CHAPTER 4: EMOTIONS AND MOODS

“Time cools, time clarifies; no mood can be maintained quite unaltered through the course of hours.” –
Mark Twain

I. OBJECTIVES:

 To differentiate emotions from moods and list the basic emotions and moods.
 To discuss whether emotions are rational and what functions they serve.
 To identify the sources of emotions and moods.
 To show the impact emotional labor has on employees.
 To describe affective events theory and identify its applications.
 To contrast the evidence for and against the existence of emotional intelligence.

II. INTRODUCTION:

- Organizational behavior has given the topic of emotions little attention.

- Two possible explanations:

1. Myth of Rationality - There were expressions such as frustrations, fear, anger, love,
hate, joy, grief or similar feelings thought to be the antithesis of rationality. Hence,
business organization creates emotions free organization.

2. Emotions of any kind were disruptive – Original OB focus was solely on the effects of
strong negative emotions that interfered with individual and organizational efficiency.

- Researchers rarely viewed emotions as “constructive or contributing.”

III. TOPIC OUTLINE:

A. WHAT ARE EMOTIONS AND MOODS?

The table below disclosed the definition of affect, emotions and moods as well as the basic
emotions and moods.
TERMINOLOGY DEFINITION
Affect - a generic term that covers a broad range of feelings people
experience, including both emotions and moods

Emotions - intense feelings directed at someone or something.

- more fleeting than moods

Basic emotions: anger, contempt, enthusiasm, envy, fear, frustrations,

disappointments, embarrassment, disgust, happiness, hate, hope,
jealousy, joy, love, pride, surprise and sadness
Shock – an emotion rarely experienced by a person

Rene Descartes – founder of “Modern Philosophy”

“Simple and Primitive Passion”

1. Wonder
2. Love
3. Hatred
4. Desire
5. Joy
6. Sadness

Hume, Hobbes, Espinoza – identified categories of emotions, proof of the

existence of a basic ser of emotions still wait for contemporary
researchers.

Love – most universal of all emotions which is not easy to express in

facial expression

Cultural norms govern emotional expression. Experiencing emotions is

not the same as showing it.

Example of cultural norms:

1. A smile indicates happiness in United states however, in Middle

East it indicates sexual attraction.

2. In collectivist countries, people are more likely to believe another’s

emotional displays have something to do with the relationship
between them, while people in individualistic cultures don’t think
other’s emotional expressions are directed at them.

3. French retail clerks, in contrast, are infamous for being surly

toward customers (as a report from the French government itself
confirmed). Serious German shoppers have reportedly been
turned off by Walmart’s friendly greeters and helpful staff.

Many companies today offer anger- management programs to teach

people to contain or even hide their inner feelings.

Note: In our company, classic example of anger management programs

are trainings related to conflict management.

“Six Essentially Universal Emotions”

1. Happiness – feeling of pleasure, contentment due to fortunate

event
 Example: Yes, tomorrow is Sunday…!

2. Surprise – to discover suddenly the unexpected

Example:

- A friend greeted you Happy Birthday at exactly 12:00

midnight.
- Promotion in the middle of bulk workload.

3. Fear – unpleasant emotion caused by the threat of danger, pain

or harm

Example:

- I think Ma’am will ask me “case facts”.

- The Board of Directors will ask me allot of questions
pertaining to the penalties incurred by the bank due to
negligence of bank employees to submit regulatory reports
on time.

4. Sadness – feeling of sorrow or unhappiness

Example:

- Failure to prepare materials on the incoming Board Meeting

due to malfunction of laptops at work.
- Delayed promotion due to change of corporate
organizational structure

5. Anger – strong feeling of annoyance, displeasure or hostility

Example: Work on weekends!!!

6. Disgust – a feeling of revulsion or strong disapproval aroused by

something unpleasant or offensive

Example: Manager resigned from the committee in disgust at

their inefficiency.

Moods - less intense feelings than emotions and often (though not
always) arise without specific event acting as a stimulus.

Basic Moods

1. Positive affect - A mood dimension that consists of specific

positive emotions such as excitement, self-assurance, and
cheerfulness at the high end and boredom, sluggishness, and
tiredness at the low end.
 2. Negative affect - A mood dimension that consists of emotions
such as nervousness, stress, and anxiety at the high end and
relaxation, tranquility, and poise at the low end.

Positivity offset - the tendency of most individuals to experience a mildly

positive mood at zero input (when nothing in particular is going on).

Differences between emotions and moods were listed below.

DIFFERENCES EMOTIONS MOODS

Duration Very brief in duration (seconds or Last longer than emotions (hours
minutes) or days)
Orientation Action oriented Cognitive
Causation Specific events General and Unclear
Expression Accompanied by distinct facial Generally, not indicated by distinct
expression expressions
Dimension Specific and numerous in nature More general (two main
(many specific emotions such as dimensions – positive and
anger, fear, sadness, happiness, negative affect – that are
disgust, surprise) composed of multiple specific
emotions)

B. THE FUNCTION OF EMOTIONS

There are two functions of emotions:
1. Do emotions make us irrational? – Researches shows that emotions are critical in rational
thinking. Losing the ability to emote led to loss of the ability to reason. We must have the
ability to experienced to be rational because emotion provides us important information about
how we understand the world around us.

The key to good decision making is to employ both thinking and feeling in our decisions.

2. Do emotions make us ethical? – Researchers have analyzed relationship between emotions

and moral attitudes. Most ethical decision making was based on higher-order cognitive
processes, but research on moral emotions increasingly questions this perspective.

Examples of moral emotions:

1. Sympathy for the suffering of others

2. Guilt about our own immoral behavior
3. Anger about injustice done to others
4. Contempt for those who behave unethically
5. Disgust at violations of moral norms
In conclusion, 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.
C. SOURCES OF EMOTIONS AND MOODS
There are (7) seven sources of moods. To wit;

SOURCE DEFINITION
Personality • Predisposed intensity of emotional reactions under
similar circumstances.

Affect intensity - Individual differences in the

strength with which individuals experience their
emotions.

Example: An employee left the group of three at the

peak of stressful workloads for a vacation.

- One employee who had been left can be

passive and just do the work without the
emotion of anger. On the other hand, the
other will have a tendency make
confrontations.

Day of the Week and Time of the Day • Negative moods during the beginning of the day
and week; better moods during midday, weekends

Example:

- Manager informed the employee of about

lay-offs on a Monday morning.
- Observe that some managers tend to have
positive moods around 3 pm.

Weather • Illusionary correlation of weather affecting moods

- Illusory correlation - explains why people

tend to think nice weather improves their
mood. It occurs when people associate two
events that in reality have no connection.

Example:

- Negative mood arises when the aircon is not

functioning at summer time. Productivity of
employee will go down as affected by
negative mood.

Stress • Deadlines, fear of attending meetings, financial

upheavals, ill health cause negative emotions
leading to stress
Social Activities • Increase positive moods; have long term health
benefits

Example:

- Going out with friends increases positive

moods
- Team building increases positive moods

Sleep • Impairs decision making and emotion controlling

attitude leaving individuals fatigued, irritable

Example:

- Working 18 hours a day caused employees

to be irritable due to poor sleep. Employee
who completed 8 hours of sleep were more
productive than those who only have 2-6
hours of sleep.

Exercise • Uplifts moods and therapeutic for the depressed.

Example:

- A company holds Zumba classes for

employees. Sort of exercise lowers the
stress level of the employee while
increasing their level of positive moods and
emotions.
- Holding an annual Sportsfest for employees

Age • Fewer negative emotions as one gets older

Example:

- Senior Manager’s around 40s- Periods of

highly positive moods lasted longer for older
individuals, and bad moods faded more
quickly.
- Staff and Officer’s around 20s to 30s –
Periods of bad moods lasted longer

Sex Women show greater emotional expression; better

at reading non-verbal and paralinguistic cues

• Women

1. Can show greater emotional expression

2. Experience emotions more intensely
3. Display emotions more frequently
 4. Are more comfortable in expressing
emotions
5. Are better at reading others’ emotions

• Men

1. Showing emotions is inconsistent with the

male image
2. Are less able to read and to identify with
others’ emotions
3. Have less need to seek social approval by
showing positive emotion

External Constraints on Emotions

1. Boundaries defined by an organization or culture that identify which emotions are
acceptable and the degree to which employees may express them.
2. Bias against negative and intense emotions at workplace
3. Collectivist cultures think, emotion expressed is directed at them unlike individualistic
cultures
4. Easier for people to recognize emotions from their own cultures
5. Certain cultures lack words for standard American emotional terms such as anxiety,
depression

D. EMOTIONAL LABOR
TERMINOLOGY DEFINITION
Emotional Labor - A situation in which an employee expresses
organizationally desired emotions during interpersonal
transactions at work.

Emotional Dissonance - Inconsistencies between the emotions people feel and

the emotions they project.

Example: You are angry at your boss however, you

were still smiling while doing your work hiding your true
emotion of anger.

Felt Emotions - An individual’s actual emotions

Example: Orvie’s tears of happiness immediately after

seeing the list of employees promoted.

Displayed Emotions - Emotions that are organizationally required and

considered appropriate in a given job.

Example: Being happy/ with positive mood at time of

client negotiation.
 Surface acting - hiding inner feelings and forgoing emotional
expressions in response to display rules

Example: A fast food cashier is hiding his ‘anger’

towards a customer who had long time of making an
order and still does not purchase the anything. Still the
cashier smiles and says ‘Come Again Sir..!!’

Deep Acting - Trying to modify one’s true inner feelings based on

display rules

Example: Doctor trying to genuinely feel more empathy

for his patients

E. AFFECTIVE EVENTS THEORY

Affective Events Theory (AET)

1. Work events trigger positive and negative emotional reactions

2. Personality and mood determine the intensity of the emotional response
3. Emotions can influence a broad range of work performance and job satisfaction variables.
Implications of the theory AET
1. Individual response reflects emotions and mood cycles.
2. Current and past emotions affect job satisfaction.
3. Emotional fluctuations create variations in job satisfaction and performance.
4. Both negative and positive emotions can distract workers and reduce job performance.

F. EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

Emotional Intelligence - The ability to detect and to manage emotional cues and information.

1. Conscientiousness – Perceive emotions in Self and Other’s

2. Cognitive – Understand the meaning of Emotions
3. Emotional Stability – Regulate Emotions

Emotional Intelligence – For or Against?

“For”
1. Intuitive Appeal: People who detect others emotions are better at handling their own
emotions
2. EI predicts criteria that matter: High level of EI means better performance
3. EI is biological: People who suffer neurological damage score lower EI and make poorer
decisions
 “Against”
1. Too vague: “too broad and variegated…not intelligible”
2. Cannot be measured: Too diverse components
3. Suspicious validity: EI is no more unique once intelligence and personality are controlled.
Whatever the perspective is – the concept is here to stay!
Notes:
“Emotional Intelligence refers to the capacity of re-arranging our own feelings and those of
others, for motivating ourselves and for managing emotions well in ourselves and our
relationships”– Goleman, 1998.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weuLejJdUu0
“Dimensions of Emotional Intelligence”
• Self-awareness = Know how you feel
• Self-management = Manage your emotions and impulses
• Self-motivation = Can motivate yourself and persist
• Empathy = Sense and understand what others feel
• Social Skills = Can handle the emotions of others

G. ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR APPLICATIONS OF EMOTIONS AND MOODS

1. Emotions and Selection – Emotions affect employee effectiveness.

2. Decision Making – Emotions are an important part of the decision-making process in
organizations.
3. Creativity – Positive mood increases creativity.
4. Motivation – Emotional commitment to work and high motivation are strongly linked.
5. Leadership – Emotions are important to acceptance of messages from organizational
leaders.
6. Interpersonal Conflict – Conflict in the workplace and individual emotions are strongly
intertwined.
7. Negotiation – Emotions can impair negotiations.
8. Customer Services – Emotions affect service quality delivered to customers which, in turn,
affects customer relationships.
9. Job Attitudes – Can carry over to home
10. Deviant Workplace Behaviors – Negative emotions lead to employee deviance (actions
that violate norms and threaten the organization).

H. HOW MANAGERS CAN INFLUENCE MOODS?

1. Use humor and give their employees small token of appreciation for work well done.
2. Be in good mood.
3. Select positive team members
I. SUMMARY AND IMPLICATIONS FOR MANAGERS

1. Emotions and moods can affect job performance

2. You can’t control the employees’ emotions and moods.
3. But managers who understand the role of emotions and moods will significantly improve
their ability to explain and predict their coworkers’ behavior.