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Fibbing about your feelings: How feigning happiness in the face of personal hardship affects trust

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  • Levine, Emma E.
  • Wald, Kristina A.

Abstract

Individuals who experience personal distress face a dilemma when they enter the workplace: should they authentically express their negative emotions when conversing with colleagues, or feign happiness? Across six experiments, using face-to-face interactions, as well as video and scenario-based stimuli, we explore how feigning happiness in the face of personal hardship affects trust among colleagues. We find that individuals who feign happiness in professional contexts are more likely to be hired and are trusted more by others, despite also being perceived as more dishonest. Our results suggest that these trust benefits are unique to professional (rather than personal) contexts, and are driven by perceptions of resilience, rather than conformity to display rules. This research deepens our understanding of emotion regulation, authenticity, and trust by exploring the consequences of feigned happiness in mixed motive settings and by demonstrating that emotional misrepresentation, unlike many other forms of misrepresentation, can increase trust.

Suggested Citation

  • Levine, Emma E. & Wald, Kristina A., 2020. "Fibbing about your feelings: How feigning happiness in the face of personal hardship affects trust," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 156(C), pages 135-154.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jobhdp:v:156:y:2020:i:c:p:135-154
    DOI: 10.1016/j.obhdp.2019.05.004
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Cheshin, Arik & Amit, Adi & van Kleef, Gerben A., 2018. "The interpersonal effects of emotion intensity in customer service: Perceived appropriateness and authenticity of attendants' emotional displays shape customer trust and satisfaction," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 97-111.
    2. Levine, Emma E. & Schweitzer, Maurice E., 2015. "Prosocial lies: When deception breeds trust," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 126(C), pages 88-106.
    3. Houston, Lawrence & Grandey, Alicia A. & Sawyer, Katina, 2018. "Who cares if “service with a smile” is authentic? An expectancy-based model of customer race and differential service reactions," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 85-96.
    4. Wolf, Elizabeth Baily & Lee, Jooa Julia & Sah, Sunita & Brooks, Alison Wood, 2016. "Managing perceptions of distress at work: Reframing emotion as passion," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 1-12.
    5. Gunia, Brian C. & Levine, Emma E., 2019. "Deception as competence: The effect of occupational stereotypes on the perception and proliferation of deception," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 122-137.
    6. Grandey, Alicia A. & Fisk, Glenda M. & Mattila, Anna S. & Jansen, Karen J. & Sideman, Lori A., 2005. "Is "service with a smile" enough? Authenticity of positive displays during service encounters," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 96(1), pages 38-55, January.
    7. Kim, Peter H. & Dirks, Kurt T. & Cooper, Cecily D. & Ferrin, Donald L., 2006. "When more blame is better than less: The implications of internal vs. external attributions for the repair of trust after a competence- vs. integrity-based trust violation," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 99(1), pages 49-65, January.
    8. Barasch, Alixandra & Levine, Emma E. & Schweitzer, Maurice E., 2016. "Bliss is ignorance: How the magnitude of expressed happiness influences perceived naiveté and interpersonal exploitation," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 184-206.
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