Stress, Defenses and Coping Behavior: Observations in Parents of Children With Malignant Disease

Chodoff, Paul; Friedman, Stanford B.; Hamburg, David A.

doi:10.1176/ajp.120.8.743

Cited by 205 publications

(73 citation statements)

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“…For example, highly guilt-prone individuals with a strong sense of autonomy may overextend those feelings of control and consequently feel responsible for events that are, in fact, beyond their control. "Survivor's guilt" constitutes one example of such maladaptive guilt: many employees experience this emotion after seeing their co-workers get laid off (e.g., Chodoff, Friedman, & Hamburg 1964) even though they had no control over the layoff decision. In short, there are some circumstances when organizations would want to alleviate employees' guilt or even allow for experiences of shame.…”

Section: Ethical Concerns and The Hidden Complexities Of Guilt And Shamementioning

confidence: 99%

Guilt by Design: Structuring Organizations to Elicit Guilt as an Affective Reaction to Failure

Bohns

Flynn

2013

Organization Science

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In this article, we outline a model of how organizations can effectively shape employees' affective reactions to failure. We do not suggest that organizations eliminate the experience of negative affect following performance failures-instead, we propose that they encourage a more constructive form of negative affect (guilt) instead of a destructive one (shame). We argue that guilt responses prompt employees to take corrective action in response to mistakes, while shame responses are likely to elicit more detrimental effects of negative affect. Further, we suggest that organizations can play a role in influencing employees' discrete emotional reactions to the benefit of both employees and the organization. We describe the necessary antecedents for encouraging guilt responses without simultaneously eliciting shame. Essentially, employees are more likely to experience guilt (but not shame) if they feel they had control over a specific negative event and the event resulted in a negative outcome for others. Given these necessary preconditions, we identify a set of organizational characteristics-autonomy, specificity of performance feedback, and outcome interdependence-that can be modified to make the experience of guilt more likely than that of shame in the workplace. The ethical and practical limits of shaping employees' emotional experiences within a negative affective domain are also addressed. Published in Organization Science AbstractIn this article, we outline a model of how organizations can effectively shape employees' affective reactions to failure. We do not suggest that organizations eliminate the experience of negative affect following performance failures-instead, we propose that they encourage a more constructive form of negative affect (guilt) instead of a destructive one (shame). We argue that guilt responses prompt employees to take corrective action in response to mistakes, while shame responses are likely to elicit more detrimental effects of negative affect. Further, we suggest that organizations can play a role in influencing employees' discrete emotional reactions to the benefit of both employees and the organization. We describe the necessary antecedents for encouraging guilt responses without simultaneously eliciting shame. Essentially, employees are more likely to experience guilt (but not shame) if they feel they had control over a specific negative event and the event resulted in a negative outcome for others. Given these necessary preconditions, we identify a set of organizational characteristics-autonomy, specificity of performance feedback, and outcome interdependence-that can be modified to make the experience of guilt more likely than that of shame in the workplace. The ethical and practical limits of shaping employees' emotional experiences within a negative affective domain are also addressed.

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Section: Ethical Concerns and The Hidden Complexities Of Guilt And Shamementioning

confidence: 99%

Guilt by Design: Structuring Organizations to Elicit Guilt as an Affective Reaction to Failure

Bohns

Flynn

2013

Organization Science

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“…and ''Why did it happen ?'' In trying to answer ''how,'' bereaved individuals seek out information about the sequence of events leading up to the loss ( Chodoå , Friedman, & Hamburg, 1964;Cornwell, Nurcombe, & Stevens, 1977 can challenge these philosophical/religious beliefs and the individual's fundamental assumptions about the meaning of life and death ( Simons, 1979) .…”

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confidence: 99%

Parental Bereavement: The Crisis of Meaning

2001

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This descriptive study used qualitative methods to look at two aspects of the search for meaning in parental bereavement--the search for cognitive mastery and the search for renewed purpose. One hundred and seventy-six bereaved parents answered open-ended questions about the experience of their child's death and the meaning of their life since the death. For most parents, the child's death precipitated a severe crisis of meaning and initiated a search for meaning that involved both cognitive mastery and renewed purpose. Those parents who were able to find meaning in the death cited connections with people, the memory of the child, and positive gains resulting from the trauma. The great majority of parents believed that their lives since the death of the child had meaning. Meaning came from connections with people, activities, beliefs and values, personal growth, and connections with the lost child. Implications for grief counseling are discussed.

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“…As will be seen from Table 6, satisfactory agreement was obtained (70%) for four (1,2,6,8) of the seven strategies rated with significant frequency. One strategy (5) showed fair agreement, while two (4, 7) were below chance levels.…”

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confidence: 67%