Does Leader-Affective Presence Influence Communication of Creative Ideas Within Work Teams?

Affective presence is a novel, emotion-related personality trait, supported in experimental studies, concerning the extent to which a person makes his or her interaction partners feel the same way (Eisenkraft & Elfenbein, 2010). Applying this concept to an applied teamwork context, we proposed that team-leader-affective presence would influence team members' communication of creative ideas. Multilevel modeling analysis of data from a survey study conducted with teams from a consultancy firm confirmed that team-leader-affective presence interacted with team-member creative idea generation to predict inhibition of voicing their ideas. Specifically, withholding of ideas was less likely when team members generated creative ideas and their team leader had higher positive affective presence or lower negative affective presence. These findings contribute to emotion research by showing affective presence as a trait with interpersonal meaning, which can shape how cognition is translated into social behavior in applied performance contexts, such as teamwork in organizations. (PsycINFO Database Recor

The Boomerang Effect: How Nurses' Regulation of Patients' Affect Associates With Their Own Emotional Exhaustion and Affective Experiences

Recent research has shown that the intentional regulation of others’ affect has effects not only on the target (e.g., a patient) of the regulation, but also on the agent (e.g., a nurse). In particular, the use of intentional interpersonal affect regulation strategies has been found to predict employees’ emotional exhaustion (EEx). Use of affect-worsening strategies is associated with an increase in EEx, whereas the effect of using affect-improving strategies is less clear. Another relevant consequence of interpersonal affect regulation is its effect on affective experiences, which is one of the main determinants of job attitudes. This study tests the relationships between the interpersonal affect regulation strategies that nurses use to regulate their patients’ affect and the nurses’ EEx and affective experiences. A longitudinal 2-wave field study was conducted in sample of nurses. Participants completed a questionnaire on 2 different occasions, 2 months apart (Time 1 [T1], Time 2 [T2]). Of the 141 participants at T1, 103 also completed the survey at T2. Longitudinal hierarchical regression analyses showed that using affect-worsening strategies was a significant predictor of nurse’s EEx, whereas using affect-improving strategies did not significantly predict their EEx. For affective experiences, use of affect-worsening strategies was related to nurses experiencing low-activation negative affect (e.g., feeling depressed); whereas affect-improving strategies was related to them experiencing low-activation positive affect (e.g., feeling calm). Results support the view that intentional regulation of patients’ affect needs to be considered not only in relation to the patients’ perception of service quality but also from the perspective of nurses’ well-being

The effect of fiction on the well-being of older adults : a longitudinal RCT intervention study using audiobooks

Research has examined the psychological benefits of fiction, particularly for socio-cognitive and interpersonal processes, but has yet to examine whether it can have an impact on individuals’ personal well-being in a natural setting over time. A longitudinal randomized control trial (RCT) using audiobooks was conducted to compare the effects of fiction (novels, short stories) and non-fiction on the well-being (subjective, eudaimonic, social) of 94 older adults from diverse urban communities over a six-week period. Participants chose one of four books in the condition to which they were allocated. The participants in the fiction, compared to non-fiction, conditions did not show greater improvements in any aspect of well-being over the study period. However, regression analysis controlling for initial levels of well-being showed that individuals who reported greater absorption in, and appreciation of, their audiobook showed greater subsequent wellbeing, particularly meaning in life, that extended beyond book completion. The findings indicate that an audiobook can have a positive enduring impact on various aspects of older adults’ well-being, but it depends on them having a personal engagement with its content, and not on its designation as fiction or non-fiction

Cognitive Analytic Therapy for Obsessive Morbid Jealousy: A Case Series

The evidence base for integrative forms of psychotherapy for obsessive morbid jealousy (OMJ) is very limited and so this study sought to examine the effectiveness of cognitive analytic therapy (CAT) in a small case series. Three A/B with extended follow-up single case experimental designs (SCEDs) were completed, with 1 male and 2 female patients presenting with OMJ. Results indicate that on the daily ideographic jealousy measures (across and within each case) there was evidence of significant reductions in morbid jealousy (and other associated symptoms) during the treatment phase. Treatment effects were also seen to be maintained over the follow-up period in these ideographic measures. On the primary nomothetic measure, all cases were classed as "nonjealous" by follow-up. Partner violence was extinguished across all cases. This article provides evidence of CAT offering promise as a suitable OMJ treatment option. Methodological limitations, theoretical insights, and treatment implications are all discussed

Individual differences in mixed emotions moderate the negative consequences of goal conflict on life purpose

Pursuing two incompatible goals (goal conflict) is commonly viewed as pernicious for individual well-being. Recent research has also shown that sometimes goal conflict instigates the experience of mixed emotions (co-activation of positive and negative emotions), and in turn, mixed emotions has been linked to some beneficial outcomes, including self-control and eudaimonic well-being. In the present study we formulated mixed emotions as an individual difference, and hypothesized that individual differences in mixed emotions can moderate the relationship between goal conflict and life purpose, a dimension of eudaimonic well-being. A sample of 73 individuals participated in an experience sampling study, producing over 2500 observations. Moderation analysis using multilevel modeling showed that goal conflict was negatively related to life-purpose, but more importantly this effect was qualified by a significant cross-level interaction, such that the negative effect of goal conflict on life purpose was weaker for individuals who commonly experienced greater mixed emotions. Given that conflicting goals are commonplace, experiencing mixed emotions may be beneficial for individuals

Silver linings in the face of temptations: how mixed emotions promote self-control efforts in response to goal conflict

Choosing between conflicting goals is a frequent yet difficult problem, especially when temptations are involved because self-control effort is required to overcome them. This study investigated whether experiencing mixed emotions in response to goal conflict can facilitate the necessary self-control effort needed to resist temptations. A sample of 73 individuals participated in an intensive longitudinal study, completing several measures 4 times a day during ten consecutive days, producing over 2500 observations. Results derived from using multilevel structural equation modeling confirmed that mixed emotions mediated the relationship between perceived goal conflict and intentions to resist temptations, over and above the influence of single positive emotions or negative emotions, and trait levels of self-control. Implication of these findings for collaboration and the impact of mixed emotions in more general social dilemmas are explored