Emotions and Emotional Intelligence

• This text discusses emotions, emotional intelligence, and their impact on work environments.

Why Emotions Matter

• It explores the interplay between rationality and emotionality in human behavior.
• Considers whether thought is possible without emotion.
• Highlights that emotions constantly guide us.

Affect Revolution

• It marks a shift in neuroscience and psychology.
• Emotions are recognized as critical in cognition, decision-making, and social interaction.
• Affect influences how memories are encoded, stored, and recalled.
• Brain structures like the amygdala and hippocampus play a vital role in processing emotions.
• Phineas Gage's case demonstrates the importance of affective systems in cognitive function.
• He was known for being responsible, well-organized, and reliable before an accident in 1848.
• A metal rod pierced through his frontal lobe.
• Post-accident, Gage became impulsive, irrational, and empathetic.
• Frontal lobe damage impacts personality development, emotion regulation and decision-making.
• Prefrontal cortex is crucial for social behavior and affective reactions.

All Feelings in Two Dimensions - James A. Russell Model:

• Russell's model uses a two-axis circle to map emotions.
• Lerner and Keltner found that emotions with the same valence and activation level can lead to different cognitive evaluations and consequences.

Positive Emotions and Positive Emotions at Work

• The right side of James A. Russel's model shows you can broaden and build theory.

What is evolutionarily good with positive emotions?

• Expands thinking when positive and fun, enabling new ideas and solutions.

Positive Emotions at Work – Benefits

• It fosters belief in one's abilities (self-efficacy).
• Enhances engagement and provides a sense of meaning.
• Encourages prosocial behavior
• Increases social support among individuals.
• Leads to extra-role behavior.
• Employees do more work and help others.
• People do not switch jobs.
• Good-mood individuals often benefit from the "Halo effect."
• There is a risk in recruitment because people are assigned more positive qualities.
• Depressive realism vs positive illusions.

Broaden-and-Build Theory of Barbara Fredrickson

• It explains how positive emotions contribute to human development.
• Positive emotions broaden thought processes and behaviors which build long-term resources.
• Facilitate new knowledge structures that benefit future problem-solving.
• Experiencing positive emotions helps with kindness.
• Expands ideas helps engagement and demonstrating care.
• Strengthens relationships, develops stability, and increases resilience.

Components of Happiness

• Most researchers have found happiness is created by the emotional component, which has two parts:
• How happy or sad a person is with their lives

What actually makes us happy at work

• 13% Belonging
• 9% Trust
• 8% Purpose
• 8% Inclusion
• 8% Support
• 7% Appreciation
• 7% Achievement
• 7% Learning
• 7% Manager support
• 5% Paid fairly
• 5% Flexibility

Do happy workplaces function?

• Yes, it is directly correlated to many factors.
• Including:
  • Customer Loyalty
  • Employee productivity
  • Profitability
  • Employee turnover

Causality

• Connection that happiness leads to performance is examined.
• Happiness has a correlation with stock performance
• Study measured the performance of salespeople in the British Telecom company in the UK.
• Those with windows at their workplace felt better when the weather was better.

Conclusion to Study

• Increased happiness from favorable weather boosted productivity, causing 12% more sales.
• It was found that happiness leads to productivity
• Positive emotions are tied to more motivation, better interpersonal relationships, and more organizational cohesion.
• Individuals with high emotional intelligence understand their feelings and respond appropriately.
• Four key steps: Register/express emotions, use them to think better, understand your partners/colleagues emotions, handle your own emotions.
• It can be an advantage in emotionally demanding jobs.

Can you catch feelings?

• Emotional states can spread from one person to another
• Baby monkey's become upset when an adult monkey makes an angry face, but these tests had to be performed on monkeys separated from their peers.
• Babies can even replicate the facial expressions they see around them.
• In fact, mothers have shown the ability to mimic the emotional expressions of their newborns.