Deservingness and emotions: Testing a structural model that relates discrete emotions to the perceived deservingness of positive or negative outcomes

A study is described that tested a model (Feather in Eur Rev Soc Psychol 17:38–73, 2006) relating emotions to the appraisal of outcome deservingness for self or other person. Outcome deservingness was assumed to depend on the evaluative structure of action/outcome relations (Feather in Values, achievement, and justice: studies in the psychology of deservingness. Kluwer/Plenum Publishers, New York, 1999b). The study tested predictions about relations between this structure and the emotions of pleasure, admiration, pride, resentment, anger, sadness, sympathy, guilt, regret, disappointment, and surprise. The study used a hypothetical scenario involving an applicant for a position in an organization where the applicant could either be other or self. Results that focused on planned comparisons and the action by focus interactions supported the analysis for both the positive outcome and the negative outcome conditions and they were consistent with the hypothesis that the appraisal of outcome deservingness would mediate at least in part the type of emotion that was reported when a positive or negative outcome followed a positive or negative action. Results were discussed in relation to the social psychology of justice and the emotions.     

Attributions of responsibility and affective reactions to decision outcomes

Immediate affective reactions to outcomes are more intense following decisions to act than following decisions not to act. This finding holds for both positive and negative outcomes. We relate this "actor-effect" to attribution theory and argue that decision makers are seen as more responsible for outcomes when these are the result of a decision to act as compared to a decision not to act. Experiment 1 (N = 80) tests the main assumption underlying our reasoning and shows that affective reactions to decision outcomes are indeed more intense when the decision maker is seen as more responsible. Experiment 2 (N = 40) tests whether the actor effect can be predicted on the basis of differential attributions following action and inaction. Participants read vignettes in which active and passive actors obtained a positive or negative outcome. Action resulted in more intense affect than inaction, and positive outcomes resulted in more intense affect than negative outcomes. Experiment 2 further shows that responsibility attributions and affective reactions to outcomes are highly correlated; that is, more extreme affective reactions are associated with more internal attributions. We discuss the implications for research on post-decisional reactions.     

Deservingness,liking relations,schadenfreude, and other discrete emotions in the context of the outcomes of plagiarism

This study investigated effects of like/dislike relations on schadenfreude and other discrete emotions in the context of plagiarism. The predicted emotions were derived from a structural analysis of how the appraisal of deservingness affects emotional reactions to positive or negative outcomes for self or other. One hundred forty‐six undergraduate participants responded to scenarios in which either hypothetical self or other (a classmate) plagiarised information from the internet for a class assignment and either received a high grade (undeserved outcome) or a penalty (deserved outcome). Hypothetical self was represented as either high or low in self‐esteem, other as liked or disliked. As predicted, liking relations moderated perceived deservingness. Schadenfreude (or pleasure) occurred when the disliked classmate received a deserved penalty for detected plagiarism but not when he/she suffered an undeserved positive outcome. This difference was reversed for the emotion of disappointment. Effects on other discrete emotions such as guilt and resentment are also reported.     

Integrating multiple perspectives on schadenfreude: The role of deservingness and emotions

Schadenfreude, or pleasure in another person’s misfortune, has been linked to a cognitive appraisal that other deserves the misfortune. In the present study we develop a structural model that links schadenfreude to global self-esteem, pain of inferiority, hostile and benign envy, resentment, perceived deservingness, and sympathy. We also examine the effects of ingroup/outgroup membership on schadenfreude and test for the invariance of our structural model between these two conditions. Participants (n = 170) responded to a hypothetical scenario that manipulated ingroup/outgroup membership and perceived deservingness in relation to other’s initial success and subsequent failure. Results supported a structural model that showed invariance. They also showed that more schadenfreude was reported when the outgroup member failed and more sympathy and anger when the ingroup member failed. These results provide an integrated structural approach to the analysis of schadenfreude.     

Distinguishing between deservingness and entitlement: earned outcomes versus lawful outcomes

Two studies are described that investigated a proposed distinction between deservingness and entitlement. Deservingness was assumed to relate to the evaluative structure of actions and their contingent outcomes and entitlement to an external framework involving rights, rules and social norms. Study 1 investigated reactions to scenarios in which a student running for election in a national student organization exerted either high or low effort, was either eligible or ineligible for election by virtue of age, and was either elected or not elected. Study 2 investigated reactions to a scenario in which a stimulus person suffering from an illness had to decide how much money to leave in a will to a son, nephew, or friend who provided him with either help or limited help. In both studies, student participants (n = 134 in Study 1, n = 236 in Study 2) completed ratings of deservingness and entitlement, as well as other measures. Results of both studies supported the distinction between deservingness and entitlement. Whether an outcome was deserved depended on amount of effort in Study 1 and on amount of help in Study 2. Results are also reported for other justice variables and for reported affect in Study 1, and for the amount allocated in the will in Study 2. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The dimensionality of anticipated affective reactions to risky and certain decision outcomes

In three experiments, anticipated affective reactions to risky and certain decision outcomes were investigated. It was shown that the two affect dimensions, valence and activation, describe anticipated affective reactions. When combined in a nonlinear dimension ranging from elation to disappointment, the results were found to replicate previous research showing that anticipated affective reactions are influenced by both sign (loss or gain), magnitude, and probability of outcomes. Preference for the anticipated affective reactions was furthermore related to both affect dimensions.     

Uncovering the affective core of conscientiousness: the role of self-conscious emotions

We conducted 3 studies to test the idea that guilt is a key affective component of Conscientiousness and that it can account for the relation between Conscientiousness and negative affect. Study 1 used meta‐analysis to show that Conscientiousness was associated with specific emotions and overall negative affect but was most strongly associated with guilt. Conscientiousness was negatively related to guilt experience but positively related to guilt proneness. Also, guilt experience mediated the relation between Conscientiousness and negative affect. Study 2 (N = 142) examined the relation between facets of Conscientiousness and guilt. We replicated results from Study 1 and showed that the relation between Conscientiousness and guilt was not due to overlap with Extraversion and Neuroticism. Study 3 (n = 176) examined the interplay between Conscientiousness and guilt on grades in a short‐term longitudinal study. These studies showed that Conscientiousness is primarily related to guilt and highlighted the importance of examining the emotional substrate of Conscientiousness.     

Psychosocial environment and affective outcomes in technology-rich classrooms: testing a causal model

Research investigated classroom environment antecedent variables and student affective outcomes in Australian high schools. The Technology-Rich Outcomes-Focused Learning Environment Inventory (TROFLEI) was used to assess 10 classroom environment dimensions: student cohesiveness, teacher support, involvement, investigation, task orientation, cooperation, equity, differentiation, computer usage and young adult ethos. A sample of 4,146 high school students from Western Australia and Tasmania responded to the TROFLEI and three student outcome measures: attitude to the subject, attitude to computer use and academic efficacy. Confirmatory factor analysis using LISREL supported the 10 scale a priori structure of the instrument. Structural equation modeling using LISREL was used to test a postulated model involving antecedent variables, classroom environment and outcomes. The modeling indicated that: improving classroom environment has the potential to improve student outcomes, antecedents did not have any significant direct effect on outcomes, and academic efficacy mediated the effect of several classroom environment dimensions on attitude to subject and attitude to computer use.

Neural affective decision theory: Choices, brains, and emotions

We present a theory and neurocomputational model of how specific brain operations produce complex decision and preference phenomena, including those explored in prospect theory and decision affect theory. We propose that valuation and decision making are emotional processes, involving interacting brain areas that include two expectation-discrepancy subsystems: a dopamine-encoded system for positive events and a serotonin-encoded system for negative ones. The model provides a rigorous account of loss aversion and the shape of the value function from prospect theory. It also suggests multiple distinct neurological mechanisms by which information framing may affect choices, including ones involving anticipated pleasure. It further offers a neural basis for the interactions among affect, prior expectations and counterfactual comparisons explored in decision affect theory. Along with predicting the effects of particular brain disturbances and damage, the model suggests specific neurological explanations for individual differences observed in choice and valuation behaviors.     

Distinguishing affective and non-affective reactions to daily events

The study of daily events has been dominated by a focus on affective reactions to daily events. Although informative, this research needs to be complemented by research on non-affective and cognitive reactions to events. Although daily events are certainly related to how people feel, they are also related to how people think, particularly about themselves. The present article presents the results of a series of studies examining relationships between daily events and both affective and non-affective states. These results suggest that although affective and non-affective reactions to daily events may covary (e.g., when people feel badly, they may think more poorly about themselves and vice versa), this covariation is not perfect. Non-affective states covary with daily events above and beyond the covariation between events and affect, and affective states covary with events above and beyond the covariation between events and non-affective states.     

Linking emotion regulation strategies to affective events and negative emotions at work

This study examined the use of specific forms of emotion regulation at work, utilizing Gross’s [Gross, J. J. (1998). The emerging field of emotion regulation: An integrative review. Review of General Psychology 2, 271–299] process-based framework of emotion regulation as a guiding structure. In addition to examining employee self-reported usage of these emotion regulation strategies, we assessed the types of discrete negative emotions and negative affective events associated with their use. Results demonstrated that employees reported using a wide variety of emotion regulation strategies, and that each strategy tended to align with a distinct set of discrete negative emotions and affective events. These findings support expanding the focus of emotion regulation strategies at work beyond the deep acting (i.e., changing feelings) and surface acting (i.e., changing expressions) distinction. The results also suggest that focusing on specific strategies, rather than categories of emotion regulation, could enhance understanding of how employees manage their emotions at work.     

Linking emotion regulation strategies to affective events and negative emotions at work

This study examined the use of specific forms of emotion regulation at work, utilizing Gross’s [Gross, J. J. (1998). The emerging field of emotion regulation: An integrative review. Review of General Psychology 2, 271–299] process-based framework of emotion regulation as a guiding structure. In addition to examining employee self-reported usage of these emotion regulation strategies, we assessed the types of discrete negative emotions and negative affective events associated with their use. Results demonstrated that employees reported using a wide variety of emotion regulation strategies, and that each strategy tended to align with a distinct set of discrete negative emotions and affective events. These findings support expanding the focus of emotion regulation strategies at work beyond the deep acting (i.e., changing feelings) and surface acting (i.e., changing expressions) distinction. The results also suggest that focusing on specific strategies, rather than categories of emotion regulation, could enhance understanding of how employees manage their emotions at work.     

Gurdjieff's presentation of emotions: Toward a phenomenology of affective experience

Abstract

This essay presents a phenomenology of emotion by drawing on the psychological account of human beings provided by the Armenian‐Russian philosopher and spiritual teacher George I. Gurdjieff (c. 1877–1949), whose work until recently was ignored by conventional academics. Relatively unknown to the West in his lifetime, Gurdjieff presents in his writings and teachings a detailed picture of the essential constitution of human experience, including the emotional dimension. Although not explicitly phenomenological, his work depicts five affective modes that fit together into a holistic, experientially verifiable conception of human emotion.     

Decisions and revisions: the affective forecasting of changeable outcomes

People prefer to make changeable decisions rather than unchangeable decisions because they do not realize that they may be more satisfied with the latter. Photography students believed that having the opportunity to change their minds about which prints to keep would not influence their liking of the prints. However, those who had the opportunity to change their minds liked their prints less than those who did not (Study 1). Although the opportunity to change their minds impaired the postdecisional processes that normally promote satisfaction (Study 2a), most participants wanted to have that opportunity (Study 2b). The results demonstrate that errors in affective forecasting can lead people to behave in ways that do not optimize their happiness and well-being.     

Mapping emotions through time: how affective trajectories inform the language of emotion

The words used to describe emotions can provide insight into the basic processes that contribute to emotional experience. We propose that emotions arise partly from interacting evaluations of one's current affective state, previous affective state, predictions for how these may change in the future, and the experienced outcomes following these predictions. These states can be represented and inferred from neural systems that encode shifts in outcomes and make predictions. In two studies, we demonstrate that emotion labels are reliably differentiated from one another using only simple cues about these affective trajectories through time. For example, when a worse-than-expected outcome follows the prediction that something good will happen, that situation is labeled as causing anger, whereas when a worse-than-expected outcome follows the prediction that something bad will happen, that situation is labeled as causing sadness. Emotion categories are more differentiated when participants are required to think categorically than when participants have the option to consider multiple emotions and degrees of emotions. This work indicates that information about affective movement through time and changes in affective trajectory may be a fundamental aspect of emotion categories. Future studies of emotion must account for the dynamic way that we absorb and process information.     

Conflicting emotions: The connection between affective perspective taking and theory of mind

The relation between theory of mind and affective perspective taking was examined in a study with 42 three‐ to five‐year‐olds. Children completed tasks measuring affective perspective taking, theory of mind, and receptive language abilities. Significant positive correlations existed between overall affective perspective taking and theory of mind performance, independent of age and language. The relation between theory of mind and affective perspective taking was strongest for those scenarios in which there was a conflict between the child and the friend's emotional responses. These findings indicate that the abilities to understand conflicting emotions and to understand false beliefs are related aspects of social development.     

Possible self-complexity and affective reactions to goal-relevant evaluation.

The complexity of people's self-concept appears to be inversely related to the intensity of their reactions to evaluative feedback about present goals and abilities (Linville, 1985, 1987). The idea that the complexity of individuals' possible self-concept similarly mediates reactions to feedback regarding future goals was investigated. Two preliminary studies suggested that complexity of the actual self only explains 20% to 30% of the variance in possible self-complexity. Three studies were conducted. Support was found for the idea that possible self-complexity mediates affective reactions to evaluative feedback about future goals and actual self-complexity mediates affective reactions to evaluative feedback about present goals. The findings underscore the independent roles of the organization of actual and possible self-concepts in affective processes.     

Linking goal self-concordance and affective reactions to goal conflict

Most people would agree that facing goal conflict is a negative experience. However, many, but not all empirical studies actually show a negative relationship between goal conflicts and well-being: goal conflicts apparently differ in their effects. The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of the level of goal self-concordance (i.e., to what extent goals are pursued with self-determined motivation) for people’s affective reactions to goal conflicts due to resource constraints. Analyses of goal conflicts experienced at work by N = 647 junior scientists shed light onto the role of levels of self-concordance of the conflicting goals on the way the goal conflict is experienced. Results show that goal self-concordance explains variance in affective reaction beyond goal importance and goal attainability. More specifically, conflicts between two goals with high levels of self-concordance are associated to rather positive affect (e.g., excited). In contrast, conflicts between two goals with low levels of self-concordance are associated to rather negative affect (e.g., frustrated). Overall, these results emphasize the need to consider goal properties in future research on goal conflicts.     

Antecedents and outcomes of unit cohesion and affective commitment to the Army

Group cohesion and affective commitment have shown to have critical relevance to military organizations in particular. The relationship between cohesion and affective commitment is established, and the two constructs share a number of common organizational antecedents and employee outcomes. The authors explored the relationship between cohesion and affective commitment in a model that incorporates antecedents (effectiveness of immediate leadership and procedural justice) and consequences (organizational citizenship behaviors [OCBs] and turnover intentions) common to both. Respondents (N = 714, 102 women, 612 men) were Canadian Army personnel. The models suggest that cohesion partially mediates the relationships between (a) perceptions of immediate leadership and affective commitment to the Army and (b) perceptions of unit procedural justice and affective commitment to the Army. Furthermore, affective commitment to the Army partially mediates the relationship between unit cohesion and turnover intentions but fully mediates the relationship between unit cohesion and OCBs. This model helps explain some common variance between unit cohesion and organizational affective commitment.     

Judging deservingness and affect in relation to another's employment or unemployment: a test of a justice model

In a study that was based on a structural model of deservingness, 24 male and 80 female undergraduate students responded to scenarios in which either a liked or disliked unemployed stimulus person expended either high or low effort and then either obtained employment or remained unemployed. Results showed that, when the outcome was employment, judgements of responsibility, deservingness, and pleasure about the successful outcome were higher when the stimulus person expended high effort rather than low effort. When the outcome was unemployment, judgements of responsibility, deservingness, and reported pleasure about the unsuccessful outcome were higher when the stimulus person displayed low effort rather than high effort in seeking a job and participants reported feeling less sympathetic and more annoyed with the stimulus person and less inclined to provide financial assistance. Liking relations had most effects in the employed condition. The employed outcome elicited more reported pleasure and less resentment for the liked stimulus person and he or she was judged to be more responsible for and more deserving of employment than the disliked stimulus person. The results were discussed in relation to component balanced and unbalanced structures within the structural model and they also suggested some elaboration of the responsibility variable. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.