PART TWOPOSITIVE STATES, TRAITS AND

PART TWO
POSITIVE STATES, TRAITS AND
PROCESSES

Positive Emotion in Organizations:
A Multi-level Framework

Neal M. Ashkanasy and Claire E. Ashton-James The fundamental tenet of ‘Positive Organization Scholarship’ (Cameron et al., 2003) is that organizational management and decision settings need to be reframed in a positive light. It follows therefore that managers need to shift their focus to the positive aspects of organizational functioning
and achievement, rather than dwell on the defensive measures needed to deal with real and imagined negative contingencies. A corollary of this view, first advanced by Staw et al. (1994), and more recently confirmed by Lyubomirsky et al. (2005), is that such organizations need also to be characterized by positive, rather than negative emotion. More recently, Ashkanasy and Daus (2002) have described these organizations in terms of a ‘healthy emotional climate’. Consistent with this proposition and based on a multi-level model of emotions in organizations (Ashkanasy,2003a; Ashkanasy and Ashton-James, 2005), we outline in this chapter how organizations can engender positive emotion, and conclude that positive emotion is a necessary precondition of positive organizational behavior. Although Isen and Baron (1991) identified the importance of mild positive affect in organizational behavior 15 years ago, since then much of the literature that has dealt with emotions in the workplace has focused on negative emotions. For example, Fitness (2000) studied ‘anger in the workplace’, Ashkanasy and Nicholson (2003) studied the ‘climate of fear’, while Frost (2003) focused on ‘toxic emotions’, including their antecedents and consequences, and prescriptions for dealing with toxic emotions. In this chapter, we return to the spirit of Isen and Baron’s seminal article and emphasize the link between positive emotion and exceptional performance in organizational contexts. Also, and consistent with Isen (2003), we argue that positive emotions are associated with individual and group creativity. More recently, Lyubomirsky et al. (2005) found, in an extensive meta-analysis, that positive affect leads to more successful outcomes than negative affect across a range of contextual domains, including in the workplace. The theory of positive affect in organizations that we set out here thus provides a basis upon which to understand how and when organizations can foster positive emotion, and why positive emotions should be associated with positive behavior. The multi-level perspective we present in this chapter to address these issues is based on the 5-level model of emotion in organizations described by Ashkanasy (2003a):
Level 1. neuropsychological and cognitive correlates of positive emotion
at the within-person level of analysis;
Level 2. individual differences in positive emotion at the betweenpersons
level of analysis;
Level 3. communication of positive emotion at the dyadic (relationships)
level of analysis;
Level 4. promulgation of positive emotion at the group level of analysis;
and
Level 5. creation of a positive emotional climate at the organizational
level of analysis.
Antecedents of positive emotions in organizations
The majority of research on the antecedents of positive emotions focuses on the cognitive appraisal process that initiates emotional reactions to positive events (e.g. Lazarus, 1991). The nature of the specific events that trigger positive emotions in the organizational environment has only recently been considered, however (see Fredrickson and Brannigan, 2001). To address this in the specific context of the workplace, we base our discussion on Weiss and Cropanzano’s (1996) Affective Events Theory (AET), and use this as a basic framework to describe the situational determinants of positive emotion in workplace settings. Weiss and Cropanzano (1996) argue that events and conditions in the workplace that facilitate the attainment of workplace goals constitute positive ‘affective events’, and it is these events that ultimately determine the occurrence of moods and emotions. Such emotions and moods can lead to the formation of more long-term attitudes, reflected in job satisfaction and affective commitment, or even organizational loyalty (see Wright et al., 1993; Wright and Cropanzano, 1998). The seminal contribution of AET is that it represents an attempt to understand why employees’ moment to moment moods fluctuate in the workplace environment. A further outcome of AET is the importance of accumulation of hassles and uplifts. Thus, rather than the intensity of major events being the source of attitudes
and behavior at work, according to AET, emotions are determined more by the frequency with which hassles or uplifts occur (see Fisher, 2000;
58 Positive States, Traits and Processes
Fisher and Noble, 2004; Weiss and Beal, 2005). This conclusion implies in respect of negative emotions that people are more capable of handling once-off incidents than they are of dealing with ongoing hassles. A further corollary of this is that the accumulation of negative events can be offset by positive support from colleagues, friends, and family (see Grzywacz and Marks, 2000). Finally, this idea is consistent with Isen and Baron’s (1991) contention that ‘positive affect states induced by seemingly minor, everyday events can have significant effects on social behavior and cognitive processes that can be important for the functioning of organizations’ (p. 2). It is clear from AET that contextual factors play a pivotal role as determinants of employees’ fluctuating moods and emotions in the workplace. It is also important, however, first to understand the internal neurological and cognitive mechanisms that determine the impact of positive affective events on organizational behavior.
Level 1: Positive emotion at the within-person level of analysis
Neuropsychological correlates of positive emotion At the most basic level of understanding, neurobiological processes underlie the experience of emotion, including perception, and understanding and display of positive emotional expression. Mirroring the emphasis on negative emotions in organizational research, however, much of the literature in emotions research in general has been oriented towards the negative emotions. LeDoux, for example, based his pioneering work on a study of fear (see LeDoux, 1998). More recently, it has become clear that positive emotion is perceived, integrated and expressed by discrete neurobiological mechanisms that are quite distinct from the mechanisms associated with negative emotion (see LeDoux, 2000). In particular, recent research has revealed that positive environmental stimuli are recognized by the basal ganglia region of the brain, while negative or aversive environmental stimuli are processed primarily by the amygdala. The basal ganglia are programmed to encode sequences of behavior that, over time, have been repeated and rewarded – or at least not punished (Lieberman, 2000). The affective representations that are encoded by the basal ganglia support not only the execution of habitual behaviors but the prediction of what comes next in a sequence of thoughts or actions (LeDoux et al., 1989). These implicit skills are essential because they allow us to make automatic the sequences of thought and action that lead to adaptive success. Further, basal ganglia activation has been found to be associated with the experience of positive emotions in response to positive environmental stimuli (McPherson and Cummings, 1996). As such, and as Brieter and Rosen (1999) have shown, degeneration of the basal ganglia is associated
Positive Emotion in Organizations 59
with depression and a lack of motivation to adaptive environmental demands. The ability to perceive and integrate positive emotional stimuli thus has important implications for adaptive social functioning, and is mediated by the basal ganglia. Isen (2003) argues further that positive affect is a key facilitator of creativity. Consistent with the neuropsychological view noted earlier in this chapter, Isen and her colleagues (Ashby et al., 1999) posit that this process is mediated by the neurotransmitter dopamine. In their theory, dopamine levels in the blood are increased as a result of positive emotions, and the presence of this neurotransmitter in the anterior cingulate cortex is responsible for more creative and flexible cognitions. In effect, there is strong evidence that positive and negative affect are driven by distinct neural circuits. Moreover, in support of Ashkanasy’s (2003a) multi-level model, Isen (2003) argues that the impact of positive
affect on creativity at the group and organizational level derives from fundamental differences in mechanisms underlying the production of positive and negative affect, and differences in the impact of positive and negative affect on cognitive functioning. In the following, we describe theoretical frameworks for understanding the differential impact of positive and negative mood on cognitive processing. Cognitive correlates of positive emotion Several cognitive mechanisms have been proposed to underlie the differential impact of positive and negative affect on cognitive functioning. Affect influences both the content of cognition, and the strategies that people use to process information. As such, positive and negative mood have different effects on the content and processes of cognition.
Content effects
The content effects of mood have received considerable attention in affect and cognition research (Forgas and Bower, 1987). The primary finding here relates to the notion of ‘mood congruence’, which holds that individuals in a positive mood are likely to evaluate situational cues as correspondingly optimistic or positive, so that their associated judgments and decisions are also more likely to be positive. For example, people in a positive mood tend to form more positive impressions of others (Forgas et al.

Results (Indonesian) 1:

BAGIAN DUASERIKAT POSITIF, CIRI-CIRI DANPROSESEmosi positif dalam organisasi:Kerangka multi-levelNeal M. Ashkanasy dan Claire E. Ashton-James prinsip mendasar 'Positif organisasi beasiswa' (Cameron et al., 2003) adalah bahwa organisasi manajemen dan keputusan pengaturan perlu reframed dalam cahaya yang positif. Maka karena itu bahwa manajer perlu menggeser fokus mereka untuk aspek-aspek positif dari fungsi organisasidan prestasi, agak daripada memikirkan langkah-langkah defensif yang dibutuhkan untuk berurusan dengan nyata dan membayangkan kemungkinan negatif. Akibat wajar dari pandangan ini, pertama kali maju oleh Staw et al. (1994), dan lebih baru-baru ini dikonfirmasi oleh Lyubomirsky et al. (2005), adalah bahwa organisasi seperti perlu juga harus ditandai oleh emosi positif daripada negatif. Baru-baru ini, Ashkanasy dan Daus (2002) telah menggambarkan organisasi-organisasi ini dalam hal 'iklim emosional sehat'. Konsisten dengan proposisi ini dan didasarkan pada model multi-tingkat emosi dalam organisasi (Ashkanasy, 2003a; Ashkanasy dan Ashton-James, 2005), kami menjelaskan dalam bab ini bagaimana organisasi dapat menimbulkan emosi positif dan menyimpulkan bahwa emosi positif adalah prasyarat yang diperlukan dari perilaku organisasi yang positif. Meskipun Isen dan Baron (1991) mengidentifikasi pentingnya ringan positif mempengaruhi perilaku organisasi 15 tahun yang lalu, sejak maka banyak literatur yang telah ditangani dengan emosi di tempat kerja telah difokuskan pada emosi negatif. Sebagai contoh, Kebugaran (2000) mempelajari 'kemarahan di tempat kerja', Ashkanasy dan Nicholson (2003) mempelajari 'iklim ketakutan', sementara Frost (2003) difokuskan pada 'emosi beracun', termasuk pendahulunya dan konsekuensi, dan resep untuk berurusan dengan emosi beracun. Dalam bab ini, kita kembali ke Roh Isen dan Baron's artikel dan menekankan hubungan antara emosi positif dan kinerja yang luar biasa dalam konteks organisasi. Juga, dan konsisten dengan Isen (2003), kami berpendapat bahwa emosi positif terkait dengan individu dan kelompok kreativitas. Baru-baru ini, Lyubomirsky et al. (2005) menemukan, dalam luas meta-analisis, yang mempengaruhi positif mengarah ke hasil yang lebih sukses daripada negatif mempengaruhi berbagai domain kontekstual, termasuk di tempat kerja. Teori pengaruh positif dalam organisasi yang kami berangkat di sini dengan demikian menyediakan dasar untuk memahami bagaimana dan Kapan organisasi dapat menumbuhkan emosi positif, dan mengapa emosi positif harus dikaitkan dengan perilaku yang positif. Perspektif yang multi-tingkat kami hadir dalam bab ini untuk mengatasi masalah ini adalah berdasarkan model 5-tingkat emosi dalam organisasi-organisasi yang dijelaskan oleh Ashkanasy (2003a):Tingkat 1. neuropsychological dan kognitif berkorelasi positif emosidi tingkat dalam orang analisa;Tingkat 2. perbedaan individu dalam emosi positif di betweenpersonstingkat analisa;Tingkat 3. komunikasi emosi positif di dyadic (hubungan)tingkat analisa;Level 4. penyebaran emosi positif di tingkat kelompok analisa;danTingkat 5. penciptaan iklim emosional yang positif di organisasitingkat analisis.Pendahulunya emosi positif dalam organisasiSebagian besar penelitian pada pendahulunya emosi positif berfokus pada proses kognitif penilaian yang memulai reaksi emosional kegiatan positif (misalnya Lazarus, 1991). Sifat dari peristiwa-peristiwa tertentu yang memicu emosi positif dalam lingkungan organisasi baru-baru ini telah dipertimbangkan, namun (Lihat Fredrickson dan Brannigan, 2001). Untuk mengatasi hal ini dalam konteks tertentu tempat kerja, kita mendasarkan diskusi kita pada Weiss dan Cropanzano (1996) afektif peristiwa teori (AET), dan menggunakan ini sebagai kerangka dasar untuk menggambarkan faktor penentu situasional emosi positif di tempat kerja pengaturan. Weiss dan Cropanzano (1996) berpendapat bahwa peristiwa dan kondisi di tempat kerja yang memfasilitasi pencapaian tujuan kerja merupakan positif 'afektif acara', dan peristiwa-peristiwa yang pada akhirnya menentukan terjadinya suasana hati dan emosi. Seperti emosi dan suasana hati dapat menyebabkan pembentukan sikap lebih jangka panjang, tercermin dalam kepuasan kerja dan afektif komitmen, atau bahkan organisasi kesetiaan (Lihat Wright et al., 1993; Wright dan Cropanzano, 1998). Kontribusi seminalis AET adalah bahwa ini merupakan upaya untuk memahami mengapa karyawan saat ke saat suasana hati berfluktuasi dalam lingkungan kerja. Hasil lebih lanjut dari AET adalah pentingnya akumulasi kerepotan dan uplifts. Jadi, daripada intensitas dari peristiwa-peristiwa utama yang menjadi sumber sikapdan perilaku di tempat kerja, menurut AET, emosi ditentukan lebih oleh frekuensi dengan mana kerepotan atau uplifts terjadi (Lihat Fisher, 2000;58 Serikat positif, ciri-ciri dan prosesFisher dan mulia, 2004; Weiss dan Beal, 2005). Kesimpulan ini menyiratkan atas emosi negatif orang-orang lebih mampu menangani sekali-off insiden daripada mereka berurusan dengan kerepotan yang sedang berlangsung. Akibat wajar lebih lanjut dari ini adalah bahwa akumulasi dari kejadian negatif dapat diseimbangkan dengan dukungan yang positif dari rekan-rekan, teman, dan keluarga (Lihat Grzywacz dan tanda, 2000). Akhirnya, ide ini konsisten dengan Isen dan Baron's contention (1991) bahwa 'Serikat pengaruh positif yang disebabkan oleh peristiwa-peristiwa yang tampaknya kecil, sehari-hari dapat memiliki efek yang signifikan pada perilaku sosial dan proses kognitif yang dapat menjadi penting untuk fungsi organisasi' (halaman 2). Hal ini jelas dari AET bahwa faktor-faktor kontekstual memainkan peran penting sebagai faktor penentu karyawan fluktuasi suasana hati dan emosi di tempat kerja. Hal ini juga penting, namun, pertama untuk memahami mekanisme neurologis dan kognitif internal yang menentukan dampak positif afektif peristiwa pada perilaku organisasi.Tingkat 1: Emosi positif di tingkat dalam orang analisisNeuropsychological correlates of positive emotion At the most basic level of understanding, neurobiological processes underlie the experience of emotion, including perception, and understanding and display of positive emotional expression. Mirroring the emphasis on negative emotions in organizational research, however, much of the literature in emotions research in general has been oriented towards the negative emotions. LeDoux, for example, based his pioneering work on a study of fear (see LeDoux, 1998). More recently, it has become clear that positive emotion is perceived, integrated and expressed by discrete neurobiological mechanisms that are quite distinct from the mechanisms associated with negative emotion (see LeDoux, 2000). In particular, recent research has revealed that positive environmental stimuli are recognized by the basal ganglia region of the brain, while negative or aversive environmental stimuli are processed primarily by the amygdala. The basal ganglia are programmed to encode sequences of behavior that, over time, have been repeated and rewarded – or at least not punished (Lieberman, 2000). The affective representations that are encoded by the basal ganglia support not only the execution of habitual behaviors but the prediction of what comes next in a sequence of thoughts or actions (LeDoux et al., 1989). These implicit skills are essential because they allow us to make automatic the sequences of thought and action that lead to adaptive success. Further, basal ganglia activation has been found to be associated with the experience of positive emotions in response to positive environmental stimuli (McPherson and Cummings, 1996). As such, and as Brieter and Rosen (1999) have shown, degeneration of the basal ganglia is associatedEmosi positif dalam organisasi 59dengan depresi dan kurangnya motivasi adaptif tuntutan lingkungan. Kemampuan untuk memahami dan mengintegrasikan rangsangan emosi positif justru memiliki implikasi yang penting untuk fungsi sosial adaptif dan dimediasi oleh basal ganglia. Isen (2003) berpendapat lebih lanjut yang positif mempengaruhi adalah fasilitator kunci kreativitas. Konsisten dengan pandangan neuropsychological dicatat sebelumnya dalam bab ini, Isen dan rekan-rekannya (Ashby et al., 1999) menempatkan bahwa proses ini diperantarai oleh dopamin neurotransmitter. Dalam teori mereka, kadar dopamin dalam darah yang meningkat sebagai hasil dari emosi positif dan kehadiran ini neurotransmitter dalam korteks cingulate anterior bertanggung jawab untuk lebih kreatif dan fleksibel kognisi. Akibatnya, terdapat bukti kuat yang positif dan negatif mempengaruhi didorong oleh sirkuit saraf yang berbeda. Selain itu, untuk mendukung Ashkanasy (2003a) model multi-tingkat, Isen (2003) berpendapat bahwa dampak positifmempengaruhi pada kreativitas kelompok dan tingkat organisasi berasal dari perbedaan mendasar dalam mekanisme yang mendasari produksi positif dan negatif mempengaruhi, dan perbedaan dampak positif dan negatif mempengaruhi fungsi kognitif. Dalam berikut, kami menjelaskan teoritis kerangka untuk memahami dampak diferensial mood yang positif dan negatif pada pengolahan kognitif. Kognitif berkorelasi positif emosi, beberapa mekanisme kognitif telah diajukan untuk mendasari diferensial dampak positif dan negatif mempengaruhi fungsi kognitif. Mempengaruhi mempengaruhi isi dari kognisi dan strategi yang digunakan orang untuk memproses informasi. Dengan demikian, suasana hati yang positif dan negatif memiliki efek yang berbeda pada konten dan proses kognisi. Efek kontenEfek konten suasana hati yang telah menerima perhatian dalam mempengaruhi dan kognisi penelitian (Forgas dan Bower, 1987). Temuan utama di sini berkaitan dengan pengertian tentang 'suasana harmoni', yang memegang bahwa individu dalam suasana hati yang positif mungkin untuk mengevaluasi situasional isyarat sebagai sejalan optimis atau positif, sehingga mereka terkait penilaian dan keputusan yang juga lebih cenderung menjadi positif. Sebagai contoh, orang-orang dalam mood yang positif cenderung membentuk lebih tayangan positif dari orang lain (Forgas et al.