Matching Items (3)
Filtering by
- All Subjects: Interpersonal communication
- Creators: Guerrero, Laura
Description
ABSTRACT
This study examines the ways in which employees experience moral emotions that violate employee treatment and how employees co-construct moral emotions and subsequent expressions of dissent. This qualitative study consisted of 123 full-time employees and utilized open-coding, content analysis, constant comparison analysis, and concept mapping. The analysis revealed that employees expressed dissent laterally as a series of sensemaking processes, such as validation of feelings, moral assessments, and assessing the fear of moral transgressions. Employees also expressed dissent as a series of risk assessments that overlapped with the ways in which employees made sense of the perceived infraction. Employees' lateral dissent expression manifested as a form of social support which occasionally led to co-rumination. Employees expressed dissent upwardly when seeking a desired action or change. Circumvention was utilized as a direct reflection to the type and degree of moral transgression related to the person responsible for the mistreatment. Results indicated that experiencing moral emotions that led to expressing dissent with a designated audience was determined by where employees were situated in the cyclical model of communicating moral emotions and in relation to the co-construction of both the infraction related to employee mistreatment and the experience of moral emotions. Results contribute to the existing body of literature on dissent and emotions. A discussion synthesizing the findings and analysis is presented, in addition to the implications for future research.
KEYWORDS: Emotion, Dissent, Moral Emotions, Sensemaking, Risk-Assessment, Social Support, Co-Rumination
This study examines the ways in which employees experience moral emotions that violate employee treatment and how employees co-construct moral emotions and subsequent expressions of dissent. This qualitative study consisted of 123 full-time employees and utilized open-coding, content analysis, constant comparison analysis, and concept mapping. The analysis revealed that employees expressed dissent laterally as a series of sensemaking processes, such as validation of feelings, moral assessments, and assessing the fear of moral transgressions. Employees also expressed dissent as a series of risk assessments that overlapped with the ways in which employees made sense of the perceived infraction. Employees' lateral dissent expression manifested as a form of social support which occasionally led to co-rumination. Employees expressed dissent upwardly when seeking a desired action or change. Circumvention was utilized as a direct reflection to the type and degree of moral transgression related to the person responsible for the mistreatment. Results indicated that experiencing moral emotions that led to expressing dissent with a designated audience was determined by where employees were situated in the cyclical model of communicating moral emotions and in relation to the co-construction of both the infraction related to employee mistreatment and the experience of moral emotions. Results contribute to the existing body of literature on dissent and emotions. A discussion synthesizing the findings and analysis is presented, in addition to the implications for future research.
KEYWORDS: Emotion, Dissent, Moral Emotions, Sensemaking, Risk-Assessment, Social Support, Co-Rumination
ContributorsKamrath, Jessica K (Author) / Kassing, Jeffrey W. (Thesis advisor) / Waldron, Vincent R. (Committee member) / Meân, Lindsey J. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
Military couples' communication during deployment: a proposed expansion of affection exchange theory
Description
Affectionate communication is one way individuals express love and appreciation (Floyd, 2006). Recently, communication scholars have recommended individuals increase their expressions of affection for health benefits (Brezsnyak & Whisman, 2004; Floyd et al., 2009; Floyd & Riforgiate, 2008). However, because communication is limited during military deployment, increasing affectionate communication is difficult for military families to implement. One form of affectionate communication that shows the promise of health benefits for military couples during deployment is affectionate writing. Working from Pennebaker’s written disclosure paradigm and Floyd’s affectionate exchange theory, the purpose of the current study is to identify whether at-home romantic partners of deployed U.S. Navy personnel can reap the benefits of affectionate communication during military deployment. To test a causal relationship between affectionate writing and communication outcomes, specifically relational satisfaction and stress, a four-week experiment was conducted. Eighty female at-home romantic partners of currently deployed U.S. Navy personnel were recruited for the study and randomly assigned to one of three conditions: (a) an experimental condition in which individuals were instructed to write affectionate letters to their deployed partners for 20 minutes once a week for three weeks, (b) a control condition in which individuals were instructed to write about innocuous or non-emotional topics for 20 minutes once a week for three weeks, or (c) a control condition in which individuals were not given instructions to write for the duration of the study. Individuals who engaged in affectionate writing reported higher levels of relational satisfaction than both the control groups, however, there were no differences in reported stress for the three groups. In fact, stress decreased throughout the duration of the study regardless of the condition in which participants had been placed. Additionally, individuals with secure attachment styles were more satisfied and less stressed than individuals with preoccupied and fearful attachment styles. Finally, individuals who perceived their relationship to be equitable, and to a slightly lesser extent, overbenefitted, during deployment reported higher levels of relational satisfaction. Overall, the findings support and extend affectionate exchange theory. Specifically, the results suggest that individuals can experience distance from their partners and still benefit from affectionate communication via writing; additionally, expressions of affectionate communication need not be reciprocal. Theoretical, methodological, clinical, and pedagogical implications are discussed.
ContributorsVeluscek, Alaina M (Author) / Guerrero, Laura (Thesis advisor) / Alberts, Jess (Committee member) / Brougham, M. Jennifer (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
Individuals in a romantic relationship may avoid discussing certain topics with their partner, often to avoid relational and emotional risk. This strategy is known as topic avoidance and may be an important factor for individuals in turbulent romantic relationship to consider due to the importance of communicating with a partner. The associations between characteristics such as openness, relationship satisfaction, and perceived partner unresponsiveness, and topic avoidance have not been directly studied within dogmatism literature. However, dogmatism, defined as a person’s relative openness (or closedness) to new information, may be an important construct associated with topic avoidance that strengthens the associations between perceived partner unresponsiveness, and topic avoidance, and weakens the association between openness, relationship satisfaction, and topic avoidance. Using data from 334 individuals in romantic relationships, results revealed that perceived partner unresponsiveness was positively associated with State of the Relationship, relationship satisfaction was positively associated with Conflict-Inducing and Negative Life Experiences, such that as scores on relationship satisfaction and perceived partner unresponsiveness increased, topic avoidance scores also increased. Openness was not associated with Topic Avoidance. Additionally, as predicted, dogmatism moderated the association between relationship satisfaction and State of the Relationship Topic Avoidance, the associations between perceived partner unresponsiveness and State of the Relationship Topic Avoidance and Negative Life Experiences Topic Avoidance. This research has important implications for clinicians working with individuals who present with relational concerns
and exhibit dogmatic behavior. Limitations and future directions are discussed.
and exhibit dogmatic behavior. Limitations and future directions are discussed.
ContributorsMikel, Lindsay (Author) / Randall, Ashley K. (Thesis advisor) / Bludworth, James (Committee member) / Guerrero, Laura (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019