Topic 5:

Emotions and Moods

Copyright 2015 Pearson Education Ltd.

Learning Objectives
After studying this chapter, you should be able
to:
Differentiate between emotions and moods.
Identify the sources of emotions and moods.
Define emotional labor and
Discuss the concept of emotional
intelligence.

Copyright 2015 Pearson Education Ltd.

LO 1

Emotions and Moods

In the past, emotions were ignored in OB

Myth of rationality
Managers worked to make emotion-free environments.
Emotions were believed to be disruptive.
Emotions interfered with productivity.
Now we know that emotions cant be separated from the
workplace.

As mentioned, emotions and moods were dismissed by OB for a long

time. One of the primary reasons was the myth of rationality that
suggested that OB comprised rational concepts and applications, while
emotions and moods were seen as highly irrational. Emotions were
thought to be disruptive of organizational activity and that they
decreased productivity. Because emotions were perceived as irrational,
the belief was that they were unpredictable and therefore not easily
influenced. We now know this is untrue.
Copyright 2015 Pearson Education Ltd.

LO 1

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.
Copyright 2015 Pearson Education Ltd.

LO 1

Six
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Emotions and Moods

essentially universal emotions
Anger
Fear
Sadness
Happiness
Disgust
Surprise

Copyright 2015 Pearson Education Ltd.

LO 1

Emotions and Moods

May be placed along a spectrum of

emotion
Happines
s

Surprise

Fear Sadness

AngerDisgust

Some psychologists plot them along a continuum: happiness

surprisefearsadnessangerdisgust. The closer two emotions
Disgust
are to each other on this continuum, the more likely people will
confuse them. We sometimes mistake happiness for surprise, but
rarely do we confuse happiness and disgust.

Copyright 2015 Pearson Education Ltd.

LO 1

Emotions and Moods

Decision Making

Thinking

Feeling

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 2015 Pearson Education Ltd.

LO 1

Emotions and Moods

Do emotions make us ethical?

Research on moral emotions questions the previous
belief that emotional decision making is based on
higher-level cognitive processes.
Our beliefs are shaped by our groups, resulting in an
unconscious feeling that our shared emotions are
right.
People who are behaving ethically are at least partially
making decisions based on their emotions and feelings,
and this emotional reaction will often be a good thing.

Copyright 2015 Pearson Education Ltd.

 A growing body of research has begun to examine the

relationship between emotions and moral attitudes.
Examples of moral emotions include sympathy for the
suffering of others, guilt about our own immoral behavior,
anger about injustice done to others, contempt for those
who behave unethically, and disgust at violations of moral
norms. Numerous studies suggest that these reactions are
largely based on feelings rather than on cold cognition.
Our beliefs are actually shaped by our groups, which
influence our perceptions of others, resulting in
unconscious responses and a feeling that shared emotions
are right. Unfortunately, this feeling allows us sometimes
to justify purely emotional reactions as ethical. In work
and in life, our moral judgments therefore have more to do
with emotions than with cognitions, yet we tend to think
the opposite, especially when those judgments are shared
by fellow members of our in-group.
We can conclude that people who are behaving ethically
are at least partially making decisions based on their
Copyright 2015 Pearson Education Ltd.
emotions and feelings,
and this emotional reaction will

LO 2

Sources of
Emotions and Moods

Personality
Moods and emotions have a trait component.
Affect intensity how strongly people experience their
emotions.
Time of Day
There is a common pattern for all of us.
Happier in the midpoint of the daily awake period.
Day of the Week
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 as well.
Exhibit 4-3 in your text shows the results of recent research related to time of day. Positive
emotions have their greatest effect in mid-morning and then remain stable before rising again
until midnight.
In Exhibit 4-4, we can see how the day of the week affects emotions. As the week progresses,
positive effects of emotions increases while negative effects decrease. So positive emotions are
considerably higher toward the end of the week than they are at the beginning. This tends to be
true among many cultures.
Copyright 2015 Pearson Education Ltd.

LO 2

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 2015 Pearson Education Ltd.

4-11

LO 2

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 2015 Pearson Education Ltd.

4-12

LO 2

Sources of
Emotions and Moods

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.
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 control
psychological and 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
as simple as going out to dinner with friends.
Copyright 2015 Pearson Education Ltd.

LO 2

Sources of
Emotions and Moods

Sleep
Poor sleep quality increases negative affect.
Exercise
Does somewhat improve mood, especially for
depressed people.
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,
particularly for people who are depressed.

Copyright 2015 Pearson Education Ltd.

LO 2

Sources of
Emotions and Moods

Age
Older people experience fewer negative emotions.
Sex
Women tend to be more emotionally expressive, feel
emotions more intensely, have longer-lasting
moods, and express emotions more frequently than
do men.
Some characteristics that are beyond our control can impact our moods,
such as age and sex. Elderly people tend to have fewer negative emotions,
while 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 2015 Pearson Education Ltd.

LO 3

Emotional Labor

Emotional labor an employees expression of

organizationally desired emotions during interpersonal
transactions at work.
Emotional dissonance occurs when employees
have to project one emotion while simultaneously
feeling another.
Can be very damaging and lead to burnout.
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 dont feel the emotion they are required to express,
they may experience emotional dissonance. This can lead to burnout and
frustration on the job.

Copyright 2015 Pearson Education Ltd.

LO 3

Emotional Labor

Types of Emotions
Felt: the individuals actual emotions.
Displayed: required or appropriate emotions.
Surface acting: hiding ones inner feelings and foregoing
emotional expressions in response to display rules.
Deep acting: trying to modify ones true inner feelings
based on display rules.
An employees actual emotions are their felt emotions. The emotions that
are required or deemed appropriate by the employer are called displayed
emotions. Displaying fake emotions requires suppressing real ones and
acting.
Surface acting occurs when an employee displays the appropriate
emotions even when he or she dont feel those emotions. Deep acting
occurs when the employee actually changes his or her internal feelings to
match display rules; this level of acting can be very stressful.

Copyright 2015 Pearson Education Ltd.

LO 4

Emotional Intelligence

Emotional Intelligence is a persons ability to:

Be self-aware
Recognizing own emotions when experienced
Detect emotions in others
Manage emotional cues and information
Emotional Intelligence is a persons ability to be selfaware, that is,
recognizing his or her own experienced emotions and to understand
them. More significantly is the ability to observe and detect emotion
in others. And to regulate the emotions in a cascading relationship.
418
Copyright 2015 Pearson Education Ltd.

Implications for Managers

To foster effective decision making, creativity,
and motivation in employees, look to model
positive emotions and moods as much as is
authentically possible.
Provide positive feedback to increase the
positivity of employees.
In the service sector, encourage positive
displays of emotion, which make customers
feel more positive and thus improve customer
service interactions and negotiations.

Copyright 2015 Pearson Education Ltd.

 Emotions and moods are similar in that both are

effective in nature. But theyre also differentmoods
are more general and less contextual than emotions.
And events do matter. The time of day and day of the
week, stressful events, social activities, and sleep
patterns are some of the factors that influence emotions
and moods. Emotions and moods have proven relevant
for virtually every OB topic we study, and they have
implications for managerial practice.
The implications for managers are:
To foster effective decision making, creativity, and
motivation in employees, look to model positive
emotions and moods as much as is authentically
possible.
Provide positive feedback to increase the positivity of
employees.
In the service sector, encourage positive displays of
emotion, which make customers feel more positive and
thus improve customer service interactions and
negotiations.
Copyright 2015 Pearson Education Ltd.

Implications for Managers

Regulate your intense emotional responses to an
event by recognizing the legitimacy of the emotion
and being careful to vent only to a supportive listener
who is not involved in the event.
Be careful not to ignore co-workers and employees
emotions; do not assess others behavior as if it were
completely rational.
Finally,
Regulate your intense emotional responses to an event by recognizing the legitimacy
of the emotion and being careful to vent only to a supportive listener who is not
involved in the event.
Be careful not to ignore co-workers and employees emotions; do not assess others
behavior as if it were completely rational.
As one consultant aptly put it, You cant divorce emotions from the workplace
because you cant divorce emotions from people. Managers who understand the role
of emotions and moods will significantly improve their ability to explain and predict
their co-workers and employees behavior.
Copyright 2015 Pearson Education Ltd.

1-21