Comparing integral and incidental emotions: Testing insights from emotions as social information theory and attribution theory.

Abstract

Studies have indicated that observers can infer information about others' behavioral intentions from others' emotions and use this information in making their own decisions. Integrating emotions as social information (EASI) theory and attribution theory, we argue that the interpersonal effects of emotions are not only influenced by the type of discrete emotion (e.g., anger vs. happiness) but also by the target of the emotion (i.e., how the emotion relates to the situation). We compare the interpersonal effects of emotions that are integral (i.e., related to the situation) versus incidental (i.e., lacking a clear target in the situation) in a negotiation context. Results from 4 studies support our general argument that the target of an opponent's emotion influences the degree to which observers attribute the emotion to their own behavior. These attributions influence observers' inferences regarding the perceived threat of an impasse or cooperativeness of an opponent, which can motivate observers to strategically adjust their behavior. Specifically, emotion target influenced concessions for both anger and happiness (Study 1, N = 254), with perceived threat and cooperativeness mediating the effects of anger and happiness, respectively (Study 2, N = 280). Study 3 (N = 314) demonstrated the mediating role of attributions and moderating role of need for closure. Study 4 (N = 193) outlined how observers' need for cognitive closure influences how they attribute incidental anger. We discuss theoretical implications related to the social influence of emotions as well as practical implications related to the impact of personality on negotiators' biases and behaviors. (PsycINFO Database Record

Contagion of Entrepreneurial Passion: Effects on Employee Outcomes

“…Entrepreneurial passion is likely to be recognizable by others (Hatfield et al, 1994; Sullins, 1991), because most passionate entrepreneurs display their passion to the people around them, act with passion, and express their passion for entrepreneurial activities (Cardon, 2008). The contagion of entrepreneurial passion, like the contagion of other emotional states, can be triggered by emotional and cognitive cues (Hillebrandt & Barclay, 2017; Kelly & Barsade, 2001) and can include subconscious and conscious processing (Hess & Fischer, 2013).…”

“…Due to the effect of positive affect on employees (Forgas & George, 2001; Vallerand et al, 2007), perceptions of entrepreneurs’ passion should also influence employee goal commitment, and more performance-related outcomes such as effort and creativity, which are highly important for entrepreneurial activity. Employee perceptions of entrepreneurs’ passion influence their appraisals of whether or not entrepreneurial activities are pleasant (Hillebrandt & Barclay, 2017; Peters & Kashima, 2015) and serve as a signal that the entrepreneurial tasks are of great importance, such that employees become committed to the tasks’ goals, leading to goal commitment. When employees feel and understand the tasks’ importance, they are more likely to put extra effort into their work (Foo et al, 2009).…”

Mind the First Step: The Intrapersonal Effects of Affect on the Decision to Initiate Negotiations under Bargaining Power Asymmetry

“…Finally, state affect in this study was manipulated using incidental emotions, which were unrelated to that situation. Future research may as well find a different pattern in the results if these emotions arose from a decision at hand (integral emotion; Lerner et al, 2015 ; Hillebrandt and Barclay, 2017 ).…”

“…In the negotiation literature, most studies are concerned with integral affect since they have shown to convey more strategic information and thus have a stronger influence on the recipients’ judgments and behavior ( Van Kleef, 2016 ; Hillebrandt and Barclay, 2017 ). Recent studies have shown that incidental emotions have stronger intrapersonal carry over than integral emotions ( Schwarz and Clore, 1983 ; Lerner et al, 2015 ; Van Kleef, 2016 ).…”

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“…People may also use emotions and feelings as sense-making data. Management scholars have recently applied attribution theory to explain how negotiators attributed perceived threat and cooperativeness to their counterparts' emotions (Hillebrandt and Barclay 2017), how individuals' varied attributions of supervisor behavior led to different emotions and behavioral responses (Oh and Farh 2017), and how the attribution of external or internal locus of control could explain stakeholders' perception of foreign organizations (Crilly et al 2016). The premise that VBM draws from attribution theory is that people square their experiences or proactively anticipate future encounters using resources, such as personal values, that they currently have.…”