In some ways, emotions are a mystery. What function do they serve? OB researchers have been finding that emotions can be critical to an effectively functioning workplace. Individuals who tend to experience positive affect consistently as part of their personalities tend to have positive job attitudes, experience good social integration, and engage in more task and citizenship performance.

Our emotions actually make our thinking more rational. Because our emotions provide important information about how we understand the world around us and they help guide our behaviors. By studying brain injuries, researchers discovered an important link between emotions and rational thinking. They learned that our emotions provide us with valuable information that helps our thinking process. Numerous studies suggest that moral judgments are largely based on feelings rather than on cognition, even though we tend to see our moral boundaries as logical and reasonable, not as emotional.

To some degree, our beliefs are shaped by the groups we belong to, which influence our perceptions of ethics. We tend to judge (and punish) outgroup members more harshly for moral transgressions than ingroup members. When we can identify the sources of emotions and moods, we are better able to predict behavior and manage.