Emotions

What are Emotions?

As we move through our daily lives, we experience a variety of emotions. While there is disagreement about the meaning of the term, the American Psychological Association defines emotion as “a conscious mental reaction subjectively experienced as strong feelings, usually directed toward a specific object and typically accompanied by physiological and behavioral changes in the body.”^[1]

Emotions result from the combination of subjective experience, expression, cognitive appraisal, and physiological responses.^[2] An emotion typically begins with a subjective (individual) experience, which is a stimulus. Often the stimulus is external, but it can also arise from within a person, such as when an individual thinks about something. Emotional expression refers to the way an individual displays an emotion and includes nonverbal and verbal behaviors.^[3] An individual also performs a cognitive appraisal in which they try to determine the way they will be impacted by a situation.^[4] In addition, emotions include physiological responses, such as sweating or increased heart rate.^[5]

Functions of Emotions

According to functionalist theories of emotion, emotions help people manage important tasks^[6]. More specifically, emotions can serve important intrapersonal (i.e., within-person) functions, as well as interpersonal (i.e., between-person) functions.

Intrapersonal Function of Emotions

Emotions serve as rapid information-processing systems that help us act with minimal thinking.^[7] For instance, eating spoiled food has negative consequences for our welfare. The emotion of disgust, however, helps us immediately take action by not ingesting it.

Emotions also prepare us for behavior. When triggered, emotions orchestrate systems such as perception, attention, inference, learning, memory, goal choice, motivational priorities, physiological reactions, motor behaviors, and behavioral decision making.^[8]  Emotions simultaneously activate certain systems and deactivate others in order to prevent the chaos of competing systems operating at the same time, allowing for coordinated responses to environmental stimuli.^[9] For instance, when we are afraid, our bodies shut down temporarily unneeded digestive processes, resulting in saliva reduction (a dry mouth); blood flows disproportionately to the lower half of the body; the visual field expands; and air is breathed in, all preparing the body to flee.

One common misunderstanding many people have when thinking about emotions is the belief that emotions always produce action. While emotion prepare the body for action, whether or not people actually engage in action is dependent on many factors, such as the context within which the emotion has occurred, the target of the emotion, the perceived consequences of one’s actions, previous experiences, and so forth.^[10] Thus, emotions are just one of many determinants of behavior, albeit an important one.

Emotions are also connected to thoughts and memories. Memories are not just facts that are encoded in our brains; they are colored with the emotions felt at those times the facts occurred.^[11] Thus, emotions serve as the neural glue that connects those disparate facts in our minds. That is why it is easier to remember happy thoughts when happy, and angry times when angry. Emotions serve as the affective basis of many attitudes, values, and beliefs that we have about the world and the people around us; without emotions those attitudes, values, and beliefs would be just statements without meaning, and emotions give those statements meaning. Emotions influence our thinking processes, sometimes in constructive ways, sometimes not. It is difficult to think critically and clearly when we feel intense emotions, but easier when we are not overwhelmed with emotions.^[12]

Interpersonal Functions of Emotions

Emotions are expressed both verbally through words and nonverbally through facial expressions, voices, gestures, body postures, and movements. We are constantly expressing emotions when interacting with others, and others can reliably judge those emotional expressions; thus, emotions have signal value to others and influence others and our social interactions.^[13] Emotions and their expressions communicate information to others about our feelings, intentions, relationship with the target of the emotions, and the environment. Because emotions have this communicative signal value, they help solve social problems by evoking responses from others, by signaling the nature of interpersonal relationships, and by providing incentives for desired social behavior.^[14]

What Causes Emotions?

What causes emotions to happen in the first place? Although it usually feels like something in the world causes an emotion directly, emotion theories contend that emotions come from how we think about what is happening in the world, not what is literally happening. After all, if things in the world directly caused emotions, everyone would always have the same emotion in response to something.

Appraisal theories propose that each emotion is caused by a group of appraisals, which are evaluations and judgments of what events in the world mean for our goals and well-being: Is this relevant to me? Does it further or hinder my goals? Can I deal with it or do something about it? Did someone do it on purpose?^[15] Different emotions come from different answers to these appraisal questions, and the subjective nature of emotions has important implications for our ability to manage and control our emotions (Video 1).

Emotions at Work

In recent years, there has been growing recognition of the powerful role emotions play in the workplace (Video 2).

Positive emotions such as joy and surprise result from our reaction to desirable events. In the workplace, these events may include achieving a goal or receiving praise from a superior. Individuals experiencing a positive emotion may feel peaceful, content, and calm. Positive feelings have been shown to dispose a person to optimism, and a positive emotional state can make difficult challenges feel more achievable.^[16] This is because being positive can lead to upward positive spirals in which positive emotions bring about positive outcomes, thereby reinforcing the positive emotions.^[17]

Negative emotions such as anger and sadness can result from undesirable events. In the workplace, these events may include not having your opinions heard, a lack of control over your day-to-day environment, and unpleasant interactions with colleagues, customers, and superiors. Negative emotions play a role in the conflict process, with those who can manage their negative emotions finding themselves in fewer conflicts than those who do not. While negative emotions can be destructive in the workplace, they can inspire bursts of valuable individual action to change situations that aren’t working the way they should.^[18]

Emotional Contagion

Both positive and negative emotions can be contagious, with the spillover of negative emotions lasting longer than positive emotions. As you may have experienced in the past, emotional contagion can be especially salient in a team setting.^[19] One explanation for the tendency of negative emotions to linger may be a stronger connection to the fight-or-flight situations people experience. Anger, fear, and suspicion are intentionally unpleasant messages urging us to take action immediately. And to make sure we get the message, these emotions stick around.

Emotional Labor

Humans are emotional creatures by nature. In the course of a day, we experience many emotions. Think about your day thus far. Can you identify times when you were happy to deal with other people and times that you wanted to be left alone? Now imagine trying to hide all the emotions you’ve felt today for eight hours or more at work. That’s what cashiers, waiters, teachers, and therapists, among other client- and customer-facing professionals, are asked to do. As individuals, they may be feeling sad, angry, or fearful, but their professional roles may necessitate an upbeat, friendly, and polite persona.

Emotional labor refers to the regulation of feelings and expressions for organizational purposes.^[20] Three major levels of emotional labor have been identified (Figure 1):^[21]

1. Surface acting, in which an individual displays required emotions without trying to change their actual emotions. This requires the highest level of emotional labor.
2. Deep acting, in which an individual puts forth effort to feel the emotions they are required to display.
3. Genuine acting, in which an individual’s actual emotions are aligned or consistent with those they are required to display. This requires the lowest level of emotional labor.

Research shows that surface acting is related to higher levels of stress and fewer felt positive emotions, while deep acting may lead to less stress.^[22] Emotional labor is particularly common in service industries that are also characterized by relatively low pay, which creates the added potentials for stress and feelings of being treated unfairly.^[23]

Emotional Intelligence

“What am I feeling? And what do others feel?” These questions form the heart of emotional intelligence (Video 3). Emotional intelligence (EI) looks at how people can understand each other more completely by developing an increased awareness of their own and others’ emotions.^[24] Research conducted in the workplace supports positive links between EI and enhanced job performance, occupational well-being, and leadership effectiveness.^[25]

There are four building blocks involved in developing a high level of emotional intelligence. Self awareness exists when you are able to accurately perceive, evaluate, and display appropriate emotions. Self management exists when you are able to direct your emotions in a positive way when needed. Social awareness exists when you are able to understand how others feel. Relationship management exists when you are able to help others manage their own emotions and truly establish supportive relationships with others.^[26]

Video 3: Emotional Intelligence. Closed captioning is available.

At its core, EI involves self-awareness and self-regulation—essentially, a toggling back and forth between emotions and logic so that we analyze and understand our own emotions and then exert the necessary control to manage them as appropriate for the situation. EI also involves empathy—the ability to understand other peoples’ emotions (and an interest in doing so). Finally, EI involves social skills to manage the emotional aspects of relationships with others. Individuals who are aware of their own emotions can think through what their emotions mean in a given situation and use that information to guide their actions and behavior. While emotional intelligence seems to come easily to some people, it is something that we can develop and improve on with deliberate effort and practice (Video 4).

Video 4: 12 Traits Emotionally intelligent people Share. Closed captioning is available.

Attitudes

An attitude can be defined as a predisposition to respond in a favorable or unfavorable way to objects or persons in one’s environment.²⁵ When we like or dislike something, we are, in effect, expressing our attitude toward the person or object. Put more simply, our attitudes are our general evaluations of things (e.g., do you regard this thing positively or negatively?) that can bias us toward having particular responses to those things.^[27] A major difference between an attitude and emotion is that an attitude tends to be more stable over time, whereas an emotion lasts for a comparatively brief period of time.^[28]

An attitude toward a particular person or object ranges on a continuum from very favorable to very unfavorable. We like something or we dislike something (or we are neutral). Something is pleasurable or unpleasurable. In all cases, the attitude can be evaluated along a single evaluative continuum.

An attitude can be thought of as composed of three highly interrelated components: (1) a cognitive component, dealing with the beliefs and ideas a person has about a person or object; (2) an affective component (affect), dealing with a person’s feelings toward the person or object; and (3) an intentional component, dealing with the behavioral intentions a person has with respect to the person or object.²⁶

Attitudes at Work

At work, two particular job attitudes have considerable potential to influence how we behave. These are job satisfaction and organizational commitment.

Organizational Commitment

Organizational commitment represents the relative strength of an individual’s identification with and involvement in an organization.³¹ Commitment can be characterized by three factors: (1) a strong belief in and acceptance of the organization’s goals and values, (2) a willingness to exert considerable effort on behalf of the organization, and (3) a strong desire to maintain membership in the organization. When viewed this way, commitment represents something beyond mere passive loyalty to the company. Instead, it involves an active relationship with the organization in which individuals are willing to give something of themselves in order to help the company succeed and prosper.

Job Satisfaction

Job satisfaction refers to “a pleasurable or positive emotional state resulting from the appraisal of one’s job or job experience.”^[29] Job satisfaction is impacted by many different factors associated with the work itself (Table 1), as well as our personality and the culture we come from and live in.^[30]

Measures of job satisfaction are somewhat correlated with job performance; in particular, they appear to relate to organizational citizenship or discretionary behaviors on the part of an employee that further the goals of the organization.^[34] Job satisfaction is related to general life satisfaction, although there has been limited research on how the two influence each other or whether personality and cultural factors affect both job and general life satisfaction. One carefully controlled study suggested that the relationship is reciprocal: Job satisfaction affects life satisfaction positively, and vice versa.^[35] Job satisfaction, specifically low job satisfaction, is also related to withdrawal behaviors, such as leaving a job or absenteeism.^[36] The relationship with turnover itself, however, is weak.^[37] Finally, it appears that job satisfaction is related to organizational performance, which suggests that implementing organizational changes to improve employee job satisfaction will improve organizational performance.^[38]

The Link between Attitude and Behavior

There is a high degree of overlap between job satisfaction and organizational commitment, because things that make us happy with our job often make us more committed to the company as well. Companies believe that these attitudes are worth tracking because they are often associated with important outcomes such as performance, helping others, absenteeism, and turnover.

How strong is the attitude-behavior link? First of all, it depends on the attitude in question. Your attitudes toward your colleagues may influence whether you actually help them on a project, but they may not be a good predictor of whether you will quit your job. Second, it is worth noting that attitudes are more strongly related to intentions to behave in a certain way, rather than actual behaviors. When you are dissatisfied with your job, you may have the intention to leave. Whether you will actually leave is a different story! Your leaving will depend on many factors, such as availability of alternative jobs in the market, your employability in a different company, and sacrifices you have to make while changing jobs. In other words, while attitudes give us hints about how a person might behave, it is important to remember that behavior is also strongly influenced by situational constraints.

Optional Resources to Learn More

	Articles
	Emotional Intelligence Needs a Rewrite by Lisa Barrett Feldman
	What is Emotional Labor? by Karla McLaren
	The Atlantic: The Dark Side of Emotional Intelligence by Adam Grant
	The Atlantic: When Emotional Intelligence Goes Wrong by Andrew Giambrone
	TED: Try These Two Smart Techniques to Help You Master Your Emotions by Lisa Feldman Barrett
	Books
	Emotional Agility by Susan David
	Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ by Daniel Goleman
	How Emotions Are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain by Lisa Feldman Barrett
	No Hard Feelings: The Secret Power of Embracing Emotions at Work by Liz Fosslien and Mollie West Duffy
	The Power of Emotions at Work by Karla McLaren
	Podcasts
	The Science of Success: No Hard Feelings: Your Guide To Dealing With Emotions At Work with Liz Fosslien & Mollie West Duffy
	Rethink: You have more control over your emotions than you think with Lisa Feldman Barrett Apple Spotify Transcript
	Videos
	Experts in Emotion (video series)
	Harvard Business Review: How to Control Your Emotions During a Difficult Conversation
	Harvard Business Review: The Explainer: Emotional Intelligence
	Talks at Google: Emotions at Work and How They Help Us Succeed by Mollie West Duffy
	TED: You Aren’t at the Mercy of Your Emotions: Your Brain Creates Them by Lisa Barrett Feldman

Chapter Attributions

This chapter incorporates material from the following sources:

Chapters 3 and 16 of Black, J. S. & Bright, D. S. (2019). Organizational behavior. OpenStax. https://openstax.org/books/organizational-behavior. Licensed with CC BY 4.0.

Hwang, H. & Matsumoto, D. (2024). Functions of emotions. In R. Biswas-Diener & E. Diener (Eds), Noba textbook series: Psychology. Champaign, IL: DEF publishers. http://noba.to/w64szjxu. Licensed with CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.

Silvia, P. (2024). Knowledge emotions: feelings that foster learning, exploring, and reflecting. In R. Biswas-Diener & E. Diener (Eds), Noba textbook series: Psychology. Champaign, IL: DEF publishers. http://noba.to/f7rvqp54. Licensed with CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.

Chapter 10 of Spielman, R. M., Jenkins, W. J., & Lovett, M. D. (2020). Psychology, 2e. OpenStax. https://openstax.org/books/psychology-2e/pages/10-4-emotion. Licensed with CC BY 4.0.

Chapters 4 and 7 of University of Minnesota (2017). Organizational behavior. University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing. https://open.lib.umn.edu/organizationalbehavior/. Licensed with CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.