学术讲座（一）：The Dark & Bright Sides of Anxiety: How it Affects Performance & How to Manage it

学术讲座主题：

The Dark & Bright Sides of Anxiety: How it Affects Performance & How to Manage it

讲座时间：

2012年10月25日下午15：00-17：30

讲座地点：

善思堂M531

主讲人：

Bonnie Hayden Cheng

A.R.C.T., Hon. B.Sc., M.A.
Joseph L. Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto

Abstract:

Research has consistently tapped into a “dark side” of anxiety by demonstrating that anxiety has a negative relationship with performance. It has neglected to consider the possibility of a “bright side” by examining whether anxiety can benefit performance. I focus on whether state and trait anxiety in the workplace can both benefit and hinder job performance, and when these types of anxiety can debilitate or facilitate performance. First, I examine the processes by which state and trait anxiety may lead to debilitative and facilitative job performance. Drawing on cognitive processing theories (Eysenck & Calvo, 1992; Eysenck, Derakshan, Santos, & Calvo, 2007; Kanfer & Ackerman, 1989; Wine, 1980), anxiety is predicted to lead to debilitative performance through off-task cognition, and anxiety is predicted to lead to facilitative performance through self-regulatory processing. Second, I examine when anxiety can debilitate and facilitate performance by drawing from motivation theory (Vroom, 1964) to position motivation as a critical boundary condition. I present two experimental studies to test my propositions. Study 1 examines whether anxiety in the workplace can both facilitate and debilitate job performance, thus providing a comprehensive examination on both the “dark” and “bright” sides of anxiety. Study 2 extends this model by considering when anxiety debilitates or facilitates performance, by positioning motivation as the critical boundary condition.

Further, given the prevailing “dark side” of anxiety and its negative effects on performance, it is important to consider strategies to help offset this negative relationship. I consider a specific work recovery activity, physical exercise, as a moderator of this relationship, and suggest that context may play a critical role in offsetting or exacerbating this negative relationship. I suggest that exercising may not always be beneficial. Specifically, I suggest that exercising during off-work times should offset the negative relation between anxiety and performance, while exercising during work should serve to exacerbate this negative relation. I present a study examining police officers and their supervisors as a test of my propositions.