The Ripple Effect

Several years ago, my wife started a dinnertime tradition in our household.  We would ask everyone (kids as well as parents) to state their favorite thing that happened that day.  It was a great way to focus on the positives of the day, rather than spending too much time talking about the negatives.  As she always said (and continues to tell me to this day), "It's the power of a positive attitude."

I am often amazed on just how powerful a tool that a positive attitude can be, both in our personal lives and our professional ones.  Focusing on positive energy, at least in my experience, often leads to a ripple effect that only leads to more positive energy that spreads to everyone else around.  When I think of positive attitudes and ripple effects, I often think of Mother Teresa and the Dalai Lama.  Mother Teresa once said, "I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples."  The Dalai Lama said, "Just as ripples spread out when a single pebble is dropped into water, the actions of individuals can have far-reaching effects."  While both quotes, I think, are talking about the impact that one single individual can have on changing the world, they also can refer to the impact of that same individual on the people that he or she works with on a daily basis.  Importantly, that impact can be either positive or negative.

I suspect that just about everyone has lived or worked with someone who is generally negative all the time (these individuals remind us of the Disney character, Eeyore, from the Winnie the Pooh series).  What is unfortunate is the effect that being around these individuals have on our own level of energy or mood.  On the other hand, I am sure that everyone has lived or worked with someone who is generally positive all the time too (these individuals often remind us of the Disney character Tigger, again from the Winnie the Pooh series).  It's amazing how the different personalities and/or moods of the individuals that we work with can affect us in both positive and negative ways.

Dr. Sigal Barsade from the Wharton School at Penn published a study a number of years ago that is relevant to this discussion, "The Ripple Effect: Emotional Contagion and Its Influence on Group Behavior".  The working hypothesis for this study is that (1) individuals working in a group setting can transfer emotions to others in the group and (2) the transfer of these emotions can adversely impact group dynamics.  Simply stated, one individual's mood can lead to a shift in the overall mood of the group ("emotional contagion").  

The study was conducted in a laboratory setting using undergraduate business students working in small groups during a management simulation.  Study participants played the role of a department manager working on a salary committee who were negotiating the allocation of a limited sum of bonus money to their employees.  Each "department manager" had to advocate for one of his or her employees with the objective of getting as large a bonus as possible while allocating the available funds to maximize the benefit to the organization as a whole.  Each group also included a confederate (in this case, an undergraduate drama student) who was told to play a department manager with either a positive or negative mood or a high or low level of energy.  Groups were randomized using a 2x2 table, to "cheerful enthusiasm", "serene warmth", "hostile irritability", or "depressed sluggishness" depending on the confederate's mood/energy level.

Each simulation lasted only thirty minutes.  Participants self-rated their mood and energy level before and after the exercise.  All simulations were videotaped and later analyzed by the members of the research team, who also rated the mood/level of energy, as well as the level of cooperation amongst the group members.  Participants also rated the level of cooperation of each individual member in the group.

The results showed that emotional contagion does occur in that the confederate's emotions and level of energy changed the emotions of the other members within the group.  Similarly, emotional contagion either positively or negatively (depending on the mood and level of energy of the confederate) impacted the level of cooperation within the group, as well as whether the group successfully achieved its objective.  

In other words, when we work with glum, pessimistic, or irritable people at work, it affects us in a negative way.  Conversely, when we work with cheerful, optimistic, or high-energy people at work, we respond in a positive way.  The implications of this study should be fairly intuitive.  Try to focus on the positives, in order to stay positive!  With that in mind, I want to leave you with another old Wheeler family favorite, the "Happy Happy Joy Joy" song!  Enjoy.