PSYCHOANALYTIC CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE STUDY OF THE EMOTIONAL LIFE OF ORGANIZATIONS

In light of increasing interest in organizational emotions, this artic le argues for a reintegration of psychoanalytic scholarship into the s tudy of organizations. A brief presentation of social constructionist approaches to emotions in organizations is followed by a presentation of major psychoanalytic contributions to the study of emotions at indi vidual, group, and organizational levels. The author argues for a rapp rochement between constructionist views which emphasize the cultural c haracter of emotional displays, and psychoanalytic views which explore the origins, vicissitudes, and communication of emotional experiences within individual or group biographies.