ERIC Number: EJ934084
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2011-Mar
Pages: 14
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0021-9010
EISSN: N/A
Willing and Able to Fake Emotions: A Closer Examination of the Link between Emotional Dissonance and Employee Well-Being
Pugh, S. Douglas; Groth, Markus; Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten
Journal of Applied Psychology, v96 n2 p377-390 Mar 2011
Emotional dissonance resulting from an employee's emotional labor is usually considered to lead to negative employee outcomes, such as job dissatisfaction and emotional exhaustion. Drawing on Festinger's (1957) cognitive dissonance theory, we argue that the relationship between service employees' surface acting and job dissatisfaction and emotional exhaustion is moderated by 2 aspects of a service worker's self-concept: the importance of displaying authentic emotions (reflecting the self-concept's self-liking dimension) and the employee's self-efficacy when faking emotions (reflecting the self-competence dimension). A survey of 528 frontline employees from a wide variety of service jobs provides support for the moderating role of both self-concept dimensions, which moderate 3 out of 4 relationships. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed from the perspectives of cognitive dissonance and emotional labor theories. (Contains 2 tables, 2 figures and 2 footnotes.)
Descriptors: Service Occupations, Employees, Fatigue (Biology), Job Satisfaction, Self Efficacy, Emotional Response, Psychological Patterns, Well Being, Self Concept, Self Esteem, Cognitive Processes, Surveys, Behavior, Gender Differences
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A