Emotion

Conceptual Overview

To grasp the detail of what emotion is requires an appreciation of the different perspectives that inform [Page 429]our understanding of emotion. These can be broadly classified as biological, cognitive, psychodynamic, and social constructionist.

A biological viewpoint holds that emotional responses are rooted fundamentally in the way our neurological and chemical system is “wired,” a product of many millennia of human evolutionary development. Indeed, there is persuasive evidence that specific areas of the brain, especially a small region called the amygdala, signal when anger, fear, or aggression is required. Following the insights of Charles Darwin's The Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals, emotions such as fear, anger, and rage are seen to have been biologically crucial for our primitive ancestors in dealing with threats to their very survival. Such impulses are still present in our emotional makeup, even though threats to life and limb are now far less likely than threats to one's esteem or competence, such as from feeling insulted, unfairly treated, or demeaned. The biological perspective typically seeks universal trends, and researchers such as Paul Ekman have revealed that some facial expressions of emotions such as fear, sadness, disgust, and enjoyment are recognizable across very different national cultures. The shadows of our Stone Age past are, according to evolutionary organizational psychologists, still detectable in particular present-day organizational behaviors, such as in patterns of hierarchy, male dominance, alliances, and aggression. They suggest that this is a “given” that inevitably limits attempts to democratize the workplace.

Cognitive approaches take a rather different starting point: It is the appraisal of what we see or hear that determines the kind of feeling we experience and the emotion we express. Appraisal refers to the way we make sense or meaning of what is before us; an emotional response then follows. A snake may be appraised as dangerous, triggering fear and flight; a look of disapproval from a boss elicits anxiety and wariness. Richard Lazarus and his colleagues have been predominant advocates of appraisal theory. They refer to primary appraisal and secondary appraisal. The former determines the extent to which a particular situation is felt to impinge on the person: “What's this got to do with me?” And if it does, secondary appraisal addresses “What can I do about it?” Appraisal theory has been influential in our understanding of stress responses in the workplace and, more recently, a broader range of emotions.

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