COMM 160 - Quiz 1

Week 1: What is Emotion?

  • Emotion Myths:

    • Hardwired: Assumed to be present from birth and universal.

    • Reactive: Seen as an instinctual reaction, with rational thinking overcoming emotion.

    • Misconception: Emotional responses indicate weakness or moral failure.

  • How Emotions Work:

    • No universal definition among scientists.

    • Emotional experiences vary between individuals.

    • Emotions involve both brain regulation and bodily signals.

      • You experience a summary of what your body is experiencing = simple feelings

    • Emotions act as a tool to fix problems in your body

      • Ex: diagnostic of what is happening around you vs. going through something challenging 

      • Brain used past experiences to predict what will happen regarding emotions 

    • Emotions are made up of past experiences , predictions of future events, and are something we actively participate in 

  • Emotions in Organizations:

    • Goals of Bureaucracy: chain of command (vertical authority), specialization of labor to create efficiency 

      • Assumption: people are rational beings and can operate like machines

    • Key Concepts: 1) emotions are the most powerful force inside the workplace, 2) emotional needs are the same for everyone: to belong and feel heard 

    • Role of leaders to manage emotion work

      • How emotions influence decisions, thought, and working towards a  common goal 

    • Emotionally intelligent workplaces are influenced by structure and culture 

Week 2: Emotional Labor

  • Definition: Managing emotions as part of one’s job role.

  • 5 Types of Emotional Labor:

    • Emotional labor: schism between felt emotions and those necessary for the job 

      • Deep acting: convincing yourself of emotions, adding empathy to organizational needs 

      • Surface acting: covering up true feelings 

    • Emotion work: emotion is the central focus of the work; i.e. focus on relationships 

    • Emotion with work: relationships with coworkers influencing emotions more than just at work

    • Emotion at work: private emotions become a part of public work life 

      • Outside emotions being brought in to work 

    • Emotion toward work: object of the emotion is the work or the workplace 

  • Workplace Impact:

    • Emotional intelligence is linked to increased workplace success.

    • Positive outcomes include inspiration, respect, and happiness.

    • Negative emotions like frustration and anger can decrease productivity.

Week 3: The RULER Framework

  • Recognition: Understanding and identifying emotions in oneself and others.

  • Importance of Recognition:

    • Most communication is nonverbal.

    • People often misinterpret others' emotions.

    • Verbal communication is crucial in emotion science.

    • Effective questioning and listening are essential for emotional recognition.

  • Understanding: wishing to understand what causes our or other’s emotions 

  • Importance of Understanding: 

    • Developed skills in which one must search for underlying themes of possible causes 

    • Includes storytelling, pattern seeking, and perspective taking 

  • Labeling: the vocabulary to put our emotions in perspective as a form of regulation 

  • Importance of Labeling:

    • Legitimizes our experiences & creates mental model of the world 

    • Helps others meet our needs, get to causes, and makes empathy available

    • Helps us meet the needs of others 

    • Connects us to the rest of the world 

      • Emotional granularity: adaptive value of putting feelings inot words with high degree of complexity 

Week 4: Regulating Emotions and Emotional Contagion

  • Definition: Adjusting emotional responses to fit situations and goals.

  • Methods:

    • Suppression: Inhibiting outward emotional expression.

    • Self-compassion: Treating oneself with kindness.

    • Co-regulation: Managing emotions in social interactions.

  • Strategies:

    • Mindfulness: paying attention to the present moment in a non-judgmental way; fosters awareness without being overwhelmed 

    • Forward-Looking: RUL, use of self-knowledge predicting situations that are uncomfortable and planning for them (avoid or reward)

    • Attention shifting: temper the impact of an emotion by diverting our attention

      • Distraction: can do more harm than good; instagram, netflix, snacks

      • Self-talk: refer to self in the third person to gain psychological distance from experiences

    • Cognitive-reframing/reappraisal: seeking alternate way of viewing difficulties as a path of balance; consciously choosing to view a situation in a way that generates the least negative reaction

    • Meta-Moment: sense shift, pause, see your best self, strategize, and act  

  • Emotional Contagion:

    • Transfer of moods or emotions from one person to another; person or group influences emotions of another through conscious or unconscious induction of emotion states 

    • Positive emotions boost morale; negative ones increase stress.

  • 4 Elements of Emotional Contagion:

    • 1. Comprised of discrete emotions and generalized moods

    • 2. Occurs via subconscious and conscious process (both elicits and targets of emotional contagion)

    • 3. Can take place within dyads, small groups, organization, and larger societal electives 

    • 4. Represents type of social influence that changes how people feel, what they think, and their actions 

  • Management:

    • Be aware of emotional influence.

    • Regulate emotions to create a supportive environment.

    • Use emotional intelligence to mitigate negativity.

Key Takeaways:

  • Emotions are complex and individualized.

  • Emotional intelligence plays a significant role in workplace success.

  • Recognizing and regulating emotions improves interpersonal relationships and productivity.

  • Effective emotion management leads to personal and social benefits.

  • Emotional contagion highlights the importance of maintaining a positive emotional climate.


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