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Contents
Managing Emotions ....................................................................................................................................... 3
Natural Selection in Early Hominids ............................................................................................................... 4
Fear loyalty and greedy organizations ............................................................................................................ 6
Concept of emotional climate ........................................................................................................................ 6
Various Theories of Emotion .......................................................................................................................... 8
Cognitive Dissonance ....................................................................................................................................10
Emotional Intelligence ..................................................................................................................................10
Types of Emotions: .......................................................................................................................................11
OB Applications: ...........................................................................................................................................13
References....................................................................................................................................................14
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Managing Emotions:
Emotions can be very overwhelming. Before children have the vocabulary to
express feelings, emotions feel larger than life. Often, stimuli associated with
negative emotions are viewed by children as ―scary‖ or even ―bad.‖ There are
plenty of instances during which adults fall into a similar predicament, but in such
instances adults tend to repress or avoid processing emotions. For example, the
extremely intense emotions can be brought on by traumatic experiences during
childhood. The memory is stored at the developmental level during the experience.
New experiences which are somewhat related trigger the extreme emotions. The
antidote is to retrieve traumatic memories and translate them with adult vocabulary,
making memories less cumbersome to recall. Adults tend to repress or avoid
processing emotions.
If we deal with emotions very objectively we come across one of the theories
which say ―Emotions are merely neurochemicals sending nerve impulses down
synapses‖. Various hormones /neurochemicals have been held responsible for the
several emotions. Few of which are listed below.
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Natural Selection in Early Hominids:
Some possible examples of emotions that were selected for in early hominids. These
emotions, it is suggested, have been selected to deal with the types of problems
indicated.
Robert Plutchik states that emotions are adaptations shared by all animals. As a
result of natural selection certain adaptive behavior is caused which in turn has
associated emotions. In below table first emotion in each row (e.g., fear, anger, joy)
-basic emotion, second is the same emotion except at a greater intensity (that is,
terror, rage, ecstasy).
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Many theorists agree to define emotions in the below mentioned way encompassing
all possible association with emotions:
Emotion - A psychological construction consisting of several aspects of components:
the component of cognitive appraisal or evaluation of stimuli and situations;
the physiological component of activation or arousal;
the component of motor expression;
the motivational component, including behavior intentions or behavioral
readiness; and
The component of subjective feeling state.
Emotions were first referred to in organizations when early group dynamics
theorists introduced the concept of human relations in the workplace. Example:
Mayo in his study on the morale of workers and its impact on performance, and
Lewin, who worked on social change. ―One has to trigger an emotional upheaval
that will play the role of a catharsis, in breaking prejudices and unfreezing habits‖
(Anzieu and Martin, 1994). Arlie Hochschild (1979; 1983) introduced two
concepts of emotional work and emotional labor. As per him ―Emotional work‖ is
the effort put into ensuring that our private feelings are in tune with socially
accepted norms and ―Emotional labor‖ is the commercial exploitation of this
principle. It claimed that there is a forced apprenticeship of distinguishing between
emotions one feels, and emotions one learns to express. A lot of decisions,
although one pretends they are scientifically balanced (e.g. we look at balance
sheets, complex financial reports, marketing reports, etc.), are due to a final
―emotional‖ hint from the decision-maker. Emotions are products of socialization
and manipulation
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Fear loyalty and greedy organizations (Flam H, 1994)-Fear and anxiety have
been underworked in organizational theorizing; obscured, perhaps, by the positive
thinking and feeling expected for man‘s work transactions. The fear of loss of face,
prestige, position, favor, fortune or job focuses the corporate actor‘s mind and
sharpens his or her political vision and skills. Such anxieties are readily
transformed into a socially acceptable work enthusiasm or drive, which ambitious
organizational members soon learn to display (1994, p. 4).Fear means hiding away,
occupying yourself with your professional work. The fear of separateness, fear of
being identified, fear stemming from hesitation, from a lack of decision, fears of
one‘s own self, of self-defining oneself. Fear of being crossed, of being defined
(1994, p. 66)‖
Concept of emotional climate -The generating conditions (or determinants) of
an organization-specific emotional climate are the shared dispositions of its
members to evaluate events in a similar fashion and, in consequence, to react in a
common way. Members of an organization, because of a shared social environment
(e.g. structure of the organization, type of leadership, nature of the networks, and
physical working conditions) and common experiences, develop similar values,
motivations (goals and needs), and beliefs and attitudes. Shared dispositions are
essential components of what is generally called organizational culture or
organizational climate.
Classical Conditioning - Classical conditioning, which is based on the pairing
of an unconditional stimulus that is intrinsically agreeable (such as good food) or
painful (such as an electrical shock) with a conditioned stimulus. It can have a
lasting impact on an individual's behavior. Emotion generated by an unconditioned
event is transferred to the conditioned event or situation. Strong behavioral
component of emotion—avoidance or approach— is thereby activated .Can
companies be compared to salivating dogs (Pavlov's famous experiments) .Answer
is yes. Assume that a company profits several times, by chance, from windfall
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gains in periods after particular economic policy constellations, such as
countercyclical government spending. The company will most likely learn the
contingency and upon the next instance of the conditioned stimulus may 'salivate',
may prepare to 'digest' the expected increase in activity and gain. Such reactions
are based on affect (hope in the case of positive conditioning, fear in the case of
negative conditioning) rather than 'cold' cognitive analysis.
Reinforcement Learning - If an organism is rewarded or punished (e.g.
receiving unconditioned stimuli such as food that is intrinsically pleasurable or
disagreeable, respectively) immediately after having exhibited a particular type of
behavior, the frequency of that type of behavior will increase (with rewards) or
decrease (with punishments).Examples are abound: praise, bonuses, and incentives
for good work, and various types of sanctions for unwanted behavior. Numerous
examples exist of reward systems that fail to reinforce the desired behavior.
Company policy for instance, may discourage behaviors that are informally
rewarded by the system and may fail to reward desired behaviors at all (Kerr 1975).
For example, it is currently fashionable to talk about the need for teamwork, but
employees‗investments in team-building are rarely formally rewarded. On tube
contrary, rewards are generally distributed according to individual performance
Imitation Learning- Learner observes and then imitates a model, learning both
the nature of the required behavior and the appropriate contingencies purely by
tube cognitive activity of information acquisition. Conferral of significance in
imitation learning seems to be brought about by the attention value, prestige, and
perceived success of the model. 'Prestige suggestion' is a household word in
advertising, with companies marketing many brand names by using the names and
photos, if not live TV spot appearances, of famous actors or sports stars.
Association between the well-known, and often liked, image of the star and the
product confers significance upon the latter that it might never gain on its own
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Various Theories of Emotion:
Following are the various theories of emotions as evolved with time:
James-Lange Theory
Neurobiological Theories
Cognitive Theories
Cannon-Bard Theory
Schachter –Singer Theory (Two-Factor Theory)
Affective Events Theory
Few of the important theories are explained below:
James–Lange theory
William James, in the article "What is an Emotion?‖. [9] argued that emotional
experience is largely due to the experience of bodily changes. The Danish
psychologist Carl Lange also proposed a similar theory at around the same time, so
this position is known as the James–Lange theory. This theory is supported by
experiments in which by manipulating the bodily state, a desired emotion is
induced. Such experiments also have therapeutic implications (for example, in
laughter therapy, dance therapy).
Cognitive theories
Several theories argue that cognitive activity—in the form of judgments,
evaluations, or thoughts—is necessary for an emotion to occur. An influential
theory here is that of Lazarus: emotion is a disturbance that occurs in the following
order: 1.) Cognitive appraisal—the individual assesses the event cognitively, which
cues the emotion. 2.) Physiological changes—the cognitive reaction starts
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biological changes such as increased heart rate or pituitary adrenal response. 3.)
Action—the individual feels the emotion and chooses how to react. For example:
Jenny sees a snake. 1.) Jenny cognitively assesses the snake in her presence, which
triggers fear. 2.) Her heart begins to race faster. Adrenaline pumps through her
blood stream. 3.) Jenny screams and runs away. Lazarus stressed that the quality
and intensity of emotions are controlled through cognitive processes. These
processes underlie coping strategies that form the emotional reaction by altering the
relationship between the person and the environment.
Affective events theory
This a communication-based theory developed by Howard M. Weiss and Russell
Cropanzano (1996) that looks at the causes, structures, and consequences of
emotional experience (especially in work contexts). This theory suggests that
emotions are influenced and caused by events which in turn influence attitudes and
behaviors.
Two-factor theory
Another cognitive theory is the Singer–Schachter theory. This is based on
experiments purportedly showing that subjects can have different emotional
reactions despite being placed into the same physiological state with an injection of
adrenaline. Subjects were observed to express either anger or amusement
depending on whether another person in the situation displayed that emotion.
Hence, the combination of the appraisal of the situation (cognitive) and the
participants' reception of adrenaline or a placebo together determined the response.
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Cognitive Dissonance:
There are times when even if we can‘t think of a logical reason still we form
certain judgments .Here logical analysis can‘t support the automatic emotional
reaction. Ex. Review of movie, when there is a conflict between cognitions and
emotions conflict, this state is cognitive dissonance.
It is a state of anxiety that occurs when an individual‘s beliefs, feelings and
behaviors are inconsistent with one another. Most common when behavior is:
a) known to others b) done voluntarily c) can‘t be undone
Emotional Intelligence:
After this comes the notion of emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence
includes knowing your feelings and using them to make good decisions; managing
your feelings well; motivating yourself with zeal and persistence; maintaining
hope in the face of frustration; exhibiting empathy and compassion ; interacting
smoothly; and managing your relationships effectively.
Those emotional skills matter immensely - in marriage and families, in career and
the workplace, for health and contentment. Emotional intelligence is the ability to
perceive and express emotions, assimilate emotions in thoughts, understand and
reason with emotions, regulate emotions in oneself and in others.
Persons having EI exhibit the following common attributes.
1. Impulse control
2. Self-esteem
3. Self-motivation
4. Mood management
5. People skills
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Types of Emotions:
Various emotions can be classified into five major classes (Scherer,Tran):
Approach emotions,
Achievement emotions,
Deterrence emotions,
Withdrawal emotions,
Antagonistic emotions.
Approach emotions denotes the affective states like interest, hope, joyful
anticipation, or other states fuel the investment of energy into new activities of
exploration and development, focusing the attention on areas of major significance
to the learner providing the necessary drive to overcome obstacles. Obviously, such
motivational- emotional contexts provide optimal conditions for the acquisition of
new skills and competencies. Although approach emotions are generally among the
most functional states for organizational learning, there can be drawbacks when
they are too intense or unrealistic.
Achievement emotions are generally positive emotions, such as satisfaction,
happiness, and pride. Celebration of success based either on one's achievement or
on unexpected luck and reinforce the contingencies in which the emotion
producing experience is rooted. These emotions have very agreeable consequences
for both individuals and organizations and serve the highly positive function of
reinforcing positive contingencies. They do present dangers, in particular
stagnation as they capitalize on past investments. Emotional climate marked by
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achievement emotions in an organization is likely to shift the balance to the
exploration of old certainties.
Deterrence emotion - Denote anxiety, fear, distress, pessimism. All other
varieties of affective states that all keep the learner from engaging in particular
activities or seeking out places or markets. Excessive worry and anxiety can be a
formidable block to acquiring new skills, competencies, or opportunities. An
emotional climate dominated by deterrence emotions guarantees the maintenance
of the status-quo, for it will not encourage innovation or creativity. Positives- it
prevents the learner from repeating mistakes, from entering into overly risky
strategies or behaviors, and from disregarding potential threats. Judiciously
blending deterrence emotions with approach emotions could provide the proper
balance for cautious advancement into new learning environments.
Withdrawal emotions include sadness, resignation, shame, and guilt, generally
provides a negative context for learning activities. Individual or organization
characterized by these emotions tends to focus on the inside rather than the outside
and lacks the necessary energy to pursue a learning process vigorously or to invest
in new venture. In an organizational context, one could conceive of a period of
resignation and of focus on intraorganizational matters as a phase of restructuring
and regeneration requiring all the organization's energies to be directed inward.
Antagonistic emotions are anger; irritation, hate, and aggression .Hindrances to
achieving one's goals and interests universally trigger antagonistic emotions. These
emotions obviously have positive consequences, such as enabling one to get what
one wants. It may also divert focus from what is pertinent, may limit attentiveness,
and may have other similarly deleterious effects on essential ingredients of
learning. Also may set up new aims and goals such as revenge, which may be quite
alien to a productive learning process.
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OB Applications:
Understanding emotions can improve our ability to explain and predict the following
1. Decision making
2. Motivation
3. Leadership
4. Interpersonal conflict
5. Customer service
6. Deviant Workplace Behaviors
A person having EQ are better decision makers. It helps them to be calm and poise
even in difficult situations. It helps people to be motivated and focused towards goal.
Having a greater understanding of interpersonal emotion, people will have a greater
influence on others. It helps in resolving interpersonal conflict as well as a goodwill
with others. And in all helps in building a better, healthier organization.
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References:
1. http://www.psychologyfitness.com/emotions-not-that-complex-just-biology/
2. http://www.iep.utm.edu/emotion/
3. Flam, H. (1994), ―Fear, loyalty and greedy organizations‖, in Fineman, S.
(Ed.), Emotion in Organizations, Sage, London.
4. Kerr, S. (1975). 'On the Folly of Rewarding A, while Hoping for B'. Academy
of Management journal,18: 49-58.
5. Scherer and Tran, Effects of Emotion on the Process of Organizational
Learning Klaus
6. Frijda, N. H. (1986). The Emotions. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Mesquita, B., Sonnemans, J., and Van Goozen, S. (1991). 'The Duration of
Affective Phenomenon
7. Anzieu, D. and Martin, J.-Y. (1994), La Dynamique des Groupes Restreints,
Presses Universitaires de France, Paris
8. Hochschild, A.R. (1979), ―The sociology of feelings and emotions: selected
possibilities‖,
9. James, William. 1884. "What Is an Emotion?" Mind. 9, no. 34: 188-205
10. Schachter, S., & Singer, J. (1962). Cognitive, Social, and Physiological
Determinants of Emotional State. Psychological Review,
11. Robbins,Stephen P.,&Judge,Timothy A.& Vohra,Niharika,Organizational
Behaviour.
12. http://psychology.about.com/od/psychologytopics/a/theories-of-emotion.htm
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