A MULTILEVEL MODEL

To structure our discussion of the consequences of emotion, we have adopted inthis sectionthe multilevel model set out inAshkan asy (2003a). This model, depicted in Figure 6.1, spans five levels of analysis: (1) within- person, (2) between-persons (individual differences), (3) interpersonal relationships (dyads), (4) groups, and (5) the organization as a whole. Ashkanasy (2003b) argues that human neurobiology is the integrating mechanism across the five levels of the model.

Level 1 forms the foundation of the multilevel model. This level incor- porates within-person neuropsychological processes, including the physiological manifestations of emotion that shape cognitive functioning (see Ashkanasy, Ha¨rtel, & Zerbe, 2000). Importantly, and as Ashkanasy et al. note, these affective reactions to events are largely beyond conscious control. Further, and consistent with AET, emotional reactions mediate the effects of everyday hassles and uplifts on outcomes. In this respect, it should be noted that it is the accumulation of frequent events, rather than infrequent intense effects, that are likely to have the most profound effects in terms of attitudes and behaviors (Diener, Smith, & Fujita, 1995).

Organizational

Level 5

level Policies Culture/climate

Affective effects

Level 4

in groups

Leader −Member

exchange Interpersonal

Emotional contagion

Level 3

Mood Requests/Negotiation Emotional labor

Individual differences

Attitudes

Trait affectivity

Affective

Level 2

Emotional intelligence

commitment Job satisfaction

Affective events

Performance Cognitive

reactions

Quitting processes

Mood

State affectivity

Helping

Figure 6.1 The multilevel model of emotions in organizations. Adapted from Ashkanasy (2003a), Emotions in organizations: A multilevel perspective, in: Dansereau and Yammarino (eds), Research in Multi-Level Issues , 2, 9–54, Oxford: Elsevier Science.

230 I NTERNATIONAL R EVIEW OF I NDUSTRIAL AND O RGANIZATIONAL P SYCHOLOGY 2005 Level 2 represents individual differences in the model. This level includes

dispositional variables such as trait affect (Watson & Tellegen, 1985) and emotional intelligence (Mayer & Salovey, 1997; Salovey & Mayer, 1990); and attitudes such as affective commitment (Meyer & Allen, 1991) and job satisfaction (Judge & Larsen, 2001). Individual differences impact on every level of the model, with the exception of Level 5 (organizational culture and climate). In particular, individual differences moderate emotional reactions at Level 1 and thereby impact on attitudes and behaviors expressed at Level 2. Individual differences, especially emotional intelligence, also affect expression and perception of emotion at Level 3 (interpersonal) that, in turn, constitute affective events at Level 1, and play a role at Level 4 (groups), through the role of emotional intelligence in leadership and group processes (Ashkanasy & Tse, 2000; George, 2000). In addition, individual differences can also act as moderators of the antecedents and consequences of emotional reactions. In this respect, Jordan, Ashkanasy, and Ha¨rtel (2002) argue that highly emotionally intelligent individuals are more able than their low- emotional intelligence counterparts to interpret and to deal with affective events, and also to regulate the effects of their emotions. Finn and Chattopadhyay (2000) argue similarly that trait affectivity affects the severity and effect of emotional reactions to events.

Perception of emotion in interpersonal exchanges (Level 3) is posited to lie at the meso-level of the model (House, Rousseau, & Thomas-Hunt, 1995), and connects to all the other levels, including leader–member exchange at Level 4, and organizational climate, culture, and policies at Level 5. Expression of emotion that is different from personally felt emotion, as in the instance of emotional labor, however, is difficult, especially when sus- tained (Ekman, 1992). The significance of this level and the issues raised in the processes that underlie emotional display explain in part why there has been such intense research interest in phenomena at Level 2, and also why this level has such important implications for practice.

Level 4 encompasses group interactions, including group affective com- position (Kelly & Barsade, 2001), emotional contagion, and leader–member exchange (see Cogliser & Schriesheim, 2000). Ashkanasy and Tse (2000) have emphasized in particular the interconnected role of leadership in governing and reacting to emotions in groups, concluding that a leader’s emotional acumen may be central to group effectiveness as well as a determinant of the individual performance of team members.

At the highest level of the model (Level 5) are organizational policies, climate, and culture. These encompass the emotional atmosphere, which De Rivera (1992) asserts can be ‘palpably sensed’ within organizations. Driven by top management, this dimension can include positive climate, as well as a ‘climate of fear’ (Ashkanasy & Nicholson, 2003). Organizational policies and industry practice are also important determinants of requirements for emotional labor (see Hochschild, 1983), which can have far-

231 policies canimpact: (1) directly onemployees inthe form of affective events

E MOTION IN O RGANIZATIONS

precipitated by managers (Weiss & Cropanzano, 1996); (2) the affective climate of the organization, which in turn may determine the affective com- positionof groups (see Kelly & Barsade, 2001); an d (3) leader–member exchanges at Level 4 (see Cogliser & Schriesheim, 2000) that, in turn, can directly affect employee behavior. Organizational policies can also (4) constitute an input to perception of emotion, most particularly in the form of requirements for emotional labor.

In the following discussion, we expand on the ideas in Ashkanasy (2003a) to provide an up-to-date review, incorporating some of the more recent findings on the role of emotions and affect as determinants of human thought and behavior. Note, however, that this is not a reiterationof the Ashkanasy (2003a) model. Rather, the theoretical framework described inthis chapter is an elaboration and expansion of Ashkanasy’s (2003a) model, incorporating research developments and additional concepts that allow the model to provide a more comprehensive analysis of the many levels at which affect influ- ences cognition and behavior in organizations. We begin with a discussion of neurobiology, which we emphasize once again underpins the whole of our argument concerning the centrality of emotion as a determinant of thought and behavior in organizational settings. In the following sections, we build upon this basis, and incorporate additional literature sources to flesh out further the multilevel model, and to extend its applicability in work settings.

LEVEL 1: WITHIN-PERSON

A within-person analysis of emotions in organizations considers the neuropsychological, psychophysiological, and cognitive correlates of affective events in the workplace. From this microlevel perspective, neural structures receive and interpret affective stimuli in the workplace environment, and initiate physiological changes that underlie the experience and expression of emotions in the workplace. The experience of positive and negative affect also impacts upon cognitive processes, and subsequently the way in which we interpret and respond to affective stimuli.

Neuropsychological Mechanisms

The neural substrates of human emotion have received considerable attention recently, and continue to do so. Major theoretical treatises on the brain and emotion by Damasio (1994), LeDoux (1996), Davidson (2000), and Lane (2000) have been possible largely because of recent experimental findings in animals, observations of patients with brain lesions, and brain-imaging techniques such as Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and functional

A MULTILEVEL MODEL