The ripple effect: Emotional contagion and its influence on group behavior

• 成果类型: Review
• 署名作者: Barsade, SG
• 署名单位: Yale University
• 刊物名称: ADMINISTRATIVE SCIENCE QUARTERLY
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0001-8392
• DOI: 10.2307/3094912
• 发表日期: 2002
• 页码: 644-675
• 关键词: individual-differences; NONVERBAL EXPRESSIVENESS; facial expressions; feeling good; positive affect; negative affect; self-efficacy; MOOD LINKAGE; TASK DESIGN; performance

摘要

Group emotional contagion, the transfer of moods among people in a group, and its influence on work group dynamics was examined in a laboratory study of managerial decision making using multiple, convergent measures of mood, individual attitudes, behavior, and group-level dynamics. Using a 2 x 2 experimental design, with a trained confederate enacting mood conditions, the predicted effect of emotional contagion was found among group members, using both outside coders' ratings of participants' mood and participants' self-reported mood. No hypothesized differences in contagion effects due to the degree of pleasantness of the mood expressed and the energy level with which it was conveyed were found. There was a significant influence of emotional contagion on individual-level attitudes and group processes. As predicted, the positive emotional contagion group members experienced improved cooperation, decreased conflict, and increased perceived task performance. Theoretical implications and practical ramifications of emotional contagion in groups and organizations are discussed.