Unpacking Emotional Dissonance: Examining the Effects of Event-Level Emotional Dissonance on Well-Being Using Polynomial Regression
Year: 2014
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: This research sought to provide a detailed understanding of emotional dissonance, or the discrepancy between feelings and displays, as it relates to emotional exhaustion and psychological vitality.This was the first study to examine dissonance as it is defined by modeling feelings and displays as separate constructs and to differentiate between different experiences of dissonance.All hypotheses were tested using a large archival dataset collected using experience sampling methodology, which included 250 call center employees who rated consumer interactions approximately 3 times per day over the course of 10 work days.This research provides three overarching contributions to the emotional labor literature.First, modeling dissonance using domain-specific (i.e., positive and/or negative) felt and displayed emotions provided an enhanced understanding of the relationship between well-being and dissonance.In particular, the influence of congruent feelings and displays (i.e., no dissonance) on well-being was influenced by the intensity of those emotions, thus suggesting that not all situations without dissonance are equally healthy.Second, dissonance predicted well-being above and beyond feelings and displays (each of which also had unique relationships with wellbeing).Third, this research leveraged polynomial regression and three-dimensional response surface methodology to extend our knowledge of the nature and effects of emotional dissonance in customer service situations.
Author: Mary M. Harris
Institution: University of Akron
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2526027622