Week 5 - Mood and emotions in leadership Flashcards
Which traits related to emotion are associated with effective leadership?
- Emotional balance and control
- Emotional intelligence
- Expression of emotion (causing followers to infer traits)
The Circumplex Model of Affect can help categorize emotions. Which 2 axes (so 4 dimensions) does this model contain?
The model consists of 2 axes:
- Positive to negative emotions
- Active to passive expression
Positive arousal (Enthusiasm)
Low activation Negative activation
(Relaxation) (Nervousness)
Low arousal
(Fatigue)
According to the article by Lewis (2000) on emotion, what happens when a leader expresses SADNESS (passive/weak emotion), as opposed to no emotion.
Reduces follower arousal.
According to H1a, this will result in:
- higher Low Arousal (fatigue)
- lower Positive Arousal (enthusiasm)
(H1a: Observation of a leader expressing passive/weak (sad) emotional expression will result in higher Low Arousal (Fatigue) and lower Positive Arousal (Enthusiasm) than when the leader expresses no emotion.)
According to the article by Lewis (2000) on emotion, what happens when a leader expresses ANGER (active/assertive emotion), as opposed to no emotion.
Increases follower arousal.
According to H1b, this will result in:
- higher Negative Arousal (Nervousness)
- lower Low Activation (Relaxation)
(H1b: Observation of a leader expressing assertive/active (angry) emotion will result in higher Negative Activation (Nervousness) and lower Low Activation (Relaxation) than when the leader expresses no emotion.)
According to Lewis’ article on leader emotions, what is the effect of expressing negative emotions on followers’ perception of leader effectiveness?
Expressing negative emotions is seen as less effective than leaders using neutral tones.
(H2: CEO level leaders using negative (non-neutral) emotional tones in communication will be seen as less effective than leaders using neutral tones.)
According to Lewis’ article on leader emotions, what gender issues are there with emotion? (theory)
Leaders who express non-gender endorsed emotion are probably seen as less effective.
So:
- Women displaying masculine styles (e.g. anger) are probably less effective.
- Men displaying feminine emotions (sadness) are seen as less effective.
What results did Lewis found concerning emotion and gender? (results)
Women leaders are rated lower on leader effectiveness when expressing anger/sadness versus no emotion.
Sad = angry < neutral
Men were rated the same when expressing anger versus no emotion, but lower when expressing sadness.
sad < angry = neutral
Lewis article:
Leader emotions are contagious (emotional influence through emotional contagion). Why is this (3 reasons).
- Conscious cognitive processes: Why is he angry with me? Do I agree? So the normal responses. You start thinking about what is going on, or empathise with the person, you might feel the same emotion because of this.
- (un)Conditioned emotional responses: We have all encountered situations in which someone was angry with you and you responded in a certain way. This can become a conditioned response. Research support cognitive processing as main reason for contagion.
- Mimicry: Mimicry is a very basic human tendency to imitate people.
There are two possible moderating effect of leader emotion on followers. Which are these?
- Moderation by identification with leader → The effects of emotion may be stronger if you identify with the leader.
- Influence of level of leader → The closer a leader is to you (hierarchically), the more you will be affected by his/her emotions.
What is Epistemic Motivation? (Van Kleef et al., 2009)
The tendency to have a thorough and precise idea of what is going on in the world or in situations. People can be high or low (=heuristics approach) across different situations (it can be a state or a trait).
What is the core message of the article by Van Kleef (Leader emotions and performance)
The effects of leader emotions depend on subordinates’ motivation to process information (i.e., epistemic motivation).
What theory is important in the article by Van Kleef: which approach to emotion do they draw upon?
The Social-functional approach to emotion.
This approach focuses on how one individual’s emotional displays may influence others’ cognitions, impressions, and behavior. Emotional displays often evoke affective reactions in others (such as “emotional contagion”) that help them to respond to significant events.
Van Kleef’s model has to pathways to emotional influence. Which are they?
- Affective reactions pathway
- Task-relevant information pathway
Think of the model by Van Kleef concerning the effects of leader emotional displays on team performance.
What is the affective pathway? Where is it in the model and what does it entail?
A leader’s emotional displays influence followers’ emotions, liking of the leader, and perceived charisma. There is a strong correspondence between emotions elicited by someone and liking felt for someone.
Hypothesis 1. A leader’s displays of happiness arouse more positive affective reactions in team members than do displays of anger.
Up: Positivity of leader emotional display ^+ Positivity of affective reactions v+ (& Team EM>-) Quality of Team performance.
Think of the model by Van Kleef concerning the effects of leader emotional displays on team performance.
What is the task-relevant information pathway? Where is it in the model and what does it entail?
A leader’s expressions of positive versus negative emotions can be seen as an indication of a positive or a negative state of matters. As such, a leader’s emotional displays can be thought of as success (happiness) or failure (anger) feedback that may influence followers’ inferences regarding the quality of their performance.
Down: Postivity of leader emotional display v+ Positivity of performance inferences ^- (&Team EM: >+) Quality of team performance
