Moods Are Contagious
By George Anderson
A new study reported in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology suggests “people are capable of ‘catching’ the mood of a spouse or friend.”
Dr. Cameron Anderson, a visiting assistant professor of management and organizations at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University told Reuters Health “he was surprised by the extent to which people’s emotions converged in his study.”
The first part of the study involved 60 couples answering questions about their personalities and relationships. After six months, the 38 couples who were still together answered the questions again. The researchers found the remaining couples maintained “distinct personalities, but they were more closely attuned emotionally than they had been at the start of the study.”
Dr. Anderson believes the findings of this study and future research will help companies create emotionally compatible teams for improved performance.
Moderator’s Comment: How important is the emotional
component in building productive organizations? Do companies give enough attention
to this aspect of team building?
Those who have had the experience know it only takes one
surly boss to bring down organizational morale and bottom line performance.
[George
Anderson – Moderator]