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A Managerial In-Basket Study of the Impact of Trait Emotions on Ethical Choice

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Abstract

This paper explores the relationship of various trait emotions to the ethical choices of 189 college students who completed a managerial decision-making task as part of an in-basket exercise in a laboratory setting. Prior research regarding emotion influences on ethical decision-making and linkages between emotions and cognition informed hypotheses about how different types of emotions impact ethical choices. Findings supported our expectations that positive and negative emotions classified as active would be more strongly related to interpersonally-directed ethical choices than to organizationally-directed ones, and that passive emotions would be less related to ethical choices than active emotions. Implications for ethical decision-making research and organizational practices are discussed.

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  1. Department of Psychology, University of Oklahoma, 455 W. Lindsey, Norman, OK, 73019, U.S.A.

    Shane Connelly, Whitney Helton-Fauth & Michael D. Mumford

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  1. Shane Connelly
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  2. Whitney Helton-Fauth
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Connelly, S., Helton-Fauth, W. & Mumford, M.D. A Managerial In-Basket Study of the Impact of Trait Emotions on Ethical Choice. Journal of Business Ethics 51, 245–267 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:BUSI.0000032494.51162.d3

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