in response to a thought, a memory, analysis or past event! Reflected emotions (negative) No direct, ginuine interaction happening in the moment! Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall
The basic moods Positive and negative moods/emotions color our perceptions, which can become their own reality. “I work in a pressurized aluminum tube and the environment outside my ‘office’ cannot sustain life. That being said, the human life inside is not worth sustaining sometimes...in fact, the passengers can be jerks, and idiots I am often treated with no respect, nobody listens to me... Until I threaten to kick them off the plane”
The basic mood Negative emotions are likely to translate into negative moods. People think of events that created strong negative emotions five times as long as they do about strong positive ones. (more unusual) Positivity offset: at zero input (nothing is going on) most individuals experienced a mildly positive mood. (more common) Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall
What Is the Function of Emotion? Emotions can aid in our decision-making process. Many researchers have shown that emotions are necessary for rational decisions. Decision Making Feeling Thinking There are some who think that emotions are linked to irrationality and that expressing emotions in public may be damaging to your career or status. However, research has shown that emotions are necessary for rational thinking. They help us make better decisions and help us understand the world around us. If we are going to make decisions, we need to incorporate both thinking and feeling. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall (c) 2008 Prentice-Hall, All rights reserved.
Functions of emotions Phineas Gage case is an illustration of the importance of emotions and rational thinking. He lost his ability to emote. While his intellectual ability were unharmed. He lost the ability to reason, started to take irrational decisions about his life!! Conclusion: “Our emotions provide about how we understand the world around us” Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall
Sources of Emotion and Mood Personality There is a trait component – affect intensity Day and Time of the Week There is a common pattern for all of us Happier in the midpoint of the daily awake period Happier toward the end of the week There are many things that impact our mood and emotions. Personality is a key component and will definitely impact the intensity of the emotions we feel. The day and time of the week is a common pattern for all of us. Many are happier toward the end of the week. Weather is thought to have an impact on our emotions, but there is no proven effect. Stress is an important factor and even at low levels it can cause our mood to change. It is important to maintain a low level of stress to help us control our psychological as well as our physical health. Social activities have been shown to have a positive impact on our moods. This could be physical outlets such as playing in a basketball league or it can be going out to dinner with friends. These types of activities are found to have a positive impact on our mood. See E X H I B I T 4-3 and 4-4 for Emotion Timing Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall (c) 2008 Prentice-Hall, All rights reserved.
Identify the Sources of Emotions and Moods Insert Exhibit 4-3 In Exhibit 4-3 we can see what research has found as the effect of the day of the week on emotions. As the day week progresses, positive affects of emotions increases while negative affects decrease. So positive emotions are considerable higher toward the end of the week than they are at the beginning. Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall
Identify the Sources of Emotions and Moods Insert Exhibit 4-4 Exhibit 4-4 shows the results of research that has found patters in the daily experience in emotional changes. Positive emotions have their greatest affect during the afternoon before decreasing into the evening. This suggests that afternoon activity can be the most productive as affected by emotions. Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall
Sources of Emotion and Mood Weather Illusory correlation – no effect Stress Even low levels of constant stress can worsen moods Social Activities Physical, informal, and dining activities increase positive moods There are many things that impact our mood and emotions. Personality is a key component and will definitely impact the intensity of the emotions we feel. The day and time of the week is a common pattern for all of us. Many are happier toward the end of the week. Weather is thought to have an impact on our emotions, but there is no proven effect. Stress is an important factor and even at low levels it can cause our mood to change. It is important to maintain a low level of stress to help us control our psychological as well as our physical health. Social activities have been shown to have a positive impact on our moods. This could be physical outlets such as playing in a basketball league or it can be going out to dinner with friends. These types of activities are found to have a positive impact on our mood. See E X H I B I T 4-3 and 4-4 for Emotion Timing Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall (c) 2008 Prentice-Hall, All rights reserved.
More Sources of Emotion and Mood Sleep Poor sleep quality increases negative affect Exercise Does somewhat improve mood, especially for depressed people Age Older folks experience fewer negative emotions Gender Women tend to be more emotionally expressive, feel emotions more intensely, have longer-lasting moods, and express emotions more frequently than do men Due more to socialization than to biology Some additional sources of emotion and mood include such factors as sleep and exercise. It is important to get enough and high-quality levels of sleep. Physical activity can also aid in keeping our moods upbeat. Some characteristics that are beyond our control can impact our moods, such as age and gender. Elderly people tend to have fewer negative emotions. Women tend to express their emotions readily and their moods tend to last longer. Research has shown that this is due more to cultural socialization than to biology. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall (c) 2008 Prentice-Hall, All rights reserved.
Emotional Labor An employee’s expression of organizationally desired emotions during interpersonal transactions at work. Emotional Dissonance: Employees have to project one emotion while simultaneously feeling another Can be very damaging and lead to burnout Types of Emotions: Felt: the individual’s actual emotions Displayed: required or appropriate emotions Surface Acting: displaying appropriately but not feeling those emotions internally Deep Acting: changing internal feelings to match display rules - very stressful In many jobs there is an implied agreement on the types of emotions that should be expressed. For example, waitresses are supposed to be friendly and cheerful, whether they are currently feeling that emotion or not. When employees don’t feel the emotion they are required to express, they may experience emotional dissonance. This can lead to burnout and frustration with the job. An employee’s actual emotions are their felt emotions and this is in contrast to the emotions that are required or deemed appropriate, which are called displayed emotions. There are two levels of displayed emotions that can be expressed. They are both appropriately called acting. Surface acting is when an employee displays the appropriate emotions even when they don’t feel those emotions. Deep acting is when the employee actually changes their internal feelings to match displayed rules; this level of acting can be very stressful. See E X H I B I T 4-5 for Emotional Labor and Pay Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall (c) 2008 Prentice-Hall, All rights reserved.
Affective Events Theory (AET) An event in the work environment triggers positive or negative emotional reactions Personality and mood determine response intensity Emotions can influence a broad range of work variables Affective Events Theory demonstrates that employees react emotionally to things that happen to them at work and this can influence their job performance and job satisfaction. The intensity of these responses will be based on emotion and mood. E X H I B I T 8-6 Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall (c) 2008 Prentice-Hall, All rights reserved.
Implications of AET Emotions provide valuable insights about behavior An emotional episode is actually the result of a series of emotional experiences triggered by a single event Current and past emotions affect job satisfaction Emotional fluctuations over time create variations in job performance Emotion-driven behaviors are typically brief and variable Both negative and positive emotions can distract workers and reduce job performance Emotions provide valuable insights about behavior Emotions, and the minor events that cause them, should not be ignored at work; they accumulate AET has a number of implications. These implications are as follows: When an employee has an emotional episode, it is actually the result of a series of emotional experiences that are triggered by a single event. Your job satisfaction is impacted by current and past emotions. As your emotions fluctuate over time, it will create variations in job performance. Behaviors that are driven by emotions are typically brief and variable. Both positive and negative emotions can distract workers and reduce job performance. In summary, emotions do provide very valuable information and predict factors about behavior. In addition, it is important not to ignore minor events as they will accumulate over time. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall (c) 2008 Prentice-Hall, All rights reserved.
Emotional Intelligence (EI) A person’s ability to: Be self-aware Recognizing own emotions when experienced Detect emotions in others Manage emotional cues and information EI plays an important role in job performance EI is controversial and not wholly accepted Case for EI: Intuitive appeal; predicts criteria that matter; is biologically-based. Case against EI: Too vague a concept; can’t be measured; its validity is suspect. Emotional Intelligence (EI) is a growing area of study and is becoming increasingly important in the understanding of individual behavior. EI is pulling in one’s understanding of emotions and their impact on behavior. An individual who is emotionally intelligent will have a strong sense of self-awareness, recognizing your own emotions when experienced. They are also able to detect emotions in others. By understanding their own emotions and those of others, they can manage emotional cues and information to make decisions. EI plays a very important role in job performance; however, the jury is still out on the role EI plays in effectiveness in organizations. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall (c) 2008 Prentice-Hall, All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall Insert Exhibit 4-6 Exhibit 4-6 illustrates the “Cascading Model of Emotional Intelligence.” Here we see the suggested relationship between Conscientiousness. Cognitive, and Emotional Affects and the outcomes of detecting others’ emotions, understanding what they mean, and regulating the emotions successfully. Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall
OB Applications of Emotions and Moods Selection EI should be a hiring factor, especially for social jobs. Decision Making Positive emotions can lead to better decisions. Creativity Positive mood increases flexibility, openness, and creativity. Motivation Positive mood affects expectations of success; feedback amplifies this effect. Leadership Emotions are important to acceptance of messages from organizational leaders. There are numerous applications of emotions and moods. These include selection of employees, decision making, creativity, motivation, and leadership. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall (c) 2008 Prentice-Hall, All rights reserved.
More OB Applications of Emotions and Moods Negotiation Emotions, skillfully displayed, can affect negotiations Customer Services Emotions affect service quality delivered to customers which, in turn, affects customer relationships Emotional Contagion: “catching” emotions from others Job Attitudes Can carry over to home, but dissipate overnight Deviant Workplace Behaviors Negative emotions lead to employee deviance (actions that violate norms and threaten the organization) Manager’s Influence Leaders who are in a good mood, use humor, and praise employees increase positive moods in the workplace. Some additional applications of emotions and mood include negotiation, customer service, job attitudes, deviant workplace behaviors, and manager’s influence. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall (c) 2008 Prentice-Hall, All rights reserved.
Global Implications Do people experience emotions equally? No. Culture can determine type, frequency, and depth of experienced emotions Do people interpret emotions the same way? Yes. Negative emotions are seen as undesirable and positive emotions are desirable However, value of each emotion varies across cultures Do norms of emotional expression vary? Yes. Some cultures have a bias against emotional expression; others demand some display of emotion How the emotions are expressed may make interpretation outside of one’s culture difficult Across cultures there do not seem to be differences in how people experience emotions. However, it is shown that in different cultures there are different interpretations of emotions. Some cultures are more accepting of emotional expression than others. When you are engaging with other cultures, be sure to understand their cultural norms. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall (c) 2008 Prentice-Hall, All rights reserved.
Summary and Managerial Implications Moods are more general than emotions and less contextual Emotions and moods impact all areas of OB Managers cannot and should not attempt to completely control the emotions of their employees Managers must not ignore the emotions of their co-workers and employees Behavior predictions will be less accurate if emotions are not taken into account In summary, moods and emotions are important to the study of organizational behavior. Also, they are natural expressions and managers should not try to completely control the employees’ emotions, but they should be aware of the emotions and not ignore emotional indicators. This is because the more you understand the emotions of your employees, the better you will able to predict their behavior. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall (c) 2008 Prentice-Hall, All rights reserved.
Group homework Design a questionnaire to measure employee’s affect! Test it on a number of people (at least 20) How useful is it as a manager to measure employee’s affect?? (from your experience) Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall