Emotions and identification in interactive groups

PhD ceremony: Ms. A.J. Day, 11.00 uur, Academiegebouw, Broerstraat 5, Groningen

Dissertation: Emotions and identification in interactive groups

Promotor(s): prof. T. Postmes

Faculty: Behavioural and Social Sciences

We spend a significant amount of our time in groups. Everyone knows what it feels like to be part of a group. When members of our group are getting along well, and the group is achieving its goals our feelings towards our groups are positive encompassing pride, happiness and elation. Conversely, when members of our group are not getting along well, and the group is failing to achieve its goals our feelings veer towards negativity encompassing anger, frustration and distress. Our sense of self and consequently our feelings are bound up in the groups to which we belong. These feelings have consequences for group processes (e.g., how information is viewed by the group) and group outcomes (e.g., group decisions).

This research draws upon theory from interpersonal emotions research concerning what people get emotional about and how these emotions act as communications relevant to individual well-being. It incorporates a key idea from intergroup emotions theory regarding the role of ingroup identification in determining the elicitation and impact of group-related emotions in intergroup contexts. Finally, it shows that intragroup affect is a significant ingredient in group processes and outcomes, and something that requires further investigation by researchers to demonstrate its complexity and importance within groups.