The Effects of Emotion Recognition Training on Interpersonal Effectiveness

Emotion in Organizations: Theory and Research

The workplace elicits a wide range of emotions and, likewise, emotions change our experience of the workplace. This article reviews the scientific field of emotion in organizations, drawing from classic theories and cutting-edge advances to integrate a disparate body of research. The review is organized around the definition of emotion as an unfolding sequence of processes: We interpret the world around us for its subjective meaning, which results in emotional experience. Emotional experience, in turn, has consequences for behaviors, attitudes, and cognition. Emotional experience also elicits expressive cues that can be recognized by others. Each process in the emotion sequence can be regulated. Processes can also iterate until emotion is shared throughout workgroups and even entire organizations. A distinct body of organizationally relevant research exists for each process, and emotional intelligence refers to effectiveness across all. Differences across culture and gender, future research directions, and practical implications are discussed.

Training Emotion Recognition Accuracy: Results for Multimodal Expressions and Facial Micro Expressions

Nonverbal emotion recognition accuracy (ERA) is a central feature of successful communication and interaction, and is of importance for many professions. We developed and evaluated two ERA training programs-one focusing on dynamic multimodal expressions (audio, video, audio-video) and one focusing on facial micro expressions. Sixty-seven subjects were randomized to one of two experimental groups (multimodal, micro expression) or an active control group (emotional working memory task). Participants trained once weekly with a brief computerized training program for three consecutive weeks. Pre-post outcome measures consisted of a multimodal ERA task, a micro expression recognition task, and a task about patients' emotional cues. Post measurement took place approximately a week after the last training session. Non-parametric mixed analyses of variance using the Aligned Rank Transform were used to evaluate the effectiveness of the training programs. Results showed that multimodal training was significantly more effective in improving multimodal ERA compared to micro expression training or the control training; and the micro expression training was significantly more effective in improving micro expression ERA compared to the other two training conditions. Both pre-post effects can be interpreted as large. No group differences were found for the outcome measure about recognizing patients' emotion cues. There were no transfer effects of the training programs, meaning that participants only improved significantly for the specific facet of ERA that they had trained on. Further, low baseline ERA was associated with larger ERA improvements. Results are discussed with regard to methodological and conceptual aspects, and practical implications and future directions are explored.