Emotion may regulate ethical behaviour

A study at UTSC has found that people behave more ethically than predicted when they are faced with a moral dilemma, thanks to their emotions.

The experiment consisted of participants divided into three groups. Experimenters had one group complete a math test. Another group received the same test, but also had the opportunity to cheat. The last group was simply asked if they thought they would cheat on the questions if given the chance.

The results showed that members of the third group claimed they would cheat more often than test-takers with the actual option to cheat. The study attributed this ethical behaviour to heightened emotions, indicated by factors such as sweaty palms and increased heart rate. Researchers observed these physical signs in the test-taking group with the moral decision to make.

While emotions led to more ethical actions in the test-taking situation, the lead author comments that emotions can also produce the opposite result — less moral behavior — depending on the situation.— Kimberly Shek

Source: Association for Psychological Science

The perils of a fake smile

A new study by Michigan State University business professor Brent Scott and graduate student Christopher Barnes, has uncovered the dangers of a fake smile. They found that employees who had to fake smile throughout their work day — which is often the case for customer service employees — also had worsened moods. This caused them to withdraw from their work, resulting in reduced productivity and emotional exhaustion.

The results were reversed for those who smiled authentically. Those who thought positive thoughts about the situation or who recalled pleasant memories were able to improve their mood and withdraw less.

The study is published in the February 2011 issue of the Academy of Management Journal, and examined a group of bus drivers for two weeks. The researchers examined the effects of “surface acting” — such as fake smiling — versus “deep acting,” which cultivated positive emotions to induce a more authentic smile.

The results and the effects of deep acting were stronger in women, although they did not explain reasons why this might be the case. They did, however, find a caveat: while deep acting improved workers moods, it was only short-term, and led to feelings of being inauthentic in the long term.— Kim Tran

Source: Michigan State University