Mood and Emotions in Small Groups and Work Teams

Affective influences abound in groups. In this article we propose an organizing model for understanding these affective influences and their effects on group life. We begin with individual-level affective characteristics that members bring to their groups: moods, emotions, sentiments, and emotional intelligence. These affective characteristics then combine to form a group's affective composition. We discuss explicit and implicit processes through which this affective combination occurs by examining the research on emotional contagion, entrainment, modeling, and the manipulation of affect. We also explore how elements of the affective context, such as organizationwide emotion norms and the group's particular emotional history, may serve to constrain or amplify group members' emotions. The outcome, group emotion, results from the combination of the group's affective composition and the affective context in which the group is behaving. Last, we focus on the important interaction between nonaffective factors and affective factors in group life and suggest a possible agenda for future research.     

Transformational Leadership and Follower Task Performance: The Role of Susceptibility to Positive Emotions and Follower Positive Emotions

Purpose

The aim of the present study is to examine transformational leadership (TFL) from an emotion-based perspective. We apply susceptibility to positive emotions (STPE) as the moderator and follower positive emotions (PE) as the mediator in the relationship between follower perceptions of TFL and follower task performance (TP).

Design/Methodology/Approach

Survey data were collected from multiple sources, comprising 304 supervisor-subordinate dyads in 42 functional units of the Taiwanese military. Hierarchical linear analysis (HLM) was performed to examine our proposed model.

Findings

The HLM results confirmed that follower perceptions of TFL were positively related to follower PE. Further, individual differences in STPE moderated the relationship between follower perceptions of TFL and follower PE. Finally, follower PE mediated the moderated relationship among TFL, STPE, and follower TP.

Implications

This study advances understanding of when, how, and why TFL can enhance follower TP. The findings also address the complex role of STPE and follower PE in the relationship between follower perceptions of TFL and follower TP.

Originality/Value

Emotions have attracted increasing attention in the leadership literature recently, particularly with regard to the transformational leader–follower relationship. This study enhances understanding of how TFL functions by accounting for followers’ STPE. In addition, we respond to Avolio et al.’s (Ann Rev Psychol 60:421–449, 2009) call to test the mediated-moderation effect that links TFL to follower outcomes.     

Createativity and Mood: Towards a Model of Cognitive Mediation

Empirical and biographical evidence reveals that the highly creative are more likely to experience mental health problems; most commonly depression and particularly within artistic fields. Cognitive theories of creative thinking suggest that artistic creativity may be associated with a divergent style of thinking, which is distinguished by specific differences with respect to logical appraisal skills. As similar patterns of appraisal are frequently found in those experiencing depression, it is suggested that appraisal may be a mediating feature between creativity and affect. This hypothesis is tested in the present study. Creativity, cognitive appraisal patterns and mood were measured in 104 undergraduate students (N = 36 art and 68 science) by standardised assessments. In keeping with predictions, art students were found to be more creative, experienced lower mood, and displayed greater degrees of distortion and bias in their appraisals.     

Responses to Positive Affect Predict Mood Symptoms in Children Under Conditions of Stress: A Prospective Study

Rumination to negative affect has been linked to the onset and maintenance of mood disorders in adults as well as children. Responses to positive affect have received far less attention thus far. A few recent studies in adults suggest that responses to positive affect are involved in the development of both depressive and hypomanic symptoms, but thus far no study has investigated their role in childhood mood problems. The purpose of the present study was to validate a child version of the Responses to Positive Affect questionnaire and examine the extent to which responses to positive affect prospectively predict mood symptoms over a 3-month interval. The Responses to Positive Affect questionnaire for Children was found to assess two types of responses to positive affect: Positive Rumination and Dampening. Both subscales showed sufficient internal consistency and moderate stability over a 3-month interval. Low levels of positive rumination and high levels of dampening were concurrently associated with depressive symptoms, over and above responses to negative affect. Importantly, low levels of positive rumination also predicted increases in depressive symptoms over a 3-month interval over and above baseline symptoms in children reporting high levels of stress. Both positive rumination and dampening were positively related to concurrent hypomanic symptoms and high levels of positive rumination predicted increases in hypomanic symptoms over a 3-month interval over and above baseline symptoms in children reporting high levels of stress. The results underscore the added value of assessing responses to positive affect in addition to responses to negative affect.     

Positive and Negative: Infant Facial Expressions and Emotions

One path to understanding emotional processes and their development is the investigation of early facial expressions. Converging evidence suggests that although all infant smiles index positive emotion, some smiles are more positive than others. The evidence stems both from the situations in which infants produce different facial expressions and from naive observers' ratings of the emotional intensity of the expressions. The observers' ratings also suggest that similar facial actions—such as cheek raising—lead smiles to be perceived as more positive and lead negative expressions (cry-faces) to be perceived as more negative. One explanation for this parsimony is that certain facial actions are associated with the intensification of both positive and negative emotions.     

The Impact of Music-Based Rational-Emotive and Cognitive-Behavioral Education on Positive and Negative Emotions: A Preliminary Investigation in Ecological Conditions

Although there is an extensive literature showing that both rational-emotive and cognitive-behavioral interventions (REBT/CBT) and music can alter various emotional responses, little is known about their ability to impact on both positive and negative emotions simultaneously. Thus, the present study aimed to investigate whether classical music combined with REBT/CBT psycho-education on emotions can alter people’s levels of positive and negative emotions. A number of 459 participants (62.7% females; m age = 36.67, SD = 11.754) were recruited for this study from the public attending to a classical music concert. The classical music pieces were selected by a group of experts in order to be conceptualized in relationship with components of the REBT/CBT’s ABC model of emotions (e.g., catastrophyzing, acceptance/meditation) and this conceptualization was also delivered during the concert (i.e., before each corresponding musical part). Emotions were assessed before and after the entire performance for all participants. Results indicated a significant change in emotions between the two assessments (F(11,397) = 59.99, p < .001, partial η² = .62), revealing significant increases for all the positive emotions and decreases for all the negative emotions that have been evaluated. This is one of the first experimental studies conducted on large-scale in fully ecological settings to confirm that music-based rational-emotive and cognitive-behavioral education might change the intensity of people’s positive and negative emotions simultaneously. These findings are discussed in line with the existing models of music and emotions.     

Military Service and the Life-Course Perspective: A Turning Point for Military Personnel Research

The political and scientific climate is ready for a change in perspective in the field of military personnel psychology. Although more than 200,000 of America's most fit young men and women pass through the military establishment each year, we know very little about the effects of their early military experiences on their life choices or on their subsequent military or civilian careers. Recent interest in these issues shown by Congress, the press, and the Department of Defense (DoD) strongly suggests that psychologists need to address research questions that can evaluate the real lifetime costs and benefits of military service. Current military personnel research approaches are inadequate for this task. Life-course theory is presented as a viable and vigorous conceptual and analytic framework for accomplishing this mission.     

Shades of Joy: Patterns of Appraisal Differentiating Pleasant Emotions

Abstract

Pleasant experience appears to be less emotionally differentiated than unpleasant experience. For instance, theories of emotion typically posit the existence of six or seven unpleasant emotions but often posit only one or two pleasant emotions. The present study is an attempt to systematically examine the differentiation of pleasant emotional experience. Subjects were asked to recall pleasant experiences that were associated with particular situational appraisals—appraisals of effort, agency, and certainty were systematically manipulated—and to describe their appraisals and emotions during these experiences. The results indicated that positive emotions, and their associated appraisals, are somewhat less differentiated than negative emotions, but nonetheless provided evidence of considerable differentiation among six pleasantly toned emotions (interest, hope/confidence, challenge, tranquillity, playfulness, and love). Each of these latter emotions was experienced differentially across the appraisal conditions, and was characterised by a distinct pattern of appraisal.     

Religion and Well-Being: The Mediating Role of Positive Emotions

Research has consistently shown that endorsing a religion or spirituality is to some extent related to one’s well-being. Common studied explanations tap into the social and cognitive aspects of religion and spirituality. The present research aims at understanding how religiosity and spirituality exert their impact on well-being and investigates the role of a surprisingly neglected mechanism: positive emotions. Two cross-sectional studies using a quantitative approach are presented. In two different contexts (churchgoers in a European country and US university employees interested in meditation), results showed that the relation between religion (Study 1), spirituality (Study 2) and well-being is mediated by positive emotions. Distinguishing between more and less relevant positive emotions in a religious/spiritual context, it was found that the effect was mediated by self-transcendent positive emotions (awe, gratitude, love, and peace) but not by other positive emotions (amusement and pride).     

Trauma-Focused CBT for Traumatic Grief in Military Children

Although military children are typically as resilient as the general child population, the ongoing conflict has exposed military children to unusual stressors such as repeated deployment, severe injury, or the death of a parent or sibling. U.S. forces have experienced more than 5,600 casualties during Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, with growing numbers of suicides among Service members. These deaths have affected thousands of military children. Most bereaved military children experience adaptive grief characterized by deep sadness, longing for the deceased person, and being comforted by positive memories of the deceased. A smaller number of military children develop childhood traumatic grief, characterized by trauma symptoms that interfere with adaptive grieving. Children with traumatic grief get “stuck” on the traumatic aspects of the death such as picturing the imagined or real details of the death; imagining the pain their loved one experienced in the moments before dying; wishing for revenge; and becoming angry at those who do not understand or share the child’s thoughts and feelings about the death. These children avoid reminders of the deceased person. Trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT) is an evidence-based treatment for children with trauma symptoms including those with traumatic grief. TF-CBT may be particularly suitable for military families. This article describes the clinical application of TF-CBT for traumatic grief in military children.     

Resilience and Positive Emotions: Examining the Role of Emotional Memories

Abstract Resilience has been frequently associated with positive emotions, especially when experienced during taxing events. However, the psychological processes that might allow resilient individuals to self-generate those positive emotions have been mostly overlooked. In line with recent advances in memory research, we propose that emotional memories play an important role in the self-generation of positive emotions. The present research examined this hypothesis in two studies. Study 1 provided initial data on the validity and reliability of a measure of emotional memories networks (EMN) and showed that it had a predictive value for broad emotion regulation constructs and outcomes. In addition, Study 1 showed that positive EMN mediated the relationship between psychological resilience and the experience of positive emotions in a context of sadness, even after controlling for pre-experimental positive mood. Study 2 replicated results of Study 1 in a context of anxiety and after controlling for positive affectivity trait.     

Mood vs. Interpersonal Affect: Identifying Process and Rating Distortions in Performance Appraisal

This study was designed to simultaneously analyze the influence of mood and interpersonal affect on the performance appraisal process. Results suggest that affect consistency, as opposed to mood consistency, is likely to influence the weighting of recalled performance information and ratings subsequently assigned. Surprisingly, a mood-incongruent effect also occurred when weighting the performance information. Aside from affective influences, the raters assigned the most weight to positive performance incidents, however, the raters remembered more of the negative performance. Implications for appraisal practice and directions for future research are discussed.     

积极情绪影响任务转换的性别和发展特点

情绪研究中的性别和年龄因素一直是不容忽视的问题.已有研究表明,积极情绪能够提高认知的灵活性,任务转换是认知灵活性的主要成分.本研究以52名大学生3、6名高中生4、5名初中生为被试考察积极情绪影响任务转换的发展变化和性别差异.结果发现,对于女性,积极情绪促进任务转换的现象,在三个年龄段上具有发展上的稳定性;对于男性,只在初中阶段表现出此特点,在高中阶段和大学阶段,积极情绪促进任务转换的现象不再明显.     

积极情绪的干预:记录愉快事件和感激的作用

研究以82名大学生为被试,设置控制组,考察了记录愉快事件、感激训练对积极情绪和主观幸福感的影响.四周后发现,记录愉快事件显著提高了被试的积极情绪和主观幸福感,降低了消极情绪;感激训练显著增加了积极情绪体验,但并没有改变主观幸福感.这些结果说明,愉快事件记录和感激训练均能增强积极情绪,但是记录愉快事件的干预效果要好于感激训练.     

Cross-Cultural Measurement of Positive and Negative Emotions in Adolescence: Evidence from Three Countries

Journal of Happiness Studies - Cross-cultural assessment of affective well-being among adolescents has received scarce attention in positive psychological research. The present study investigated...     

Mediation of Cognitive Appraisal on Combat Exposure and Psychological Distress

Applying Cognitive Appraisal Theory (Lazarus &; Folkman, 1984 Lazarus, R. S. and Folkman, S. 1984. Stress, appraisal, and coping, New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company.  [Google Scholar]), this study sought to determine the mediating effect of cognitive appraisal on combat exposure and psychological distress. A total of 3,002 military personnel completed measures of combat exposure, cognitive appraisal of combat-related events, and psychological distress either during or soon after combat operations in Afghanistan. Bootstrapping was employed to test the mediation model. Cognitive appraisal mediated the relationship between combat exposure and psychological distress, suggesting that the impact of a potentially stressful event on well-being is contingent on one's appraisal of that event. Implications for future research and training are presented.     

Parenting and Adolescent Grandiose Narcissism: Mediation through Independent Self-Construal and Need for Positive Approval

While particular parenting styles and parenting qualities have been linked to adolescent narcissistic tendencies, their association is likely indirect. Parents aim to indoctrinate adolescents with dispositional tendencies, such as self-confidence independence and a focus on peer acceptance, which incidentally manifest in narcissism. The authors investigated whether mothers' and fathers' positive parenting and lax discipline were linked indirectly to adolescent grandiose narcissism through a need for positive approval and independent self-construal. Adolescents (n = 460; 58.5% girls; age range = 15–18 years) completed several measures online. Structural equation modeling revealed that maternal positive parenting and discipline were indirectly linked to grandiose narcissism through adolescents' need for positive approval. Fathers' positive parenting was linked directly and partially through independent self-construal to grandiose narcissism. Fathers' discipline remained directly associated with adolescent grandiose narcissism. Discussion focuses on the nuanced association between parenting and grandiose narcissism in adolescents and the implications for upholding behavioral standards.     

Leader Positive Mood and Group Performance: The Case of Customer Service

It was hypothesized that leader positive mood would be positively associated with group performance in a service setting. Additionally, it was expected that while leader positive mood would be positively associated with both the leader's level of job satisfaction and job involvement, leader positive mood would be positively associated with group performance, controlling for both leader job satisfaction and job involvement. Leader positive mood also was expected to be positively associated with group performance controlling for group positive affective tone. Two potential antecedents of leader positive mood, the leader's level of positive affectivity and the extent to which the leader's own manager engaged in contingent reward behavior, were hypothesized to be positively associated with leader positive mood at work. These hypotheses were tested among a sample of 53 sales managers who led groups ranging in size from 4 to 9 members. All of the hypotheses were supported. Implications of these results and directions for future research are discussed.     

Regulation of Positive Emotions: Emotion Regulation Strategies that Promote Resilience

The regulation of emotions is essential in everyday life. In this paper, we discuss the regulation of positive emotional experiences. Our discussion focuses on strategies aimed at maintaining and increasing experiences of positive emotions. We discuss the importance of these strategies for well-being, and suggest that cultivating positive emotions may be particularly useful for building resilience to stressful events. Then, we explore possible mechanisms that link positive emotions to coping for resilient people, with a focus on the automatic activation of positive emotions while coping. We conclude by discussing alternative models and proposing future directions in the work on positive emotion regulation and resilience.