Emotional convergence in task groups

Emotions are an important part of group life. When task group members work together to achieve the group’s goals, these social interactions may bring about emotional similarity between group members. Whereas emotional similarity has been established in task groups, and linked to important group outcomes, very little is known on the emergence of emotional similarity. The main aim of this dissertation was to shed light on processes of emotional influence leading up to emotional similarity in task groups. More specifically, I aimed to 1) establish the process of emotional convergence –i.e., gradually becoming more emotionally similar– in task groups over time, 2) investigate selective processes emotional influence towards emotional convergence as well as the consequences for group functioning, and 3) examine individual differences in emotional influence between group members. To this end, I conducted one cross-sectional and two longitudinal studies in real-life, interactive task groups.

The results of my dissertation establish the phenomenon of emotional convergence in task groups over time. More specifically, I found that, over time, group members influenced each other’s emotions such that their emotions grew to be more similar. I also found that the processes of emotional influence were selective, and that individual group members differed in the extent to which they influenced group emotions. More specifically, in contrast to the influential emotional contagion-account (cf. Hatfield et al., 1994), which posits that emotional convergence is an automatic process, I found evidence that emotional convergence is selective. First, I found evidence that emotional influence depends on a process of norming. I showed that, over time, there was a mutual relationship between group norms of emotions and the emotional experience of group members. Second, I found that emotional influence also depends on the information that is conveyed by specific emotions: those emotions that are relevant and applicable to other group members more readily converge in groups. I found emotional convergence for anger, gratitude, and group pride, all emotions that are important to groups’ functioning, and thus relevant and applicable to other group members; I found no convergence for self-pride, an emotion that was less relevant and applicable to other group members. Third, I found individual differences in the way status and emotion intensity predict emotional influence: high-status members’ emotions and the most or least intense emotions within a group predicted the emotions of other group members. Fourth, I also found individual differences in the way group members have attuned their emotions with those of their group –i.e. individual differences in members’ emotional fit: over time, I found a positive mutual interplay between members’ group identification and their emotional fit with the group, suggesting that high group identifiers have attuned their emotions more with those of the group than low group identifiers. The latter relationship was moderated by the valence of the group climate: In a negative as compared to a positive group climate, the positive relationship between group identification and emotional fit was attenuated or even reversed. Finally, I found that specific group emotions bring about specific group outcomes: task-oriented emotions predict task outcomes, and relationship-oriented emotions predict relational outcomes.

In conclusion, this dissertation elucidates some of the emotional influence processes taking place in task groups. By taking a dynamic perspective to emotions in groups, I was able to uncover selective emotional influence processes in groups, as well as identify individual differences in emotional influence between group members. Moreover, I also demonstrated that specific group emotions predicted specific aspects of group functioning. The insights of this dissertation offer insights to practitioners and managers who want to change the emotional experience of group members in ways that may ultimately benefit group functioning.