Negative emotions in informal feedback: The benefits of disappointment and drawbacks of anger
Using the emotions as social information (EASI) model, this study investigated the emotional, attitudinal and behavioral reactions to failure feedback by manipulating negative emotional displays (angry, disappointed or none) and the position level and relational distance of the feedback source. Unde...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
| Published: |
2014
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/38488 |
| _version_ | 1848755333854396416 |
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| author | Johnson, Genevieve Connelly, S. |
| author_facet | Johnson, Genevieve Connelly, S. |
| author_sort | Johnson, Genevieve |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Using the emotions as social information (EASI) model, this study investigated the emotional, attitudinal and behavioral reactions to failure feedback by manipulating negative emotional displays (angry, disappointed or none) and the position level and relational distance of the feedback source. Undergraduate students (N = 260) responded to an organizational failure feedback vignette and completed a subsequent performance task. Results demonstrated that guilt was the complementary emotional experience following displays of disappointment, while reciprocal anger followed displays of anger. These emotional reactions served as important mediators between the emotional displays paired with the feedback message and participant responses of social behaviors, creative task performance and perceptions of the feedback source. In addition, our findings indicated that negative emotions can have positive organizational and interpersonal outcomes. Guilt in response to disappointed displays resulted in beneficial behaviors and attitudes, while anger in response to angry displays was socially detrimental. The emotion displayed during feedback provision also served as a consistent contextual factor that did not interact with the position level or relational distance of the feedback source to impact behavioral and attitudinal reactions. Overall, this study indicates that discrete negative emotions have unique social-functional properties that require further investigation. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T08:54:39Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-38488 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T08:54:39Z |
| publishDate | 2014 |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-384882018-03-29T09:07:21Z Negative emotions in informal feedback: The benefits of disappointment and drawbacks of anger Johnson, Genevieve Connelly, S. Using the emotions as social information (EASI) model, this study investigated the emotional, attitudinal and behavioral reactions to failure feedback by manipulating negative emotional displays (angry, disappointed or none) and the position level and relational distance of the feedback source. Undergraduate students (N = 260) responded to an organizational failure feedback vignette and completed a subsequent performance task. Results demonstrated that guilt was the complementary emotional experience following displays of disappointment, while reciprocal anger followed displays of anger. These emotional reactions served as important mediators between the emotional displays paired with the feedback message and participant responses of social behaviors, creative task performance and perceptions of the feedback source. In addition, our findings indicated that negative emotions can have positive organizational and interpersonal outcomes. Guilt in response to disappointed displays resulted in beneficial behaviors and attitudes, while anger in response to angry displays was socially detrimental. The emotion displayed during feedback provision also served as a consistent contextual factor that did not interact with the position level or relational distance of the feedback source to impact behavioral and attitudinal reactions. Overall, this study indicates that discrete negative emotions have unique social-functional properties that require further investigation. 2014 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/38488 10.1177/0018726714532856 restricted |
| spellingShingle | Johnson, Genevieve Connelly, S. Negative emotions in informal feedback: The benefits of disappointment and drawbacks of anger |
| title | Negative emotions in informal feedback: The benefits of disappointment and drawbacks of anger |
| title_full | Negative emotions in informal feedback: The benefits of disappointment and drawbacks of anger |
| title_fullStr | Negative emotions in informal feedback: The benefits of disappointment and drawbacks of anger |
| title_full_unstemmed | Negative emotions in informal feedback: The benefits of disappointment and drawbacks of anger |
| title_short | Negative emotions in informal feedback: The benefits of disappointment and drawbacks of anger |
| title_sort | negative emotions in informal feedback: the benefits of disappointment and drawbacks of anger |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/38488 |