Examining the Effects of Display Rule Content and Individual Differences on Well-being, Performance, and Self-Regulatory Resource Depletion

This study examined the causal effects of display rules on self-regulatory resource depletion, emotional exhaustion, task performance, and emotional dissonance in the context of difficult customer interactions. Using a call center simulation, participants were assigned to one of four display rule conditions to – (a) express positive (positive display rules), (b) do not show negative (negative display rules), (c) express positive and do not show negative emotions (integrative display rules), and (d) no display rule requirements. This study found that display rules had both direct and indirect effects on outcomes. Negative display rules did not have any direct effects on outcomes but positive display rules led to greater task errors and emotional dissonance. Display rules also had an effect on the strategies individuals used to regulate their emotions during the experiment. Both negative and positive display rules led to greater suppression of felt emotion and expression of unfelt emotions; negative display rules also led to less expression of felt emotions. Negative and positive display rules indirectly affected emotional exhaustion, regulatory resource depletion, and task performance through the emotion regulation strategy of suppression. Positive display rules also had an indirect effect on emotional dissonance through the regulation strategy of faking unfelt emotions. This study also examined whether individual differences (e.g., chronic emotion regulation and dispositional affectivity) moderated the effect of display rules on outcomes. Display rules interacted with chronic reappraisal, chronic suppression, and negative affectivity to predict task errors, emotional dissonance, and self-regulatory resource depletion in the form of several two- and three-way interactions. In most instances, the effects of display rules on outcomes were stronger for individuals higher in these traits than lower in these traits. Positive affectivity did not interact with any of the display rules to predict outcomes. This study contributes to the emotional labor literature by (a) establishing the causal direct and indirect effects of various display rules on individual outcomes (b) demonstrating that display rules interact with individual differences to affect individual outcomes and by (c) linking emotional labor processes to self-regulatory resource depletion.

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Philosophy

Level thesis:degree_level

doctoral

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Psychology-Industrial/Organizational

Grantor dc:publisher

University of Akron

Year dc:date

2013

Author dc:creator

• Becker, Cecily Jean

Contributors dc:contributor

• Diefendorff, James

• Psychology

Statement dc:rights

• unrestricted
• This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws.

Language dc:language

English

Repository record dc:identifier

http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=akron1362764572

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:etd.ohiolink.edu:akron1362764572